Emory Parsons Odysseus and the Trojan horse blog now working

The Trojan War is a war betweens the Trojans and the Greeks. The Trojans are protected on the inside walls of their city, and the Greeks are trying to break in. Odyssseus is trying to come up with a plan to get the Greeks inside the city. They end up building a huge wooden horse with the Greeks hidden inside it, and leave it for the Trojans as a gift. The Trojans bring it inside, and then the Greeks come out of the horse and attack the city. The Greeks are victorious. I don't mean to sound cliche, but I believe that my life is a journey. Everything I experience, from roaming the streets of Rome to navigating the disgustingly crowded hallways of Henry Clay, I am learning. everything I experience, good or bad, is a part of my journey and makes me who I am. I want my dream journey to be unpredictable, which means I am living it right now. I don't know what is going to happen next, for example, where I am going to live next year and go to college, but that is what makes life exciting. Not knowing, is what I love about my journey.

Stoning

I don't like this story very much. Like many of the biblical stories we have been studying, I find this disquieting...another tale of an attempted destruction by God, an intervention by a wise human, and the subsequent carried out holy destruction. I am not sure why God, if he is so all-powerful would not be able to figure out on his own that there was a way around the blind destruction of the cities. (Sorry for saying destruction so much). Destruction. Instead he let his angels get into a rape-y situation. Which was weird because the town leader offered up his daughters to be raped instead (who were apparently not rape-worthy). In this situation I feel that maybe he should have put his foot down and said no to raping anyone, but hey, maybe he had just gotten into the habit of giving the horny townspeople their rapee of the day and going on about his business.
Unfair punishment....I think that being stoned to death sucks. Don't be fooled, it is actually worse than it sounds. In the middle East, often "criminals" or discontents are buried from the shoulders down in sand and as their family and friends spectates, some authority figure hurls rocks at their head, splitting their skin, denting their skull, crushing their nose and cheekbones until their face is noting but a pulpous mass of misshapen, torn flesh.  Often this is a consequence faced by Muslim women for adultery, or showing too much skin, a pnishment inflicted by extremist believers.

Pulpous. cool.
This is not a fair punishment for anyone. But then again, that is only one of thousands of horrible punishments inflicted on undeserving folks erryday. It's just not fair.

Sodom and Gomorrah

In the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, there was a bunch of sin being committed. So, God decided he was going to destroy the cities (But what really was the reason for this fiery rage? Was it because of what people seem to dwell on, the homosexuality, or because of the other sins, like attempted rape and inhospitable treatment of their visitors? No matter what you believe after reading the verses, I would urge you to look into the differing viewpoints and get a better view of the big picture before making any judgments. I'm not saying that one is absolutely correct, but rather that it's interesting to see the different interpretations that can be drawn from one passage in the Bible). Abraham begged the Lord to find the righteous people who lived in the city and to spare them. Two angels went into the city and led Abraham's nephew, Lot, and his wife and two children out of the city just before God destroyed it. However, Lot's wife disobeyed the angel's orders to run away from the city and not look back and was turned into a pillar of salt when she turn around.
 

source

Growing up, I feel like I always had it really easy with punishments. I guess the biggest reason for this was that I did what I was told and respected my parents. I've never been grounded or had my phone taken away and my parents haven't really ever told me that I'm not allowed to go somewhere or do something that I asked them to do. I think I watched my friends get punished and say that it was unfair, which made me not want to go through that with my own parents. Now, I'm sure I used to get into some trouble when I was younger, but there's nothing major that I can think of. My family tells me that I once threw a seat belt at my sister and cut her face open, but I just can't imagine this sweet angel boy doing that to his loving sister.

Sodom and Gomorrah

The people of Sodom and Gomorrah were committing a lot of sin so God decided that he needed to get rid of them. He first went to Abraham who treated him nicely and told him his plan. Abraham argued that there may be good men in the city and God should not destroy if it has righteous people.  Following their meeting, two angels went to Sodom and met with Lot. Lot fed them and insisted that they stay at his house for the night. Some men of the city came and demanded to have sex with the angels. Lot tried to negotiate and give them his virgin daughters but they would not listen. The angels told Lot to take his family out of the city and not look back because God was going to destroy it. Lot and his family began to flee and as they left his wife looked back and turned into a pillar of salt. Sodom and Gomorrah then burned down due to sulfur rain.

In my house usually all the unfair punishment falls onto me. My parents like to think that if my brother and I get into a disagreement that it’s my fault because I am the older one and need to be responsible. Then, if I try to defend myself then everything just gets a million times worse and I am seen as the one causing all the trouble.

Sodom and Gomorrah

In Biblical times, Sodom and Gomorrah were two cities that, along with the cities of Admah, Zeboim, and Bela, comprised what was known as the "cities of the plain," a region located in the southern part of Canaan. Although the land itself was compared to the Garden of Eden, with its lush fields and abundant vegetation, Sodom and Gomorrah were nonetheless cesspits of impenitent sin and immorality. It was only a matter of time, then, until God would level them in his wrath. According to chapter 18 of Genesis, three angels sent by God, appeared before Abraham in the plains of Mamre. Through these angels, God revealed to Abraham that He would destroy Sodom and Gomorrah since "their sin [was] very grievous." However, Abraham was able to convince God to spare the two cities if ten righteous people were found to be living within their boundaries. Thus, two of the angels were sent to Sodom, where they met Abraham's nephew Lot. However, that night, a few of the residents of Sodom, who were described as fervent homosexuals, came to Lot's house and asked to see the two men (the residents did not know they were angels) who had entered Lot's house earlier so that they "may know them," or in other words, so that they could "engage in intercourse with them." Lot refused to them his guests, but he did offer them his two virgin daughters, whom the crowd promptly rejected. The people attempted to force their way into Lot's house but were blinded by Lot's guests, who revealed to him that they were actually angels sent by God to judge the city and its inhabitants. After failing to find at least ten righteous, moral people in the city, the angels then proceeded to advise Lot to gather his wife and two daughters and leave before God destroyed the city. Lot willingly complied, and as he and his family escaped from Sodom, God began to unleash fire and brimstone upon both Sodom and Gomorrah. The angels commanded Lot and his family to avert their gaze from the destruction, but Lot's wife did not heed this command. She looked back at the city and was instantly transformed into a pillar of salt. Lot and his daughters then took refuge in the mountains, where they practiced incest.

What can I say about impenitent punishment? It is justified in the case of serial killers who demonstrate no remorse for their crimes or pity for their victims. Nonetheless, as it applies to the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, the extent to which the citizens of Sodom and Gomorrah were punished probably was not exactly necessary. Punishment for crimes is only justified when those responsible for the crime are made to pay for their actions and not when innocent civilians are made to pay as well. While there were indeed bad people within, the entire population most likely was not guilty of any particular crime and therefore should not have had to die along with the actual sinners. In the world today, there are countless good people among the few bad, yet people can only see the bad.

Like Holy Crap, God, You're Not Even Trying

Oh boy, back to the Bible, and once again good ol' God proves to be a poor role model for conflict resolution. In this episode, God apparently gets frustrated with the state of morality in two towns called Sodom and Gomorrah. I guess even the babies were evil, because God sure didn't seem to hesitate about killing literally everyone in both of these towns. But wait! Comparatively-decent guy Abraham convinces God that it wouldn't be fair to destroy the whole towns if God could find even a few good people in them. So God makes a sort of bet with Abraham, except the stakes are other people's lives so this is an exceptionally shitty bet. God agrees that if there can be found just ten people in the two towns that are good people, Sodom and Gomorrah will be saved.

So God sends a couple of angels to Sodom. Who knows if he even tried with Gomorrah (we get the impression God wasn't terribly interested in losing this bet). Lot, a citizen of Sodom, meets the angels and invites them to his house. Before long - gossip travels fast in a town full of sinners - the whole town (presumably? again, we get the impression God was kinda generalizing on purpose here) is at Lot's door demanding he turn over the visitors so they can be raped (this is the part people get "sodomy" from, since evidently to the Church the rape part is less offensive than the male-on-male part). Lot, ever hospitable, offers the mob his daughters instead, but the villagers aren't falling for his blatant misogyny. The angels subsequently command Lot and his family to leave - there were only 4 of them, and since the angels were too lazy to continue their search they assumed Lot's family were the only half-decent people there (again, gonna have to question how great a guy Lot was after offering up his daughters for rape). The angels tel Lot's family not to look back upon their home, which is about to be destroyed along with the rest of Sodom. As they flee, Lot's wife looks back, in a genuine display of humanity, and God punishes her by turning her into salt, because God is a pedantic dictator who never tolerates disobedience or doubt. Sodom is destroyed, Lot and his daughters escape, and later they try to incest him up (but that's another story.)

Unfair punishment is everywhere. It seems to me a lot of the time that large portions of society are almost built upon the idea that people can be punished or penalized for things they have no control over, or can be punished in a way that is far from proportional to their crime. Oppression is, after all, a sort of "punishment" for being a member of a group outside the Default (white, cisgender, heterosexual, male, able-bodied). People are punished every day essentially for existing in a way somebody finds disagreeable. On the opposite side of that coin, those who commit these unfair punishments every day are so thoroughly impenitent about it that I often lose any hope that they'll ever change.

(This is a terribly shoddy piece of writing and I apologize but I'm kind of upset right now due to issues of this sort so please forgive me)

unfair

There was some wickedness in the cities and God wasn't too happy with it, so He decided to destroy them. But Abraham, a righteous man, argued that there were righteous people living in those cities and tried to bargain with God. Lot was Abraham's nephew and when the two angels arrived at Lot's house, he fed them and took care of them. But the city was still wicked, so all of the men there surrounded his house and told Lot that they wanted to have sex with his two visitors. Instead, Lot offered up his two virgin daughters. The rioters kept pursuing, but the angels took care of them and hurried Lot's family to another village, warning them to not look back. However, Lot's wife did look back and turned into a pillar of salt.

Okay, another story that I heard as a child...but not the whole thing. I had only heard of Lot's wife turning back and turning into salt; never as a child had I heard the whole back story, which was probably for the better. 

One of the bad unfair punishments in my house is that my dad hates listening to arguing. But he takes that to mean that any conversation where two people have differing opinions is an argument. I, being someone who doesn't care to share my disagreeing opinion, get a little fed up when I automatically get in trouble for explaining my thoughts. I know this can sound a little juvenile, but I just want to say what I want to say! I'm not even being rude, I'm sharing my thoughts in an intellectual way. Oh well, life's just unfair sometimes.

via

Sodom and Gomarrah

Three angels disguised themselves as travelers and went to visit Abraham. Two of them journeyed to Sodom and Gomorrah so they could experience the wickedness in the cities, but the third angle stayed behind to reveal to Abraham that he planned to destroy the cities because of their evil ways. Abraham asked the third angle, the Lord, if 50 righteous people lived in the cities if he would spare them, and the Lord agreed. Abraham kept negotiating until they agreed upon not destroying the cities if 10 righteous people lived there. When the other two angels arrived at Sodom, they were greeted at the city gate by Lot, Abraham's nephew. The men in the town surrounded Lot's house asking for the two visitors to come out and have sex with them. Abraham would not allow this so instead he sent out his virgin daughters resulting in the angry men rushing and breaking down the door. The two angles led Lot and his family out of the house and to Zoar, a tiny village. The Lord then rained sulfur down on Sodom and Gomarrah destroying the buildings, people, and food sources. Lot's wife unfortunately looked back at all the destruction and was turned into salt.

Growing up there was a whole lot of unfair punishment going on at my house. My brother got away with everything, and I didn't understand why. He wasn't even that sneaky or smart about what he did, yet he never really got in trouble. We never did anything all that bad. I mean we would bite each other and I some how always managed to draw blood and that maybe constituted a harsher punishment. Although life isn't fair, siblings should be held to the same punishment standard. I have come to realize that my parents just kinda quit disciplining my brother because nothing worked and he did as he pleased and still does.

Source

Salt Lyfe

Being from the old testament, this story depicts God as a much more traditional deity: easily angered and arbitrary in his punishments. The story begins with Abraham being visited by three angels who, in the course of insisting that his wife will become pregnant, let slip that they plan to destroy the cities of Sodomy and Gonorrhea. With such loose-lipped angels, one wonders how God's evil plan was formulated without anyone in either city finding out and causing a mass exodus from the area. Abraham convinces God that if he can find at least 10 people in the cities who are not completely worthless, the cities will be spared. So the angles go into one of the cities and find a guy named Lot, who is just chillin' out by the front gates but seems to be the only one that recognizes them as angels. Lot takes them to his house and gives them food. Apparently nobody new ever arrives in the cities because as soon as they've finished eating, an angry mob appears outside Lot's door demanding to have sex with the newcomers (probably the reason newcomers are scarce). Instead, Lot offers his virgin daughters to the rapist mob, which is something that the angles seem pretty chill about, which is pretty shitty of them because what kind of symbol of goodness lets girls get raped by people they could have just zapped out of existence with a snap of their fingers. Anyway, this pretty much seals the deal as far as the divine squaking of the two cities, and the angles tell Lot and his family (including the two daughters that are totally ok about having been offered to a bunch of gang rapists, who will then go on to purposefully sire incestuous children with their father. Yuck) to get the heck out of there because it was about to go down. The only instruction that they give to Lot and his family was to not look back on the burning cities. Of course, that is exactly what Lot's wife does, and she gets turned into a pillar of salt, a fate which she was probably pretty salty about. 

Before I go full nerd and quote Gandalf the Grey from the Fellowship of the Ring where he says  "Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends.", I would like to say that I have relatively no personal experience with injustice, a fact that I am very happy about. As a whole, I'd have to say that injustice is bad. It is also subjective and very hard to actually nail down, but it is mostly bad, and we should have as little of it as possible. These are the entirety of my thoughts on this subject. Thank you. 

[source]
Salt Lyfe

Sodom and Gomorrah

Back in the old days, the people of god were becoming a bit wicked again and so God sent three angels to the towns that were the most wicked Sodom and Gomorrah. The angels he met were greeted by the family of Abraham who showed them great hospitality, so God revealed his plan to Abraham. Abraham, a bit distraught at the thought of an entire city's destruction, asked God if he could find fifty righteous men would God spare the city. Abraham then "negotiated" down to ten and God never protested whenever Abraham lowered the price, because as Abraham would find out and as God knew, he could not find any righteous men in the city.

 Two of the angels went on to the city of Sodom where they were met by Abraham's nephew Lot. Lot was also a good man and invited them into his home, but a mob of Sodomites (please don't take that the wrong way) formed and demanded that Lot give the two men up to them. In one version of the bible they wanted to rape them, but in another it is much more vague. Lot refused and offered his two virgin daughters instead. A very weird proposition even weirder is that the mob refused and were intent on men for some reason. The angels revealed themselves and cast blindness onto the mob, to which Lot decided it was probably a good time for his family to flee.

 As Lot and his family fled, an angel said unto Lot not to look back upon the city, and Lot instructed his family to do the same. But Lot's wife, for reasons unexplained, looked back upon the sinful city and was turned to a pile of salt. Sodom and Gomorrah were then laid to wasted by God through fire and brimstone.

 Unfair punishment is something any sibling has to deal with. I can recall several times were Tom my younger brother was not reprimanded for his wrongdoings and I was because it was my responsibility to watch over him. As if that made sense. But it seemed unfair at the time, and since then Tom has grown and is now responsible for his own actions. Score!

Genesis 18-19

God had intentions of destroying the two cities, Sodom and Gomorrah. Angels were sent to save Lot as Abraham had pleaded God to spare Lot. He also requested God not destroy the two cities for the sake of Lot and his family, and God agreed on one condition - there had to be 50 virtuous people. Abe' couldn't knew he couldn't find fifty rightful men in the cities, so God agreed upon 40.. but 40 righteous people were nowhere to be found. This continues until God finally lowers the number to 10. This really tells you about Abraham's feelings toward Sodom and Gomorrah.

Fast forward: Two angels enter Sodom. Lot sees angels. Lot invites angels to stay in house. Men hear of angels in Sodom's house and demand they come out so bystanders can perform acts of homosexuality on said angels. Sin. Lots of sin. Lot offers daughters to bystanders so crowd will leave. Sin! More sin! Angels tell Lot and family to flee. Cue fleeing. Cue God's command of not looking back. Wife looks back. God turns wife into salt. God destroys the plains. The end.

Unfair punishment is something I'm familiar with. In almost every setting, I find myself receiving someone else's blame. At school, I tend to get yelled at if someone else is talking to me while I'm trying to do work. At work, I get scolded for sending out mail incorrectly, even though it wasn't I who sent the mail out. At home, I get yelled by my mother for not washing the dishes even though I know it's the phantom dish-dirtier doing all the evil. Sometimes you've got to take one for the team, and sometimes you've got to stand up for yourself.

source

Torture

God sent angels disguised as travelers to Lot's house where two men attempted to rape them. Because of sin like this seen throughout the city, God decided to destroy the town. He warns Abraham about the situation, and promptly asks God to spare the good people in the town. The angels then ushered Lot and his two daughters out of the city because they would otherwise be killed. Lot's wife made the mistake of turning around to look at the city and turned into a pillar of salt as punishment for disobeying commands. 

Unfair punishment, I believe, is seen in every day life. While the severity ranges from getting a bad grade to being tortured to death, fairness is usually not liked by the ways of life. Torture, whether it be justifiable or not, tends to make me cringe. It's just one of those things that is, well, torturous. Even watching it hurts--I can't imagine what it would be like to have to endure such a situation. Unfortunately, unfairness is just something we as imperfect humans must learn to adapt to because no matter what means are taken, there will never be a completely just world. 

https://www.google.com/theprincessbride

Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

The story of Sodom and Gomorrah begins with three angels visiting Abraham. They came disguised as men, and two of them went to the city of Sodom and Gomorrah to explore the wickedness they had heard of. The third angel was the Lord, and he revealed to Abraham that he was going to destroy the city, but Abraham tried to bargain with the Lord by telling him to save the city if righteous people lived there. When the two angels arrived in the city the next day, they met Abraham's nephew, Lot, who took them into his house and fed them. That night, all the men in town surrounded the house and demanded that the two men, aka the angels, come out and have sex with them. Lot would not allow it-he even offered his virgin daughters up-but the men threw Lot aside and entered the house. The angels blinded the men, and hurried Lot, his wife, and his daughters out of the city so that they would be spared from the Lord's wrath. Once they fled to Zoar, God rained burning sulfur down on Sodom and Gomorrah, wiping out every living thing. Lot's wife looked back at the destruction and was turned into a pillar of salt. After this, Lot and his two daughters moved to a cave up in the mountains. The daughters realized that there was no one to help them keep their family tree growing, so they got their father very drunk and became impregnated with sons by him. 

Life isn't fair. It's has never been, and it never will be. People are wrongly accused of things all the time whether they have big or small ramifications. I don't God is the only one who has wrongly punished someone. Teachers, parents, friends all do it too; we are just used to it. 

http://southernhumanist.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/lots_wife_looking_back.jpg

Sodom

God was talking to Abraham about destroying Sodom and Gornorrha. Abraham pleaded with God to not destroy the city if he found x amount of righteous people there. So, God agreed to that to show he was merciful and he would not destroy the city for the righteous's sake. Two angels went to Sodom and were met by Lot who let them come to his home and provided him with food. However all the men in the city found out that Lot had two foreign men in his house and they wanted to have sex with those two men. (I guess thats why sodomy is named after Sodom...) Lot however would not let them and offered him his daughters instead which they declined. God decided to destroy the city but he spared Lot and his family. I do not know if God unfairly punished the city because the number of righteous people in the city was not met. If there are only 5 righteous people in a city of 100,000 is it worth saving the whole city instead of just saving those 5?

Destruction...again

Here's the story of the Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, as told by me:

God's people were doing very sinful things in the Jordan Valley. And by sinful, I mean completely natural things like having sex. But God, who abhorred homosexuality, sent two angels to investigate the area of the supposed sins. When the Angels arrived at Sodom, Lot greeted them at the entrance and invited them to stay at his house. Once there, the sinful men of Sodom demanded Lot to send out his guests so that they could "meet them" aka do naughty naughty things...Lot did everything he could to preserve the sanctity - he even offered his two virgin daughters. But instead of appeasing the crowd by doing so, Lot ended up angering the men even more. The men barged into the house and the angels retaliated by blinding them.

The Angels, now having enough proof of the sinful ways of the Jordanian valley people, took Lot and his family away to safety while they destroyed it. The angels warned them to never look back, or else they would be destroyed. Lot's wife, however, did just this and was turned into a pillar of salt.

When it was all over, Lot and his two daughters moved to a cave in the highlands. Lot's two daughters realized that men no longer wanted them, so they got their father drunk and had sex with him. The end.

This was, to me, an unfair punishment. God sent those two angels to investigate because he sensed "sodomy," he sensed that homosexuality was "infesting" the city. This "sinful" behavior led to God's ultimate decision to - once again - destroy everything in sight. So was this an unfair punishment? Hell yes. I have always and will always believe that you are born gay, lesbian, bisexual, whatever your sexuality is - and I don't think it's in anyone's right - not even God's - to punish someone for it, especially with the worst punishment available.

Second, why was it okay for Lot's two daughters to BOTH be involved with incest...You'd think that God's destruction of several cities due to homosexual relations would also point to a terrible temper tantrum over incest...but apparently that's a-okay in his eyes.

My mom is a health freak. She used to set out at least 5 of these huge vitamin pills for my sister and I to take every. single. day. My sister got tired of it, so she started collecting them and throwing them away in this little plastic cup. Well one day, my mom was taking out the trash and found all these colorful little vitamins stashed in the corner of our bathroom trashcan. She automatically blamed me while my sister, who has always been the most convincing liar, connived her way out of trouble while i took all the blame. Mind you, I actually kind of enjoy taking pills and i did NOT throw a single one away. To this day, I assert my innocence. And to this day, my mother and father shake their head at me as if I am still a disobedient child who refuses to take pills.

Sodom and Gamorrah

This must be so frustrating for God. He had just wiped out the entire earth for not behaving and now there are more cities afterward that are acting like they run the place. They were acting worse than college kids on spring break in panama city beach that are using their rich parent's money to buy alcohol and experimental drugs. And the people in Sodom and Gamorrah were doing it all the time! So God decided to do just a small scale destruction of humanity instead of the all out one he did last time. However, Abraham caught wind of this plan when three angels showed up in his house to tell him his wife was pregnant. But Abraham didn't think this was right so he reasoned with God and struck a deal that if he could find ten souls that maybe didnt deserve damnation the cities would be saved. No dice. God sent angels into the city to save Lot, Abraham's relative, his wife, and his two daughters and then promptly rained fire on the city from the heavens. Knowing that her old city was being torched from above somehow triggered a feeling of nostalgia from Lots wife and she missed the violence and rape that she used to be able to watch out her from window in the morning with a fresh cup of coffee so she looked back in despair. God saw this and turned her into salt. He wasnt playing around this time. The last thing he wanted was to have to wipe out a section of humanity a third time. 

Genesis XVIII-XIX: Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

God was hearing the gossip about Sodom and Gomorrah and wanted to destroy them, but Abraham protested. He was bothered by the fact that God would destroy a city without first determining whether there were any righteous inhabitants. He shouldn't have been surprised, though, because this just seems to be God's style, but luckily, he managed to convince God not to destroy the city if 10 righteous people could be found there. On arrival, the angels found Lot, a so-called good man, but apparently literally every other person in the city wanted to have sex with the angels. They crowded around Lot's house demanding the angels, so he offered up his virgin daughters. Somehow, his disgusting offer to have his young daughters raped was kosher with God and the angels, but fortunately, they intervened and blinded those in the city so that they couldn't find the door to Lot's house (seems like a very strange way of solving the problem). Lot, his wife, and his daughters are allowed to flee the city and move to a small town named Zoar. Fire rains down from the heavens killing everyone and everything in Sodom and Gomorrah (I suppose we know God's stance on capital punishment: always). Lot's wife missed the sex or her house or thought she heard something behind her or something, idk, but she turned around and got turned into a pillar of salt, which I don't ever begin to understand. Lot and his daughters leave Zoar after a while and live in a cave. The daughters realize that, with their husbands dead, they have no way to carry on their line, so they each get their father drunk on different nights and get with him. Apparently, incest is much more acceptable than homosexuality, so God doesn't murder them, but honestly, I'm just glad that someone made it out alive.

God isn't the only one to mete out unfair punishment; the United States' justice system is marked by its ironic injustice. People of color, especially African-Americans, are arrested at alarmingly high rates compared to whites. White people are actually drug-users at higher rates than African-Americans, but African-Americans are arrested considerably more. These disparities exist in all realms of American life, but the justice system is especially plagued.

Sodom and Gomorrah

Three angels appeared to Abraham. He offers to pamper them and so he does. The angels asked him why Sarah was his wife. They tell Abraham that he and Sarah will have a son, which was hard to believe because they were getting old. They said there was nothing too hard for the Lord.
The angels then went to Sodom and Gomorrah to evaluate their sins. Abraham heard their plans to destroy the cities, and asked if they were going to destroy the good people as well, even though they had done nothing wrong. The Lord told him that if be found fifty righteous people in the city, he would spare the whole place. Abraham negotiated the Lord down to finding ten righteous people. The city ended up being destroyed, but God saved Abraham's relative, Lot, and Lot's two daughters.

Everyone feels they've been unfairly punished. For me it's mostly my pre-teen years; my "you're the worst, Mom!!" stage. I see now that my mom was doing what's best for me. So maybe the unfair punishment we feel isn't really all that unfair. It's just not what we want at the time. 

Sodom

Once upon a time 5 cities, of which 2 were Sodom and Gomorrah had people who were selfish etc. So God decided to give ol' Abe a chance to save the cities if he could find 50 righteous people. Abe couldn't so God said, fine, find 40... he couldn't so they sang a sad song and ba da boom ba da bing no more cities. 

An example of unfair punishment is the time 6 of the 1.5 billion Muslims in the world attacked the world trade center and the pentagon on 9 11 and the entire Islamic world was blamed for their extremist actions.

Minions for Dayzzz

     I really quite enjoy this story because Abraham shows incredible bravery and altruism in the face of an incredible vindictive and brutal god, you know the one who wiped out the whole human race before. God appears to Abraham at his tent with a couple heavenly hosts and informs him that his aging wife will soon be able to bear child. Sarah finds this a bit comical, seeing as how she's getting on in her years, but the Lord insists that he can do pretty much anything(Aside: I love the quote "But Sarah denied, saying 'I did not laugh'; for she was afraid. He said, 'Oh yes, you did laugh.'"). Then one of the angels leaks the news that God is about to royally ream Sodom and Gomorrah, and Abraham makes one hell of a daring move. In the most bad ass case of altruism on the human record Abraham straight up argues with God, all for the sake of saving some people who are probably too shitty to be worth saving. He questions how the god of righteousness could justly destroy a city if it wasn't all bad, so if God found that there were enough good people in Sodom he would spare it. Abraham argues God down to ten individuals, ten good people could save Sodom(Note: this is where the number for the Jewish minion comes from( the number of Jews required to say certain parts of a worship service)). Anyway, there weren't ten measly souls in Sodom worth saving, which isn't surprising considering they tried to rape the angels God sent to save Lot.
        Speaking of Lot. Why are the only people that God saves from destruction ever perverts? First Noah, and now Lot. The four people who God saved were all awful. Lot offered up his two virgin daughters to the rape-hungry mob in the angels' place, his wife missed Sodom, looked back and was justly turned to salt, and his two daughters got their father drunk and then seduced him. These are the people who should have been destroyed in the carpet bombing of Sodom. Sorry, Abraham, whatever God says, let the record stand that there were 0, not 4, people in Sodom worth saving.

Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

One day three angels appeared to Abraham disguised as travelers along the road and while one, the Lord, stayed behind, the other two angels went to Gommorah to observe the "poor" behavior of the citizens. God told Abraham that he was going to destroy the two cities because of their wicked behavior (I see no limit on vengeance in sight...) though the kind Abraham begged God to spare the cities if at least fifty "righteous" people lived there. Eventually after skillful manipulation on the part of Abraham, God agreed to spare the cities if only ten "righteous" people lived there. When the two other angels arrived in Sodom after a long journey, Lot, a relative of Abraham, met them at the gates to the city feeding them and housing them during their time in Sodom. During their stay with Lot, the men of the town came banging on the door demanding to have sex with the two angels (...sodomy...) and when Lot refused even offering his two virgin daughters to the crowd in respect to the angels, the angels blinded the mob leading Lot's family out of the city though Lot's wife was turned into a pillar of stone when she disobeyed the angels and looked back at the city. Following the departure of Lot and the angels, God destroyed the two cities for their aggressive behavior.

Until I actually read this story, I firmly believed that the Old Testament directly stated that homosexuality was a horrible practice. Now I realize that God punished the citizens for attempting to rape the two angels, not just wanting to have sex with them. Maybe there is some back story, but I think there is a lot less proof now in the Bible for the banishment of non-heterosexual behavior. Anyway, we all feel we have been a victim of unfair punishment at the hands of an authority figure. I believe people have a natural tendency to want to abuse their power for their own gain but usually there is some justification for a strict punishment though it may not always be clear at the time.

Lot's wife immortalized in salt...

http://www.swirlingandmarriage.com/pillars-of-salt-what-a-waste-of-time/

Apollo made fun of the god Eros, who then, in anger, shot Apollo with an arrow making him fall in love with Daphne the nymph. Eros then shot Daphne with an arrow that made her never love him back. Consequentially, Apollo starts creepin on Daphne and shes freaked out so she goes to see her dad, who of course does the only logical solution - he turns his daughter into a Laurel tree. Despite Daphne's new found form, Apollo is still in love with her so he makes a wreath out of her leaves and promises to always keep her alive and healthy.

To me eternal youth would not be a bad thing as long as its more like eternally 21 or something (forever 21 l o l ). In any case, what I'm saying is that you dont need to age in order for you to mature through life and have an eventful death; age simply facilitates this process. The prospect of eternal youth to me would allow me the opportunity to live an active life and then once I am truly ready for death I would simply welcome it into my life.

The Laurel Wreath

Once upon a time Apollo made fun of a God named Eros, who is just like Cupid, and to get back at Apollo, Eros shoots him with one of his golden arrows that made him fall in love with Daphne the virgin nymph. However he also shoots Daphne the virgin nymph with a leaden arrow that will keep Daphne the virgin nymph from ever reciprocating Apollo's love. So Apollo is forced to chase after the woman he loves with no hope of ever achieving his goal. But this romantic quest comes off as a bit creepy to Daphne the virgin nymph, especially when Apollo tricks her into stripping naked and bathing in a river for his pleasure. So, she went to her father, Peneus, for help and he decided the best way to help his daughter was to turn her into a tree. Daphne, the virgin nymph, saw no reason whatsoever why being a tree would be a bad thing either so the deed was done. Unfortunately for Apollo the affect of the arrow did not ware off once the virgin nymph of his dreams became an immobile piece of nature and so, Apollo became the first ever "tree-hugger." Eventually he even made a wreath out of her leaves and wore it as a crown to remember his once human love and the treemendous time he had trying to win her heart. Apollo also gave Daphne, the virgin tree, the gift of eternal youth so the beauty of her leaves will never fade and Apollo continued to love that tree forever and ever.
The end.


 

Daphne and the Laurel Wreath

Apollo was struck by the arrow of Eros, as many have been, except he had been insulting Eros, so the nymph to whom his affections were directed, Daphne, was shot with a leaden arrow that prevented her from reciprocating. Apollo, in his eternal creepiness, literally pursues Daphne until she comes to one of her father Peneus' rivers and prays to him. She begs that he help her escape from that radiant criminal Apollo, so Peneus turns her into a laurel tree. Apollo is as devastated as any failed rapist can be, so he blesses Daphne with that same eternal youth that is his condition. Then he fashions a wreath from her leaves and wears it, making it one of his sacred symbols.

Hugh Jackman learns that you gotta die.

Eternal sounds like a dreadful curse, honestly. I haven't completely hated my youth, but I certainly wouldn't would to experience it for all of eternity. Life is only meaningful in all of its forms, all of its stages - including death. If I were to stay young forever, life could not possess that essential arc, progression. Only through change over time can we come to understand what has occurred. The finite nature of life provides a crucial perspective which couldn't exist without it. Therefore, I welcome my timely ascension through the years.

Apollo and Daphne

Apollo, god of many important things, pisses off Eros. Eros/Cupid then shoots Apollo with a gold tipped arrow (why couldn't the archer god (danger zone) undo this magical arrow?) that makes him fall in love with Daphne, daughter of the river god Penis. Eros shoots a lead tipped arrow at Daphne, which makes her not love Apollo. Apollo chases her until, to avoid rape, Penis changes Daphne into a laurel tree. Not one to leave empty handed, the god of many important things crafts a laurel wreath from the tree, and walks away beaten yet unbowed.

I think that Greek myths seem to be fairly inconsistent with what each god can and can't do. For example, if some puny river god can change someone into a laurel tree, why can't the son of Zeus change that person back? Also, how come a river god can turn someone into a tree? It would make more sense if it was a cattail or some kind of reed. And who the heck is driving the sun chariot while Apollo was galavanting after Daphne? Phaeton? And why could Apollo not catch Daphne? He might have wanted to be playful at first, but when the pursuit took a turn for the rape, it seems that he genuinely could not get to her before Penis turned her into a tree, which is a pretty lame performance for a god of many important things. 

I have no delusions about getting old and eventually dying, but I don't think that being young forever would be such a bad thing. Personally, I do not believe in a life after this one, so the idea of death as being the complete end of my conscious existence is one that I am well aware of. I think that it would be a huge relief to not be limited by death, to not know, in the back of your mind, that your life is ending one moment at a time. In The Iliad, there is a monologue by Zeus where he compares the immortal horses of Achilles to the Greek warriors. He says that the horses are wretched because they are immortal and yet have no way of appreciating or even becoming aware of this fact, living their lives as if they were regular horses when they could be much more. He also says that man is even more wretched than the horses because they are the only creatures on Earth who are doomed to die and are aware of this fact, so no matter what they do, their ultimate fate can never change. However, this is coming from being who has never experienced the knowledge of his own impending death. If you looks at the behavior of the gods in The Iliad, they are shown to be petty, immature, and shallow, and I believe that this can be attributed to their eternal life because, having an infinite amount of time, each moment and event means almost nothing to them. Some say that it is death that allows heroism to exist because only through the knowledge of our own death and our infinitely precious moments can we understand true sacrifice. However, I believe that accomplishment can be achieved through less dramatic means. I value knowledge and, specifically, using knowledge to create or improve technology that will benefit society. To be given an infinite amount of time to acquire and apply my knowledge would, to be honest, be a dream come true. 

This pretty much sums up middle school
[source]

Daphne and the Laurel Wreath

Apollo mocks the archery and arrows of Eros, so Eros gets mad and shoots Apollo with a gold-tipped love arrow, making him fall in love with a nymph named Daphne. He shoots another arrow that is tipped with lead at Daphne, the daughter of the river-god Peneus. The arrow makes her want nothing to do with love or romance, so when Apollo pursues her, she runs away. She becomes tired and Apollo is about to catch her when she reaches out to her father, who has the power to transform. He turns her into a laurel tree so that she doesn't have to be with Apollo. However, he still loves her, so he makes a wreath out of the tree branches to wear around his head and declares that the tree's leaves will always be green.

source

I don't think we were made to be forever young, no matter what Jay-Z says. I mean, I understand why he wants to, since I don't think Beyoncé will visibly age any time soon, and when she does, it wouldn't surprise me if she gets better looking. But for the rest of us who don't have to keep up with Queen B, we've just gotta go with the flow, no matter how much we droop and shrivel. For me, I think it'll be kind of fun when I'm elderly (hoping I make it there). Old people are really funny and interesting to talk to, never running out of stories to tell. I can't wait to take water aerobics and fall asleep in the mall. Yeah, I may look at my old profile pictures and wish I could be that handsome devil once again, but I'll be content with whatever state I'm in and thankful that I had the chance to be 17. It makes me appreciate the years that I have now and want to make the most out of them while I have the chance.

cool old ladies

So, Apollo made fun of Eros, Eros got mad, shot a golden arrow at Apollo (real mature. how old are we, 9?!), and Apollo fell in love in Daphne, who didn't love him back. He followed her while she ran away until she got to the river and the idea of bathing in it was put in her mind by Apollo. She got freaked out (as she should be) and Peneus turned her into a laurel tree. Apollo was upset and made a laurel wreath from her that he really loved and would use for many emperors as a source of eternal youth.

I really don't want to get old. I know that so many of these posts are about growing old gracefully, which I hope that I can do, but I don't want to get old. I'm ready to be past this point of high school (not get rid of, but move on), but I don't want to be older. I think I'd be happy with staying 23-24 forever. Or at least in that mindset. Because as long as I'm happy and don't have all the sad things that people complain about when they get older, I think I can grow old gracefully. But I fear of realizing in my 30s that I'm not married, don't have kids, and am too late to change career paths. But I also worry too much, so maybe I'll just live life normally and get old. 

Still, eternal youth could be pretty sweet.

via (my own blog hehe)

I know the caption doesn't have to do much with eternal youth, but I want to be a fun old woman. Who cares if this is a clique photo? I like it.

Daphne and the Laurel Wreath

According to the classic Greek story of Daphne and the Laurel Wreath, Daphne was a beautiful young nymph who happened to be uninterested in love, even though she was constantly asked by men for her hand in marriage. While her father, the river god Peneus, hoped that she would eventually marry, he remains disappointed, as she refused all potential suitors. The story really begins when one day, Eros (or Cupid, the god of love) struck Apollo (the god of light, music, youthfulness, etc.) with one of his love arrows, after Apollo mocked their power. As a result, Apollo fell in love with the first woman he met, who happened to be Daphne. Apollo then proceeded to confess is profound love for her, but she refused his pleas for marriage. Persistent, however, Apollo did not give up, and he remained determined that he would win Daphne's love. At some point, Daphne realized that no amount of refusal could convince Apollo into ceasing his attempts, so she decided to run away, hoping he would not pursue. He did pursue, and as he neared her, Daphne prayed to her father, Peneus, for help. In response, Peneus turned his daughter into a laurel tree. Devastated by Daphne's rejection, Apollo-nonetheless--continued to love her. In her honor, Apollo proclaimed that the leaves of the laurel tree would remain a perpetual green, unaffected by the hindrances of age.

Since the dawn of his time, man has longed for immortality; the epics of Gilgamesh and other legendary heroes can attest to this fact. Throughout the centuries, people have sought to attain immortality and eternal youth, whether this has been through doomed attempts at alchemy or the ambitious, but fruitless, pursuit of the Fountain of Eternal Youth. Like all of those ambitious people who have preceded me, I am fascinated by the concept of attaining immortality and eternal youth. Considering I have listened to and read epic tales of mythology--containing themes of immortality--from a very young age, it is hardly surprising that I myself have always been interested in the subject of immortality, but as I have mentioned, I am not the only person to ever live who has desired to attain a higher physical status. Countless have endeavored to achieve this ultimate of goals, yet all have failed (or, at least to society's knowledge, all have failed). Perhaps some day, when technology has progressed in sophistication far beyond the mechanisms of current technologies, people will learn the secret to immortality. Until then, though, immortality and eternal youth will continue to remain humanity's most enticing ambition.

The ankh has been used for millennia, since the times of ancient Egypt, to represent immortality and eternal youth.

Eternal anything sounds like such a chore

Apollo is incited by Eros' arrow to try to get his freak on with a pretty little wood nymph who just isn't up for it. He chases her around the woods, first in playful pursuit and then in the frustration of repeated rejection. By the time The Archer catches up with the coy nature spirit, she has decided that she would rather spend her life as a tree than have sex with Apollo. Her dad turns her into a laurel tree and Apollo blesses her, that her leaves will never wither with the changing of the seasons.
     Eternal life, eternal youth, eternal life after death, all these things just sound boring to me. Living forever is a cop out of having to make the value judgments that we do in life, you never have to make the choice to do one thing over another because you might die tomorrow. I feel like even with all the extra time you would have to do things you always wanted to, they wouldn't mean as much.

Daphne and the Laurel Wreath

Apollo was a skilled and vain archer who wanted to challenge the skill of Eros aka Chariot. Eros, annoyed, responded to this challenge by crafting two arrows: a gold tipped on and a lead tipped one. Who ever was struck by the gold one would become filled with lust while the the person struck by the lead one would hate with everyone and anything that had to do with love. Apollo was struck with the gold one, and Daphne, daughter of the river god Peneus, was struck with the lead on. Apollo chased her all over the world, but Daphne kept running away. She kept running and once she was tired, he begged her father for help, so he turned her into a Laurel tree. Apollo's feelings still didn't change, so he cared for the tree and decorated it with beautiful wreaths. 

I think the idea of eternal youth is stupid. I'm all for trying to look your best, everyone needs a confidence boost. However, I think eventually you just need to let yourself age because we weren't made to last forever, in fact, we weren't really made to last past 60, but thanks to modern medicine we are bought 20-30 years extra. We just need to to let our bodies do what they are supposed to do and not mess with it. 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f5/Antonio_del_Pollaiolo_Apollo_and_Daphne.jpg

Daphne and the Laurel Wreath

Daphne was once a beautiful nymph that like many women in ancient times made the mistake of being beautiful. The God Eros (aka Cupid) was upset with Apollo when he learned Apollo doubted Eros's love arrows. To prove a point Eros shot his arrows (say that 5 times fast) so that Apollo would fall head over heels with Daphne. Unfortunately Daphne wasn't into the sun god and when he tried to take her by force, she fled to the river her father was the spirit of. She prayed for safety so her father transformed her into a tree. Apollo, still a heartsick lover, now wears the laurel wreath as a symbol of his love, as do athletic champions as penance to the God Apollo. Eternal youth is something actively sought after in today's society. With cosmetics, plastic surgery, etc. people are looking more artificially young by the day. I don't think we should attempt too hard to look how we were, it doesn't let us focus on the now. It's as if saying that who we were ten years ago was better than who are now and that's simply not true. Thats why no one who has ever had cosmetic surgery has ever looked significantly better than they were before. When people are obsessed with their tiny flaws enough to change them, I think it's a tad unhealthy to think you would be better off looking a tad bit more "normal."

Daphne and the Laurel Wreath

My parents hate it when I use the internet on weekdays. They don't exactly understand that technology is an integral part of my education these days....So my mother will do everything in her power to get me out of what I call the "computer room," so she can watch  her sappy, melodramatic Korean dramas. One way she does this is by "catching" me on Facebook or Twitter, as if I am trying to be furtive about checking my notifications. And so when I was chuckling while reading the story of Daphne and the Laurel Wreath, my mother automatically thought she was "catching" me reading a funny Facebook post or something. So she hopped up all excited and then saw that instead, I was reading yet another creepy story for Ms. Whitman's AP Lit class.

So, anyway, in regards to this story. I really do hope I don't get chosen to read this week or this will be so very awkward.

The story of Daphne and the Laurel Wreath is a story about the arrogant man, Apollo, and his undying and unrequited love for Daphne. You see, Apollo brags about his agility to Cupid who then curses him with the gold arrow, making him fall in love with the oh-so-b-e-a-utiful Daphne. Daphne, on the other hand, is struck by the lead bow, causing her to think love is "icky." And so she goes off to her dad and tells him that she wants to be a virgin 4 lyfe. This must have been a hell of an awkward conversation. Peneus (penis????? wut.) eventually gives into her request and says that she'll never have to get married.

But Apollo is still completely in love with Daphne, so he does what any rational man does - he chases her around a forest until she becomes so desperate for help that she calls out to her father. Peneus acts the way any loving father would in this type of situation. He turns her into a tree.

So Apollo's kind of pissed off at this point. Here he is, completely infatuated with Daphne who is now a Laurel tree. But he sucks it up and declares that he will never ever ever forget about Daphne and so deems the tree sacred.

I don't like the idea of eternal youth. I'm a big believer in global warming and I think that since we humans are overwhelmingly selfish and to be honest, quite terrible creatures, we will eventually destroy the Earth we've been blessed to inhabit. And when we finally start viewing climate change and caring for the environment as a serious issue and priority, it'll be far too late. So that's why I don't want to experience eternal youth. I don't exactly like the idea of sticking around to see the world go up in fiery, carbon dioxide-y flames, thank you very much.

The End?

                                   

Daphne and the Laurel Wreath

Daphne was a nymph who found no interest in any man on earth. Her father was the river god Peneus (hehe) and he wanted her to marry and have many children, however Daphne did not want to marry and she cried so much about it that her father did not make her. One day, Eros was so frustrated with Apollo that he shot him with a love arrow that caused him to fall madly in love with the first girl he saw, which of course happened to be Daphne. Daphne ran from him and Apollo chased her (literally which is creepy). Finally when Apollo was about to grasp Daphne she prayed to her father and he turned her into a laurel tree.
I feel that our culture especially glamorizes youth. Every magazine and ad has a young beautiful person on it which conveys the message that youth is best, everyone should want to be young. Personally I'd love to be 17-22 forever but that just isn't gonna happen.

Penis...hehe...*Peneus

Apollo was forced to love Daphne and Daphne was forced not to reciprocate. Her dad's name was Penis. Daphne was not into Apollo, due to the lead arrow shot into her. So she ran away from his grope-y self. Daphne ran down to her father, named Penis' river, and turned herself into a tree so she would not have to get it on with Apollo. I was listening to the Back people morning show this morning, and like usual, they read letters from people who are having relationship problems (usually suspecting cheating) and tell the listeners what they think. This morning's letter was from a woman who loves her husband, but has lost all sex drive, which makes him say (and I quote) that he is "the saddest man on earth" and makes him mope all around everywhere. First of all, what kind of pansy shit is this? He is such a loser. But the advice of the infinitely wise radio hosts was for her to get that checked out. Go to the doctor or do some more exercise or something. So that is what I'd say to Daphne (daughter of Penis).

Daphne and the Laurel Wreath

Apollo had been teasing Eros, or Cupid, about his skills with his bow and arrow and how Eros wasn't as good as Apollo. Eros didn't appreciate this and decides to get back at Apollo. He fired off a gold arrow that is desgined to make people fall in love. He also fired another arrow that was lead tipped and was meant to do the opposite of the first arrow. Apollo got hit with the gold arrow, and Daphne with the lead one, resulting in Apollo falling for Daphne, but she was totally repulsed by the idea of love. Apollo chased Daphne around and around trying to convince her of his love, but she still wanted nothing to do with him. Daphne went to her father, Peneus, for help, so he turned her into laurel tree. Apollo, who was still madly in love with her, decided to wear a laurel wreath around his head.

There have been moments when eternal youth has seemed like a good idea, but do I really want to be forever young? While aging does not treat everyone well, it is a part of life. Some of my favorite members are with my grandparents and they wouldn't be the same if they were 20 something. The elderly remind me of simplicity and that we don't always need technology or to be constantly stimulated to be happy. Life wouldn't be interesting if everyone was 30 or younger.

Because really, would this be as interesting if she was 20?

Daphne and the Laurel Wreath

Daphne was a beautiful woman that would rather spend her time hunting than pursuing men. As a result many men fell in love with her. One day Eros was mad at Apollo because he doubted the power of his arrows. As punishment Eros shot Apollo with an arrow that made him fall in love with Daphne. Apollo tried to talk to Daphne but she ran. He chased her and when he was close to catching her she prayed to her father and she turned into a laurel tree. Apollo was still in love with Daphne so he wore a laurel wreath on his head and now the laurel wreath is a symbol of Apollo.

I don't really like the idea of eternal youth. I'm not sure that I would like it if all of my friends grew up and looked older than me while I looked 17 forever. I also wouldn't like it when everyone that I knew died and I was left lonely. I think I would rather grow old and get all wrinkly.
 
This is kind of backwards but funny.

Daphne and the Laurel Wreath

One day, Apollo challenged Eros, otherwise known as Cupid, to test his archery skills. Eros was angry at Apollo for mocking the power of his arrows and had a plan; he shot one arrow dipped in gold and another arrow dipped in lead. Whoever was struck by the gold arrow would be overcome with an insatiable lust, while whoever was struck by the lead arrow would be filled with hatred for all things romance and love-related. Apollo was struck with gold while Daphne was struck with lead; Apollo became hopelessly in love with Daphne, but she wanted absolutely nothing to do with him. She begged her father to help her, and he turned to the only feasable optino - turning his daughter into a tree. Apollo's love never faltered and he declared the leaves of Daphne's laurel tree would always be green and he would always wear her leaves in a crown around his head. Somehow the laurel wreath transformmed from a symbol of eternal love to a symbol of victory in Greek culture.

Eternal youth makes me feel uncomfortable. At what age am I going to be stuck at, exactly? Kindergarden was a fun year, but I don't know if I could remain five forever. Eternal youth sounds like a bad one-hit-wonder or a Pretty In Pink-esque Lifetime movie. I think I'll have a swell time growing old and progressing in life.

img source

Eternal Youth

Daphne, a nymph who was not interested in love was fallen in love with quite often. Apollo then made fun of Eros and his arrows. Out of spite, Eros shot Apollo with one of his arrow so that he would fall in love with Daphne. He also made sure that she would never love him back by shooting her with an arrow to have the reverse effect. Apollo pursuits her but she, of course, takes no interest. Daphne goes to her father and prays, and he then turns into a laurel tree. However, Apollo makes a wreath out of her leaves because he still loves her. 

Eternal youth? Despite all the perks of being a youth, you're in school constantly and all I want to do right now is to get out. I don't think I could handle eternity while being a youth. I think it would drive me insane knowing that I would never grow old. I'm ready to move on with  my life and start doing things. I'd either want to stay around the age of five forever or grow up because right now, life isn't so grand as a youth. 

Daphne and the Laurel Wreath

Apparently Apollo made fun of Eros for his powers to control love (which was really stupid on his part, this guy could obviously control your life. These Gods are trippin.) To get back at Apollo, Eros shot him with a golden arrow to make him fall in love with the nymph Daphne, daughter of Peneus. Eros shot Daphne with an arrow that would make her never love Apollo. Apollo chased and chased Daphne, where it came to the point of being super sketchy, and he pretty much captured her. She prayed to her father that she would just disappear. Peneus turned her into a laurel tree so she would be safe from Apollo. Apollo still loved her even though she was a tree. He made himself a laurel wreath out of her leaves because he loved her.

If I could be young forever I'd totally do it. Mostly because death scares me. I'd probably get tired of living, but hey, I wouldn't be dead. Plus I'd never get all wrinkly and old. Some people seem to have already found the fountain of youth, though. For example:

Apollo: Creepy Rapist or.... No, there is literally nothing to debate here he's a total creep

Daphne was a beautiful nymph and, as is the tradition in Western patriarchal societies, the men around her felt entitled to her body, irrespective of whatever feelings she may have about them. Even Daphne's father, Peneus (whose name is in no way phallic) seemed intent on marrying her away against her will, because as we all know men always know what is in a woman's best interest (just ask your local conservative!) One day Eros, god of literature (hence, erotica) takes a sarcastic sort of revenge on his fellow god Apollo by shooting the latter with one of his love arrows (which the former crafts by hand every night using a special elixir known to humans as ekstasis). Apollo loses whatever Divine sense of self-control he had - which, if you're familiar with Greek mythology, probably was not much at all - and pursues Daphne, intent on forcing her to... like him. Yeah. Anyway, Daphne, demonstrating with grace the Ancient Greek art of dynamic beseechment, prays to her father (and I thought my dad was demanding) to save her. Never a quick thinker, Peneus turns his daughter into a laurel tree. Apollo, loathe to be thwarted by a mark's radical change in constitution, continues to be in love with Daphne (or is her name Laurel now? I like Laurel better.) Apollo declares the laurel to be a sacred plant, swears that the laurel tree's leaves will always be green, and vows to always wear a laurel wreath on his head. In the end, an important element of Greek culture was apparently decided upon by one God's paraphilia and his lack of any reasonable boundaries.

What you see here, children, is a Grade A example of what we mean by CONSENT IS IMPORTANT.

The promise of eternal youth is certainly a tempting one. As we all know, anybody above age 60 or so has probably crossed a threshold of getting any enjoyment out of their life, and they have certainly crossed the threshold of their body not being completely terrifying. That said, there's something almost romantic about the aging process, and I've known many an elderly person who for all their loss in the realm of physical capability have gained much from aging in terms of personal development. One should also consider the precise terms of eternal youth - am I stuck being an 18 year old high school student? Certainly this would spell some trouble for my career, but it is not an insurmountable obstacle, as successful comedian Andy Milonakis (who has a congenital growth hormone deficiency which causes him to have both the body and sense of humor of a young boy) demonstrates. We might also consider whether eternal youth would depend on our changing forms into, say, a laurel or a sparkly vampire. All told, the promise of eternal youth is seemingly attractive, but probably not all that appealing when you realize you will be stuck in a form which affords very little self-determintation (which really describes both the states of being a teenager and of being a laurel bush.)

Andy Milonakis also has the fashion sense of a middle school boy.

Daphne and the Laurel Wreath

So much for the respite from objectification of women, right? In this odd tale, Apollo was not very nice to creepy baby Eros, son of Aphrodite, making fun of the power of his arrows. Eros punished Apollo by making him fall in love with Daphne, the daughter of the river-god Peneus, but Daphne hated the idea of marrying and bearing children so much that she cried when her father tried to force her. Poor Daphne is chased through the woods running faster and faster until Apollo almost captured her (though I hate to think about what he intended to do with her). In the moment of desperation, Daphne prayed to her father who turned her into a laurel tree. Despite the fact she was a tree, Apollo still loved Daphne (memories of Pygmalion anyone?) taking eternally green leaves from her tree to wear a wreath of laurels around his head forever making laurel wreaths symbols of victory in Ancient Greece.

I hate the idea of eternal youth because of the simple fact I would get tired of living as those around me passed away from old age plus people would probably get sick of me after like 500 years. Similarly, I don't like the idea of seeing the world destroyed by nuclear holocaust which will probably happen eventually anyway. Sorry peeps who want eternal youth, I won't be along for the ride...

On sale at Christie's for $3,008 if you're interested...

http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/paintings/george-spencer-watson-ra-rws-roi-apollo-5335078-details.aspx

Blahg

Many years ago, the human were trying to get to the sky and reach God. They couldn't fly, so they decided to build a tower. God saw them and he was angry, so he invented the languages so nobody could understand each other and they couldn't finish the tower.

I speak English, Urdu, and Pashto at Home and I can read Arabic as part of my religion. What I have learned over the years is that If i dont take an interest in a language I will not be able to learn it at all. Take Spanish for example, since middle school I wanted to learn French, but my mom told me Spanish would be more beneficial for medicine and so I was compliant and as a result, Spanish has always been my worst subject since the beginning of high school. In comparison, I wanted to learn punjabi and was actually interested in it, so I spent a summer doing the rosetta stone version and learned it almost immediately because I struck up an interest in it. 

Tower of Babel

The people of the world had one language and they began to move eastward. They found a plain and settled. They decided to build a city with a huge tower that would reach the heavens. God saw the city and the people speaking the same language and he said that if they could do this then they could do anything. So then God spread the people throughout the Earth and gave them different languages so that they couldn’t understand each other.

My other language would be Spanish. However, I have been learning it for 6 years and I am still awful at it. I would like to become fluent so I’m trying harder this year to understand everything. I really want to be able to say that I speak two languages and it would also be extremely useful when I get a job. So hopefully this year I will magically gain Spanish powers and become fluent.