Most recent public comments by William Seibel https://nowcomment.com/users/23466 https://nowcomment.com/documents/59724?scroll_to=569031 https://nowcomment.com/documents/59724?scroll_to=569031 I think we can all see a picture of a bear on two legs. They don't do it for long periods of time, but it's a fearsome sight. Thu, 08 Sep 2016 12:25:04 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/59723?scroll_to=568946 https://nowcomment.com/documents/59723?scroll_to=568946 This is an interesting image. We are all familiar with the image of young brothers fighting. I have a 13 year old brother and we often fight. However, these brothers have continued the fight into adulthood. That brings about an entirely different image. Thu, 08 Sep 2016 12:22:27 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/59723?scroll_to=568942 https://nowcomment.com/documents/59723?scroll_to=568942 A briar is any of a number of prickling scrambling shrubs. Thu, 08 Sep 2016 12:13:06 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/59723?scroll_to=567944 https://nowcomment.com/documents/59723?scroll_to=567944 It's neat how the story describes, not just how the natural world came to be, but also the origins of the people's rituals. Wed, 07 Sep 2016 13:54:43 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/59724?scroll_to=567936 https://nowcomment.com/documents/59724?scroll_to=567936 I think "tile" is a typo. Wed, 07 Sep 2016 13:49:13 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/59724?scroll_to=567933 https://nowcomment.com/documents/59724?scroll_to=567933 This scene is very beautiful to imagine. It's almost kind of inspiring. There's something very special and magical about the new Earth blossoming, growing, and filling up with life. Wed, 07 Sep 2016 13:47:00 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/59724?scroll_to=567932 https://nowcomment.com/documents/59724?scroll_to=567932 I did some research on Mount Shasta, and one interesting thing is that there appear to be two different mountains by that name. One is in California, and the other, typically called Mt. McLaughlin, is in Oregon. This makes me wonder which one this story refers to. Wed, 07 Sep 2016 13:45:35 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/59725?scroll_to=567880 https://nowcomment.com/documents/59725?scroll_to=567880 The number four is used many times throughout this passage: four calls, four gods, four circles. What significance might this number have had to the Navajo? Wed, 07 Sep 2016 13:28:14 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/59723?scroll_to=567866 https://nowcomment.com/documents/59723?scroll_to=567866 I feel like this is an interesting story-telling device, which they use a few times throughout the passage. It implies a non-omniscient narrator, which is cool. Wed, 07 Sep 2016 13:24:11 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/59725?scroll_to=567688 https://nowcomment.com/documents/59725?scroll_to=567688 Mirage People - Since the Navajo lived in what is now the SouthWest United States, they were no doubt used to desert living and the things that came with it, including mirages. Wed, 07 Sep 2016 10:06:27 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/59725?scroll_to=567687 https://nowcomment.com/documents/59725?scroll_to=567687 The women dried themselves with yellow cornmeal, the men with white - Obviously, cornmeal was a big part of the Navajo culture. I’ve never heard of drying oneself with it, but maybe this is like when they say to put a cell phone in rice if you drop it in water. I could see how it would absorb the liquid. Wed, 07 Sep 2016 10:06:05 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/59725?scroll_to=567686 https://nowcomment.com/documents/59725?scroll_to=567686 Brushwood - I figured this had something to do with wood, but looking it up I see the definition is twigs and small branches usually used for kindling. Wed, 07 Sep 2016 10:05:35 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/59725?scroll_to=567683 https://nowcomment.com/documents/59725?scroll_to=567683 Ablutions - I knew that this meant washing, but I decided to look it up anyway to see if there was more meaning. I noted that it could mean ceremonial washing. It seems like that might make sense in this context. Wed, 07 Sep 2016 10:04:40 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/59725?scroll_to=567678 https://nowcomment.com/documents/59725?scroll_to=567678 This passage is about the creation of the first(?) man and woman. Wed, 07 Sep 2016 09:58:56 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/59725?scroll_to=566314 https://nowcomment.com/documents/59725?scroll_to=566314 How can these be the first man and woman when it says there are already people, drying themselves with cornmeal? Tue, 06 Sep 2016 12:01:04 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/59724?scroll_to=566299 https://nowcomment.com/documents/59724?scroll_to=566299 The sky spirit is shown as feeling vengeful and wroth towards the grizzlies, which is both human and strong enough to be a flaw. Tue, 06 Sep 2016 11:54:40 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/59724?scroll_to=566284 https://nowcomment.com/documents/59724?scroll_to=566284 "scrubby" isn't a word one comes across very often. It would seem to indicate that the trees are small or weak due to their poor positioning. Tue, 06 Sep 2016 11:50:54 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/59724?scroll_to=566279 https://nowcomment.com/documents/59724?scroll_to=566279 It's my understanding that Mt. Shasta is in California, but I wonder what people specifically this myth comes from. Tue, 06 Sep 2016 11:45:04 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/59724?scroll_to=566278 https://nowcomment.com/documents/59724?scroll_to=566278 In this story, a sky spirit and his family come down to earth and in doing so create life. However, his daughter is lost in the forest and adopted by grizzly bears. Her half-bear, half-spirit children are humans. The sky spirit angrily curses the bears to walk on four legs like common animals. Tue, 06 Sep 2016 11:43:28 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/59723?scroll_to=566273 https://nowcomment.com/documents/59723?scroll_to=566273 At first there was no land on the Earth, just ocean. In the space above the sky a woman was pregnant, she fell to the Earth and landed on a turtle’s back. A muskrat brought dirt from the bottom of the ocean to build land on the turtle’s back. The woman planted roots she had on her when she fell. She gives birth to a girl who grows up and gives birth to twin sons. She dies, but in her death the world gains corn, beans, squash, and tobacco. The boys represent “two ways of the world that are in all people.” The right handed twin was described as straightforward and the left handed twin was described as clever and tricky. They create animals, plants, and men. Their duality causes the ecosystem created to be in balance. Conflict arises between the brothers, but they are too evenly matched for either to triumph. Finally the right handed twin learns of his brothers weakness and kills him with an antler. This causes there to be night as well as day. Later he beheads his grandmother and she becomes the moon. Tue, 06 Sep 2016 11:32:07 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/59723?scroll_to=566217 https://nowcomment.com/documents/59723?scroll_to=566217 From a values perspective, this story really confused me. Throughout the story (even after his death!) the left-handed twin is described as deceptive, violent, and perhaps even evil. However, he is never really shown as being any of these, and instead his brother is the murderer. Tue, 06 Sep 2016 10:49:17 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/59723?scroll_to=566195 https://nowcomment.com/documents/59723?scroll_to=566195 This paragraph, and 48 above it, paint a picture of the right-handed twin being light, while the left-handed is dark and evil. This is sort of weird because the right-handed twin is at least as bad as his brother, seeing as he kills him and his grandmother. Tue, 06 Sep 2016 10:46:01 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/59723?scroll_to=566133 https://nowcomment.com/documents/59723?scroll_to=566133 I must say, I didn't know what "Suicide Root" was going into this. Apparently this plant, also known as spotted water hemlock, is considered to be the most poisonous in all of North America. Tue, 06 Sep 2016 10:32:25 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/59723?scroll_to=566124 https://nowcomment.com/documents/59723?scroll_to=566124 In modern society, we tend to see herbivores as peaceful and carnivores as aggressive. Given what happens with the right-hand brother later in the story, might the Iroquois have seen things in a different light? Tue, 06 Sep 2016 10:02:19 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/59723?scroll_to=566023 https://nowcomment.com/documents/59723?scroll_to=566023 Are the opinions in addition to the questions, or do we have two questions+opinions total? Tue, 06 Sep 2016 08:35:07 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/57213?scroll_to=551846 https://nowcomment.com/documents/57213?scroll_to=551846 These are two potent methods to defend yourself from allegations of plagiarism and stealing. If you cite your sources, not only will your work at least have credit, but you'll also be able to more easily find them if you need to again. Citing is generally a required part of any paper that involves at least some research. Quoting means copying words from your source, but it isn't plagiarism (as long as it's sourced). Not only does this let you get off scot free with the crime of looking things up on the internet, it also means you don't to write as much! This can save you both trouble and work. Mon, 29 Aug 2016 08:52:31 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/57213?scroll_to=551825 https://nowcomment.com/documents/57213?scroll_to=551825 Ford has to write an essay for his Astronomy class. He's got a lot on his plate, and he's crunched for time, so this is a bit of a problem. Suddenly, Ford realizes that he wrote an essay about space last year. He brings it up on his computer, touches it up a bit to make sure it fits the requirements, and sends it in thinking he's clever. Ford isn't actually all that clever. He's committed self-plagiarism. Mon, 29 Aug 2016 08:46:23 -0400