Wilderness

Wilderness

BY CARL SANDBURG

There is a wolf in me . . . fangs pointed for tearing gashes . . . a red tongue for raw meat . . . and the hot lapping of blood—I keep this wolf because the wilderness gave it to me and the wilderness will not let it go.    

There is a fox in me . . . a silver-gray fox . . . I sniff and guess . . . I pick things out of the wind and air . . . I nose in the dark night and take sleepers and eat them and hide the feathers . . . I circle and loop double-cross.

There is a hog in me . . . a snout and a belly . . . a machinery for eating and grunting . . . a machinery for sleeping satisfied in the sun—I got this too from the wilderness and the wilderness will not let it go.

There is a fish in me . . . I know I came from salt-blue water-gates . . . I scurried with shoals of herring . . . I blew waterspouts with porpoises . . . before land was . . . before the water went down . . . before Noah . . . before the first chapert of Genesis.

There is a baboon in me . . . clambering-clawed . . . dog-faced . . . yawping a galoot’s hunger . . . hairy under the armpits . . . here are the hawk-eyed hankering men . . . here are the blonde and blue-eyed women . . . here they hide curled asleep waiting . . . ready to snarl and kill . . . ready to sing and give milk . . . wating—I keep the baboon because the wilderness says so.

There is an eagle in me and a mockingbird . . . and the eagle flies among the Rocky Mountains of my dreams and fights among the Sierra crags of what I want . . . and the mockingbird warbles in the early forenoon before the dew is gone, warbles in the underbrush of my Chattanoogas of hope, gushes over the blue Ozark foothills of my wishes—And I got the eagle and the mockingbird from the wilderness.

O, I got a zoo, I got a menagerie, inside my ribs, under my bony head, under my red-valve heart—and I got something else: it is a man-child heart, a woman-child heart: it is a father and mother and lover: it came from God-Knows-Where: it is going to God-Knows-Where—For I am the keeper of the zoo: I say yes and no: I sing and kill and work: I am a pal of the world: I came from the wilderness.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The different characteristics that we associate with animals can be found in ourselves; each is beneficial for our survival when used properly, so the wilderness forces us to keep them, but it is not these characteristics that define us, but how we control them.

Naked Empire pg. 394-423

Zed and Adie have finally made it to the Imperial Order camp after their capture. Zed and Adie have received little water and food to this point and are struggling to make it along. Zed realizes that thing from the Wizard's keep have be taken with them, and comprehends the destruction they can cause when use properly or improperly, and the threat they represent in the Imperial Order's hands. Zed and Adie are then taking in front of the Emperor Jagang. Although the Imperial Order teaches self-sacrifice, the gift is corrupt evil, how all men are evil and unredeemable, and people are old worth what they can contribute to the group, Jagang throne room contradicts each of these teachings.
I think this is meant to show normally which you go to a radical idea there are many inconsistence in what they say and actually preform.Being radical may help win support through powerful rederick, but it is impractical to be so radical most of the times that they compromise their ideas to have an enjoyable life, or a function life. In this case there it is impossible for everyone to be equal because we need some people to do menial jobs which most people would consider unequal to many other jobs.
Jagang demands that Zed tell him the function of the items in the Wizard's Keep so he can use them in the assault of D'Hara, and when Zed refuses, he decides to not torture Zed directly, but make him witness other captured people of the land of D'Hara tortured until he will speak. After describing his torture, he makes an interesting contradiction saying that because he will eventually reveal his secrets because his heart is cold where quite the opposite is true.

Naked Empire pg. 348-393

Richard and his group are faced with a small narrow crevice that leads to the other side of the mountains and Owen's homeland. Richard wants to go through it, so they do not risk being seen by the birds, but it is a very tight fit in some places with only room to wiggle through. They were making it through with little problems until they were almost at the end were they had to go around the edge, and not go straight to the light or risk being struck. Jennsen rushed towards the light against Richard's orders and got stuck. Richard go everyone out of the save then went back and managed to pull Jennsen out. While saving Jennsen, he found the second beacon which was for him meaning Richard is the only one who can fix the boundary.
The beacon appeared to be Richard in a statue, but it was slowly becoming black. Richard and Kahlan do not think that these represents the poison in him, but his gift failing. Once his gift fails they are uncertain about what will happen, but then the boundary will not be able to be reconstructed.
Once they were in Owen's homeland, they found a interesting statue. It looked like a warden watching for any enemies that may attack, and to protect against them. It had writing on it about some kind of danger in D'Haran that Richard could not interrupt. Tom and Owen were sent to get Owen's friends while Richard, Kahlan, Cara, and Jennsen went to make a camp.
The warning at first glance made it seem that it had to do something with the ungifted, but I do not think it will be that simple an believe it refers to Nicholas. Richard is about to take matters into his own hands and act on his will not other which will turn things for a more interesting turn. While making the camp Richard gave an interesting talk about how people are individuals, and most be judged on their actions, not the actions our the group people associate them with which I believe is something that we all need to work on because people have tendencies to try and judge people before they know them based on actions.

Naked Empire pg. 317-348

Nathan finally came down to talk to Ann about the lesson he was teaching her. That she when she kept him locked up for fear of his potential to cause harm, she was doing exactly what they enemy they fought planned to do eliminate magic because of the potential threat and harm it could cause. But he did not have time to wait show  her the lesson any longer, He found that Richard is in trouble. From the current events he learned that a Richard is going to face Nicholas, the Slide, and no one can prevent a slide from being able to manipulate your soul. Richard is heading into a battle that he cannot win and is ignorant of the situation. Ann and Nathan are now on their way to help him.
Richard however was able to make Nicholas lose track of him, so that he did not know which way he is coming. Richard and his group are making their way through a old unknown entrance that Richard found to come into Owen's homeland unseen, and allow Richard to begin to act on his own terms.
I believe Richard needs to make Owen's people believe strongly enough in their right to individual freedom, so they will help him in his fight again the Order there. The main point of the war is not the fighting to defend their land, but the ideas that back each side. The believe that everyone is their own individual and cannot be judged base on anything but their actions, and that we are not fundamentally corrupt and unable to do what is right, but we have our own minds are must choose what we use our gifts on which decides if we are good or evil.

I will persist until I succeed. by Og Mandino

I will persist until I succeed.

In the Orient young bulls are tested for the fight arena in a certain manner. Each is brought to the ring and allowed to attack a picador who pricks them with a lance. The bravery of each bull is then rated with care according to the number of times he demonstrates his willingness to charge in spite of the sting of the blade. Henceforth will I recognize that each day I am tested by life in like manner. If I persist, if I continue to try, if I continue to charge forward, I will succeed.

I will persist until I succeed.

I was not delivered unto this world in defeat, nor does failure course in my veins. I am not a sheep waiting to be prodded by my shepherd. I am a lion and I refuse to talk, to walk, to sleep with the sheep. I will hear not those who weep and complain, for their disease is contagious. Let them join the sheep. The slaughterhouse of failure is not my destiny.

I will persist until I succeed.

The prizes of life are at the end of each journey, not near the beginning; and it is not given to me to know how many steps are necessary in order to reach my goal. Failure I may still encounter at the thousandth step, yet success hides behind the next bend in the road. Never will I know how close it lies unless I turn the corner.

Always will I take another step. If that is of no avail I will take another, and yet another. In truth, one step at a time is not too difficult.

I will persist until I succeed.

Henceforth, I will consider each day's effort as but one blow of my blade against a mighty oak. The first blow may cause not a tremor in the wood, nor the second, nor the third. Each blow, of itself, may be trifling, and seem of no consequence. Yet from childish swipes the oak will eventually tumble. So it will be with my efforts of today.

I will be liken to the rain drop which washes away the mountain; the ant who devours a tiger; the star which brightens the earth; the slave who builds a pyramid. I will build my castle one brick at a time for I know that small attempts, repeated, will complete any undertaking.

I will persist until I succeed.

I will never consider defeat and I will remove from my vocabulary such words and phrases as quit, cannot, unable, impossible, out of the question, improbable, failure, unworkable, hopeless, and retreat; for they are the words of fools. I will avoid despair but if this disease of the mind should infect me then I will work on in despair. I will toil and I will endure. I will ignore the obstacles at my feet and keep mine eyes on the goals above my head, for I know that where dry desert ends, green grass grows.

I will persist until I succeed.

I will remember the ancient law of averages and I will bend it to my good. I will persist with knowledge that each failure to sell will increase my chance for success at the next attempt. Each nay I hear will bring me closer to the sound of yea. Each frown I meet only prepares me for the smile to come. Each misfortune I encounter will carry in it the seed of tomorrow's good luck. I must have the night to appreciate the day. I must fail often to succeed only once.

I will persist until I succeed.

I will try, and try, and try again. Each obstacle I will consider as a mere detour to my goal and a challenge to my profession. I will persist and develop my skills as the mariner develops his, by learning to ride out the wrath of each storm.

I will persist until I succeed.

Henceforth, I will learn and apply another secret of those who excel in my work. When each day is ended, not regarding whether it has been a success or a failure, I will attempt to achieve one more sale. When my thoughts beckon my tired body homeward I will resist the temptation to depart. I will try again. I will make one more attempt to close with victory, and if that fails I will make another. Never will I allow any day to end with a failure. Thus will I plant the seed of tomorrow's success and gain an insurmountable advantage over those who cease their labor at a prescribed time. When others cease their struggle, then mine will begin, and my harvest will be full.

I will persist until I succeed.

Nor will I allow yesterday's success to lull me into today's complacency, for this is the great foundation of failure. I will forget the happenings of the day that is gone, whether they were good or bad, and greet the new sun with confidence that this will be the best day of my life.

So long as there is breath in me, that long will I persist. For now I know one of the greatest principles of success; if I persist long enough I will win.

I will persist.

I will win.

---

From: [Og Mandino, 'The Greatest Salesman in the World]

The only time we truly fail is when we give up on ourselves. We will not reach every goal we set for ourselves, and if we do than we do not have high enough goals, but they are there to push us farther and allow us to rise to where we need to be.

Naked Empire pg. 294-317

The perspective of the book in these few chapters switches to a the new character that had been mentioned before, Nicholas the Slide. From them, we learn that he was an experiment of the Sisters of the Dark trying to make another dreamwalker, but instead them make someone who can not enter the minds of others and control them through it but manipulate their souls if he comes in contact with them in different ways. He is currently in the land of Owen's people where Richard is heading, and he has some deal with Jagang that he will get whatever reward he desires if he can bring Richard dead and Kahlan alive to Jagang. He was is the on using the races to follow Richard, and the chapters gave some insight into his mindset. He was the only one to survive the torment the of the experiments to gain the benefits and hates life.
These chapters helped clear the last part of the uncertainty of the current events happening. It also showed the perspective of Nickolas who may be trying to show some kind of lesson although I do not have anything solidified for the lesson yet.

Naked Empire pg. 246-294

Owen gives Richard the antidote, and it cures him of the present infection, but it has not purged the poison from his system. The only way to get more of the antidote is in Owen's homeland forcing Richard to come help his people. Richard later wakes up and learns of the situation.
Richard asks a sequence of question that leads Owen into telling why he is here, and to inform Richard of the situation he is facing. As demonstrated from Owen's mind set his people abhor violence and before the Imperial Order came, they would not ever harm animals that may attack them. They banished anyone who could not be conformed to this way, but when the boundaries fell because of the Chimes the Imperial Order invaded, and started making requests to keep the peace. The request kept being met by Owen's people wanting no place in the a fight, but soon the Imperial Order learned that they had use for the people too and began to take them away. Even after this Owen's people stood vigilant and would not try and cause violence, but soon the Order had taken everything they had, and a few broken from the old ways to try and come up with a plan to free their people. They decided that Richard was their only hope because they could not fight, so they sent Owen who was banished because for standing  against the elders when the Order had first started their demands.
I think these illustrates that we can never be static in how we deal with problems that face us in our lives. Although Owen's peoples ideas had giving them a paradise for a time, when they faced a force that would could not be faced with their beliefs, they held on to them too long causing them to lose everything they had. They would not respond to warnings, and dismissed the problems that they saw coming as something that could never happen and it did. Sometimes we try not to believe the a future we do not want to see, but only the truth can prepare us for it.

Naked Empire pg. 207-246

Ann has found Nathan Rahl at the Peoples Place, but is then immediately captured by Nyda who sends Ann into the magic safe prison under the place. It seems like Nathan may be aiming for vengeance because he is locking Ann up just like she locked him up, and when she asked to see him the guard responded with a parallel statement that Ann would always tell Nathan, but from previous experience with Nathan's character I think something else is going on. He is from what we have seen benevolent and as a prophet tends to do unusual things  at times, but all of them have been for the good of the people. Him may be just playing a game from Ann and release her shortly, so she understands what she did to him, or their may be an underlying reason for it.
Owen the reappears to Richard's camp with an antidote to cure Richard of his life threatening sickness. Owen appears to have given Richard a poison on his last visit so that he could use Richard's life to force him to help free his people. My suspicions were confirmed that Owen and his people are ungifted, and that the boundaries were separating them from the rest of the world, and that with the release of the chimes the boundaries fell allowing the Imperial Order to try and utilize them for their war. This poses serious concerns because now they can make armies of people unaffected by the gift. These chapters answer some of the questions to fill in the blanks that I had predicted, but it leave missing pieces that we do not know about yet such as the races, the Slider, and Richard's magic failing.

Naked Empire pg. 174-207

Zed is in the Wizard Keep and one of the alarm bells rung. Cautiously he makes his way to the site of the ring, they hears another in a different location. Unable to think of how they made it past the magical defenses he rushes to the second location only to run into a ungifted man. Zed realizes that he is ungifted after his lightning does not touch the man, and uses he magic on the surrounding to kill him, but then is seized by two men from behind, and knocked out. Zed later wakes up with Adie next to him, and a Sister of the Dark commanding the ungifted. The ungifted seem to not want to follow the orders, and are timid and sad which confuses Zed. Jangang now has the Wizard's Keep.
Then we get to see how the defenses of  D'Hara are going along under the direction of Verna. They learn from Rikka that the Imperial Order army will be attacking soon. Although their defense are ready, they do not know if it can withhold the numbers they face. The siege on D'Hara is about to begin.
Zed's encounter helps strengthen my belief that the group of ungifted people that went missing are Owen's people, and that the Imperial Order is forcing their strongest for fight for its cause when they hate fighting. These chapters move the spotlight away from Richard's problems with the magic he is facing and the rebellion in the south to the problems Zed and D'Hara are about to face. Normally things seem most dismal before they improve, and I have no doubt that they will be able to escape the problems they face.

Naked Empire pg. 154-174

After the battle with the men that attacked Richard, they find that the man Nicci sent to inform them of progress in the revolt is dead, and the note she sent was burnt. Because Kahlan was able to use her gift on someone, they have a person the can learn the true meaning of the attack from. The man tells them that they were a group of 28 men who capture and take enemies of the Imperial Order to interrogation. He received his orders from a Wizard named Nicholas who by some means knew where they were. In the end off the chapter Richard collapses in pain, and we learn that his gift is falling.
The last few chapters have taken us into all the different elements they are going to have to deal with in these book from the races, to Richard losing his gift, to the mysterious thing that was bound away, and now this wizard named Nicholas. I would not be surprised if these different threats were not connected. I am not sure how the Nicholas plays into that trouble yet, but the others seem to be linked.

Naked Empire pg. 100-154

Richard learned from the book when the ungifted came about, the history of them, and some of there unique characteristics from the Pillars of Creation. When they were just starting to be occur, they had become part of the society, and their ungifted trait passed to all of the offspring, so soon there were enough of them that they were threatening the existence of magic. They were banished, and sent to the Old World; although now with the barrier dividing the Old World down, they have still not yet been seen.
The perspective jumped to Zed walking the city of Aydindril. He informs us of the activity of the Imperial Order's army after Zed activated the trap he set for them. They received heavy casualties but with their numbers can still continue. Zed has also started to notice the appearance of the races in the New World too which means the problem is not contained to just where Richard is. At the end, Adie may be missing because she is not were Zed expected her to be, but he does not seem worried.
The perspective is back to Richard, and a man named Saber has found them to deliver them a message from Nicci. She found the object that Richard kept referencing to, and sent a message telling him what she knew about it and what she had to go do. The object is some kind of warning that something is now loose, and I believe it has to do with the two boundaries that now appear to be gone, and it may even be linked to the appearance of the races.
Richard is then suddenly attacked by a large group of people who appear to want to capture him alive, but change their minds after he kills several of the attackers. Richard and his company are successful in defending themselves, but Kahlan has to used her power on one of them.

Naked Empire pg. 59-100

Richard and his companions continued their journey out of the desert. Shortly after their confrontion with the races, more races came to follow, but this time staying out of range to be shot. The confrontion gave insight into what kind of threat they may represent. As they began to work their way out of the desert Richard finds something unusual. The growth of plants is not staggered or uneven but a straight line of growth where all of the plants seem to have just started growing a few years ago. These clues lead Richard to believe that a boundary use to be their, and he looks to the book "Pillars of Creation" for the answer, but the translation is taking him longer than he had hoped.

As they made it out of the desert into more of a forest brush setting, they encountered someone who was searching for them. His name was Owen, and he was from a village in the Old World. Their village needed help against the Imperial Order that had taken over their town. Richard did not have time to help with all of the problems he is currently facing with his headaches getting worst with a possible magical cause, needing to get back to Vector and Nicci in Altur'Rang, and the unknown object, but Owen referred to all of them as unenlightened particularly with talking about their ability to fight which makes be believe that his village is all pacifists.

The chapters are beginning to lead into the story now with less and less old information being received. These chapters gave new insights and added Owen and his people into the picture. I think although Richard sent him away they are going to become more important later. I am interested in seeing what this unknown object even looks like and how another boundary plays into all of this. I think they will jump to Zed's perspective in the New World sometime and let Richard continue his journey without us for a little bit to avoid all of this travel time with less old story to recap, and I am looking forward to his perspective since we did not get to seem him almost all of last book. I think the pacifist village is going to teach us one of the themes like having to stand up for yourself, but we will see.

Use of New Forensic Science Question the Validity of Dr. Crippen's Story

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/columnist/vergano/2011-01-09-crippen-dna_N.htm
The story it refers to is:
http://www.titanic-whitestarships.com/The%20Dr.%20Crippen%20Story.htm

I find it interesting the advances we have made in different fields in 100 years. The use of new DNA technology could not only prove that Doctor Crippen might have been innocent of his convicted crime, although I do not know who would have human remains in their basement, but can also be used to verify different evidence used in current cases. Checking scenes for remaining cells or other remnants of who was there leading to suspects is all very possible and likely to happen now. One of my classes is going through a chapter with many of these processes or applications be explained, so finding it outside of school in one of the examples of the book was able to prove the reality of it. With the evolution of identifying suspects, I wonder if the criminals might also evolve to, and not only take precautions to avoid leaving evidence behind but also leaving false DNA remains to lead the investigation away from them to someone else who has no connection to them or the crime. It will be interesting to see how this technology changes detective work and other part of life through its other applications.

Naked Empire pg. 1-59

Mysterious races are following Richard, Kahlan, Cara, and their friends returning from events at the center of the Pillars of Creation in the previous book. They are making their way out of the desert to investigate an unknown object which not much information has been given about. They do not want to talk about the object because it has properties that they see, but they do not want to influence Jennsen's interpretation of the object. Richard believes what Jennsen see may help shed some light on the true nature of the object. Some of the events in the previous books are briefly told to Jennsen because he just joined Richard, Kahlan, and Cara after being one of the main perspectives of the previous book.
When they stop for the night, conversation leads to three of the themes found in the series: the need for balance in many different things, qualities or object not being evil themselves but how you use them defining their externalities, and reason being a powerful tool which can be helpful when wielded correctly, but devastating which not used or misused.
When Richard wakes he finds some irregular activity happening. The races went away before the night and then returned by morning, and he is finding an association between the headaches he is having and the races not being present. There is also a shape in the distance blurred with sand that seem to be communicating with the birds in some manner. The races attack and Richard kills them, and his headaches return. This chapter is finished with foreshadowing saying "There were bigger worries." The same quote was also seen earlier, and emphasize it through the repetition.
I thought it was a good chapter. It kind of threw out some of the themes hit and previous events in other books to help remind people were we are at in the story. It also helped set up the current problem with this unknown object and large birds chasing them with an unseen overseer.

Interesting article on USA Today

http://www.usatoday.com/yourlife/pets/2010-12-14-petheroes14_ST_N.htm

If you didn't read the article, it talks about how animals who were rescued from an animal shelter in turn rescued their owners. I am a proponent of pets for most people because of all the benefits they give to us. There have been studies that link pets to increased health in a number of ways. They also give the companionship that most of us need. As seen in the article they have an instinct of something being out of place, and although they may not know what is wrong, they can get some kind of help regardless. There are many different stories about pets saving their owners, and I just roam USA Today sometimes, and this stood out to me.