Chapter 5 introduced me to the ridiculous taxing procedures of the Chinese town leaders. They can basically just make up a tax for anything they want, as long as they have a "reason" for it. I know I've used this word a bunch of times in this blog already, but I've got to use it again because it seems to be what everyting boils down to: corruption. And in this case, greed. Anyway, the way that the Chinese peasants are taxed is unbelievably unjust. Like I mentioned earlier, the officials pretty much just make up dumb rules in order to get some more money. Thats basically like a school teacher imposing a punishment of a loss of five points to anyone who accidentally coughs during class for "disrupting the learning environment." And the worst part of it is, because of the corruption, theres almost nothing the peasants can do about it. They could go up to a higher level of authority, but what are the chances of that actually working? Not very high.
One thing that keeps me so surprised with the way the peasants are being treated is that China is a modern country, even when this story is taking place. Just because of the way that the government operates and that the peasants are oppressed makes me keep thinking that these events are happening way back in times like the middle ages. I have to keep reminding myself that most of these events have actually taken place during my lifetime. It makes me think: have things actually improved for the peasants since back in the middle ages? You'd think that things would have improved by now...but I don't see a huge difference between fuedel systems and the government system that China uses in this book. Obviously, the positions have different names, but for the most part it seems like they both function kind of similarly.
One thing that really interested me was the part that listed the ratio of government officials to villagers in different periods of time. During the Western Han Period, it was one official to almost 8,000 commoners. Now, that number is down to one official to every 67 commoners. Now, I'm not real good at analyzing government cause and effect or strategies, but I have a feeling this huge growth in the number of officials is just another way of oppressing the peasants. The smaller that ratio, the less of a voice the people will have.
I didn't really understand the part where the officials were just kind of going around eating at random people's houses. I understand that they were taking advantage of the people (whats new. . .?) by eating at their houses without paying them at all, but why? The section ended with the saying "The revolution is a dinner party!" which is a witty twist on Mao's word's. Based on this saying, I figure these unwelcomed dinner parties were somehow related to the Cultural Revolution, but I wasn't able to make the connection when I was reading.
I liked this book! I'm usually not a big fan of these informational-type nonfiction books, but this one was able to hold my interest really well. I liked how most of the novel was kind of presented in short-story form. The peasants' troubles and oppression was shown through one case, into which the authors dove deeply and explained a lot of details. After this story, he would switch to another, and tell it in a similar manner. I liked it this way. Still, I find some of the treatment that the peasants recieve almsot inhuman. I don't can how the village leaders could be so heartless to go through with what they did. I know one thing for sure--I would have made a terrible Party boss in China, because theres no way I could ever be that mean to those poor peasants.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Chapters 3-4
I found the beginning of the story in Chapter 3 kind of hard to understand; I re-read over some parts a couple times but I still don't really get what the police force came into Gao Village and arrested the majority of the village people...but maybe that's the point...it seems like government officials didn't need much reason at all to mistreat the peasants.
Once again, I'm horribly disturbed that township leaders, this time Gao Xuewen, have the mettle to do such cruel things as hit an elderly, respected woman and destroy her house simply because she decided to challenge him and stand up for what is right. Did she break any laws? Nope. Did she call Xuewn out and belittle him in public? Yes, and that seems to be the repeating catalyst in these cases. These township leaders are all so pompous and egocentric that they deem it necessary to fall back on brutish, cruel shows of "power" whenever they are challenged by one that they deem inferior. The unfortunate thing is that, because of the corruption of the government, they can fabricate stories in order to get away with these actions. Most levels of government believe a version of a story presented by a village chief before they believe a version of a story presented by 50 eyewitness peasants. Although I'm still in disbelief that these officials will actually allow themselves to permit such low actions, I understand why they do it: It's the easiest option for them. I've learned that the Chinese officials think only of themselves. Whether its concerning money, reputation, or anything of the like, they will do what benefits themselves most before they even think about anyone else, especially those whom they consider "inferior."
Gao Zongpeng, the old man, is very noble. He ends up making many sacrifices for the benefit of his fellow community members--he risks his life by standing up to officials, he saves his money and travels to Beijing to try to fix the corrupted mess that is Gao Village's leadership, etc. Its a shame that his multiple trips to Beijing ended up wrecking his health. Plus, he's pretty cool. He says some funny things: "You sons of turtles..." and "...us country bumpkins." I thought it was great that the old man and Zhang Jidong connected. They both had a very like mindset concerning the treatment of the peasants by the government, and it was nice that they both had someone to share their ideas with. I think that they complimented each other very well--The young man was able to learn from the old one's experience and wisdom, while the old man was able to learn of new ideas and solutions devised by the younger generation. Unfortunately, the town leaders must have caught on to this as well; obviously, at the first hint that someone was planning on trying to fix the unfair situation, the officials deemed it necessary to eliminate this possiblity as soon as possible. The extent to which they will go in order to eliminate the possiblity, though, is just not right. Torturing Zhang Jidong's teenage son in order to try to find his father's whereabouts? That's disturbing. Was society even this cruel during the times such as the middle ages and earlier? China is a MODERN country; there is absolutely no excuse for the barbaric actions they've been taking.
I was very releived in Chapter 4 to finally see some justice being done. Unfortunately, it took an extremely long time, caused many hardships, worries, and even a peasant's suicide. Should it really take this much for a group of innocent people to be treated with some equality? Never. Nevertheless, I'm glad that the peasant's finally got a "victory," if you could call it that. Again, a group of men were willing to take a risk in order to help out their fellow people. This story was particulary interesting in that fact that, instead of just one or two people putting in a huge effort to fix things, a very large group sacrificed and contributed greatly. Fifty six peasants traveled all the way to Beijing in order to demand justice. Can you imagine how much more persuasive a huge group of 56 people working together and for one another would be than just one or two lone men representing a community. When this still did not work, they did not give up. Later, an even larger group made their way to Beijing. If you ask me, it is a very inspiring tale. This is the very definition of grit and determination. This time, unsurprisingly, their adventure paid off. I'm very glad that justice was finally had.
Fortunately, chapter 4 left off on a fairly good note. After all the suffering and defeats that the peasants experienced, it was heartwarming to read of a victory. Despite a lot of loss and hardship throughout the process, it was certainly a step in the right direction. As the book said, it drew the nation's attention to the problem's the peasants have been facing.
Once again, I'm horribly disturbed that township leaders, this time Gao Xuewen, have the mettle to do such cruel things as hit an elderly, respected woman and destroy her house simply because she decided to challenge him and stand up for what is right. Did she break any laws? Nope. Did she call Xuewn out and belittle him in public? Yes, and that seems to be the repeating catalyst in these cases. These township leaders are all so pompous and egocentric that they deem it necessary to fall back on brutish, cruel shows of "power" whenever they are challenged by one that they deem inferior. The unfortunate thing is that, because of the corruption of the government, they can fabricate stories in order to get away with these actions. Most levels of government believe a version of a story presented by a village chief before they believe a version of a story presented by 50 eyewitness peasants. Although I'm still in disbelief that these officials will actually allow themselves to permit such low actions, I understand why they do it: It's the easiest option for them. I've learned that the Chinese officials think only of themselves. Whether its concerning money, reputation, or anything of the like, they will do what benefits themselves most before they even think about anyone else, especially those whom they consider "inferior."
Gao Zongpeng, the old man, is very noble. He ends up making many sacrifices for the benefit of his fellow community members--he risks his life by standing up to officials, he saves his money and travels to Beijing to try to fix the corrupted mess that is Gao Village's leadership, etc. Its a shame that his multiple trips to Beijing ended up wrecking his health. Plus, he's pretty cool. He says some funny things: "You sons of turtles..." and "...us country bumpkins." I thought it was great that the old man and Zhang Jidong connected. They both had a very like mindset concerning the treatment of the peasants by the government, and it was nice that they both had someone to share their ideas with. I think that they complimented each other very well--The young man was able to learn from the old one's experience and wisdom, while the old man was able to learn of new ideas and solutions devised by the younger generation. Unfortunately, the town leaders must have caught on to this as well; obviously, at the first hint that someone was planning on trying to fix the unfair situation, the officials deemed it necessary to eliminate this possiblity as soon as possible. The extent to which they will go in order to eliminate the possiblity, though, is just not right. Torturing Zhang Jidong's teenage son in order to try to find his father's whereabouts? That's disturbing. Was society even this cruel during the times such as the middle ages and earlier? China is a MODERN country; there is absolutely no excuse for the barbaric actions they've been taking.
I was very releived in Chapter 4 to finally see some justice being done. Unfortunately, it took an extremely long time, caused many hardships, worries, and even a peasant's suicide. Should it really take this much for a group of innocent people to be treated with some equality? Never. Nevertheless, I'm glad that the peasant's finally got a "victory," if you could call it that. Again, a group of men were willing to take a risk in order to help out their fellow people. This story was particulary interesting in that fact that, instead of just one or two people putting in a huge effort to fix things, a very large group sacrificed and contributed greatly. Fifty six peasants traveled all the way to Beijing in order to demand justice. Can you imagine how much more persuasive a huge group of 56 people working together and for one another would be than just one or two lone men representing a community. When this still did not work, they did not give up. Later, an even larger group made their way to Beijing. If you ask me, it is a very inspiring tale. This is the very definition of grit and determination. This time, unsurprisingly, their adventure paid off. I'm very glad that justice was finally had.
Fortunately, chapter 4 left off on a fairly good note. After all the suffering and defeats that the peasants experienced, it was heartwarming to read of a victory. Despite a lot of loss and hardship throughout the process, it was certainly a step in the right direction. As the book said, it drew the nation's attention to the problem's the peasants have been facing.
Will The Boat Sink The Water, Chapter 1-2
The first chapter of Guidi and Chuntao's "Will The Boat Sink The Water?" really sets the tone for the rest of the novel. The injustices and suffering that the Chinese peasants are put through is extremely disheartening; at times, I actually find it hard to believe that the human conscience is capable of such cruel, coldhearted treatment of fellow human beings--but I guess that's just what power and money will do to people.
They book's frist story, that of the peasant Ding Zuoming, kind of shocked me. Now, I wasn't super surprised that the peasants were being mistreated and that officials may be turning a blind eye to some of the injustices. I already knew a little bit about what peasantry might be like, just from assumptions and things I've read previously. What really shocked me, though, was the extreme degree of these injustices. I couldn't believe how corrupt the officials really were; it was disgusting. The behavior of officials, such as the Party boss or the deputy village chief, seemed almost inhuman. In fact, these officials treated the peasants as if they were not humans at all. They completely disregarded all the peasants' legal rights and exploited the fact that there was almost nothing they could do about it.
The first chapter is very appropriately named "The Martyr." From what I know, a martyr is one who honorably gives his or her life for a just cause. A sacrifice, in other words. A sacrifice is exactly what Ding Zuoming made, and a very noble one it was. Ding didn't just speak up for himself, he spoke up for his whole commune. Unfortunately, this just ended up resulting in let down after let down. I can't even imagine the feeling of deflation that the people must have felt when they were basically ignored by the township leaders and then by the county leaders as well. I think it would feel so awful to hear from these officials that the issue would be looked into and action would be took, thus getting their hopes up, and then realizing that the officials were actually not going to do anything about it at all. That fact that township leaders such as Ding Yanle took up a personal vendetta against Ding Zuoming simply for him expressing his right to demand an audit of the town books is so revolting. It is corruption, immaturity, and egocentricity at its highest degree. Did Yanle honestly think his actions were justified? How can anyone with any sense of dignity and self worth at all subject himself to such actions? It baffles me. The "fight" he picked with Ding Zuoming was ridicuolous--almost to the point of comedic value, if it weren't for the grave consequences it had on Zuoming. Anyway, I can't believe that Yanle actually got what he wanted out of that encounter. It just goes to show the level of corruption in that government system at the time. One level of government turned a blind eye, the next level turned a blind eye, etc. And all for one innocent, hard working man who wanted to help out his community.
The second story presented in this novel, the one about the Zhang Village, was even more heart wrenching and disgusting as the one about Ding Zuoming. Deputy Village Chief Zhang Guiquan is a frenzied brute. He has zero thought for anyone except himself, and he thinks nothing of devastating someone else in order to get what he wants. This chapter is again one about "martyrs." Four of them, this time. These four, Zhang Jiaquan, Zhang Jiayu, Zhang Hongchuan, and Zhang Guimao, do not break any laws, yet end up being fatally punished for trying to demand justice. The fit of rage that the deputy village chief broke into that launched the killing spree really took me by surprise. This time, the peasants' deaths weren't purely because of an act of selfishness, as was the case in the Ding Zuoming story, but they were because of Zhang Guiquan's brutish lack of control. What was he thinking? Again, I'm just failing to comprehend the logic that could possibly provoke one to do something like Guiquan did.
One of the most awful aspects of this incident (and others like it) are the ripple effects it has. Of course, we know about the tragic, unfair death's of the sacrificial peasants, but think about the kind of effect an incident like this has on family members and other people of the community. The moral of the townspeople drops to an all time low, and they may even be provoked to take up arms and go after government officials, which would obviously spell disaster for them in the future. Familes of the victims would be absolutely crippled, especially if there are no able bodied members to work the fields.
These first two chapters really did a good job of opening my eyes to the extreme oppression and mistreatment of China's peasants. Like I mentioned earlier, I already knew that they weren't treated very well, but I had no idea that it was even close to this bad. It disgusts me that one could treat fellow humans with such blatant uncaring.
They book's frist story, that of the peasant Ding Zuoming, kind of shocked me. Now, I wasn't super surprised that the peasants were being mistreated and that officials may be turning a blind eye to some of the injustices. I already knew a little bit about what peasantry might be like, just from assumptions and things I've read previously. What really shocked me, though, was the extreme degree of these injustices. I couldn't believe how corrupt the officials really were; it was disgusting. The behavior of officials, such as the Party boss or the deputy village chief, seemed almost inhuman. In fact, these officials treated the peasants as if they were not humans at all. They completely disregarded all the peasants' legal rights and exploited the fact that there was almost nothing they could do about it.
The first chapter is very appropriately named "The Martyr." From what I know, a martyr is one who honorably gives his or her life for a just cause. A sacrifice, in other words. A sacrifice is exactly what Ding Zuoming made, and a very noble one it was. Ding didn't just speak up for himself, he spoke up for his whole commune. Unfortunately, this just ended up resulting in let down after let down. I can't even imagine the feeling of deflation that the people must have felt when they were basically ignored by the township leaders and then by the county leaders as well. I think it would feel so awful to hear from these officials that the issue would be looked into and action would be took, thus getting their hopes up, and then realizing that the officials were actually not going to do anything about it at all. That fact that township leaders such as Ding Yanle took up a personal vendetta against Ding Zuoming simply for him expressing his right to demand an audit of the town books is so revolting. It is corruption, immaturity, and egocentricity at its highest degree. Did Yanle honestly think his actions were justified? How can anyone with any sense of dignity and self worth at all subject himself to such actions? It baffles me. The "fight" he picked with Ding Zuoming was ridicuolous--almost to the point of comedic value, if it weren't for the grave consequences it had on Zuoming. Anyway, I can't believe that Yanle actually got what he wanted out of that encounter. It just goes to show the level of corruption in that government system at the time. One level of government turned a blind eye, the next level turned a blind eye, etc. And all for one innocent, hard working man who wanted to help out his community.
The second story presented in this novel, the one about the Zhang Village, was even more heart wrenching and disgusting as the one about Ding Zuoming. Deputy Village Chief Zhang Guiquan is a frenzied brute. He has zero thought for anyone except himself, and he thinks nothing of devastating someone else in order to get what he wants. This chapter is again one about "martyrs." Four of them, this time. These four, Zhang Jiaquan, Zhang Jiayu, Zhang Hongchuan, and Zhang Guimao, do not break any laws, yet end up being fatally punished for trying to demand justice. The fit of rage that the deputy village chief broke into that launched the killing spree really took me by surprise. This time, the peasants' deaths weren't purely because of an act of selfishness, as was the case in the Ding Zuoming story, but they were because of Zhang Guiquan's brutish lack of control. What was he thinking? Again, I'm just failing to comprehend the logic that could possibly provoke one to do something like Guiquan did.
One of the most awful aspects of this incident (and others like it) are the ripple effects it has. Of course, we know about the tragic, unfair death's of the sacrificial peasants, but think about the kind of effect an incident like this has on family members and other people of the community. The moral of the townspeople drops to an all time low, and they may even be provoked to take up arms and go after government officials, which would obviously spell disaster for them in the future. Familes of the victims would be absolutely crippled, especially if there are no able bodied members to work the fields.
These first two chapters really did a good job of opening my eyes to the extreme oppression and mistreatment of China's peasants. Like I mentioned earlier, I already knew that they weren't treated very well, but I had no idea that it was even close to this bad. It disgusts me that one could treat fellow humans with such blatant uncaring.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Three Cups of Tea Final Reflection
One adjective comes to mind when I think of the story told in Three Cups of Tea: Epic. Almost everything encompassed within this book would indeed fall under my "epic" category. The goals that have been set, the achievements which have been reached, the determination of the people involved,and the locales and communities which were a part of the story were all epic. This is definitely one of the most enlightening and eye opening books I've ever read.
Greg Mortenson is a truly amazing person; its a shame there aren't more people like him. Many people talk about being righteous and putting other people before themselves, but Mortenson actually does it. The amount of his own life that he has given up in order to assist those less fortunate than himself is incomprehensible. Its a pretty special thing when a person is willing to be so devoted to help. The cool thing about Mortenson's work is that, apart from the obvious direct impact upon the communities in which he built schools, there is a huge indirect impact on the future and even the rest of the world. Mortenson stated multiple times that the more education there is, the less chance of terrorism there will be.
One thing that this book make me realize is how much we take for granted. It's pretty eye opening when you think about what the people who live in places similar to Korphe don't have. No convenient water systems, no electric, etc...simply not having access to those two commodities would change the way we live so drastically. I like to eat and snack, so alot of the times when i pass through the kitchen, I'll grab a little bag of Doritos or a couple Oreos. In Korphe, though, I'd barely be able to eat one meager meal a day. Its pretty admirable how they manage to get by, though. Their inginuity never ceases to amaze me. Stuff like the goat-bladder rafts and the makeshift irrigation systems always seem pretty cool to me.
The cool thing about this novel is that, even though the book is finished, the story is not. Mortenson's organization, the CAI, will continue to provide assistance to these middle eastern areas. I hope they continue to have the mindset and necessary funds to continue their work in these countries.
I mentioned that i'm not a huge non-fiction fan in one of my earlier blogs. That stills holds true for this novel, but by no means does this take away from what I think of the story that it tells. This is definitely on of the most amazing stories that I've ever read, and I'm glad that we're doing the cookie sale to help out. Congradulations, and good luck in the future, to Greg and all who were involved in this story.
Greg Mortenson is a truly amazing person; its a shame there aren't more people like him. Many people talk about being righteous and putting other people before themselves, but Mortenson actually does it. The amount of his own life that he has given up in order to assist those less fortunate than himself is incomprehensible. Its a pretty special thing when a person is willing to be so devoted to help. The cool thing about Mortenson's work is that, apart from the obvious direct impact upon the communities in which he built schools, there is a huge indirect impact on the future and even the rest of the world. Mortenson stated multiple times that the more education there is, the less chance of terrorism there will be.
One thing that this book make me realize is how much we take for granted. It's pretty eye opening when you think about what the people who live in places similar to Korphe don't have. No convenient water systems, no electric, etc...simply not having access to those two commodities would change the way we live so drastically. I like to eat and snack, so alot of the times when i pass through the kitchen, I'll grab a little bag of Doritos or a couple Oreos. In Korphe, though, I'd barely be able to eat one meager meal a day. Its pretty admirable how they manage to get by, though. Their inginuity never ceases to amaze me. Stuff like the goat-bladder rafts and the makeshift irrigation systems always seem pretty cool to me.
The cool thing about this novel is that, even though the book is finished, the story is not. Mortenson's organization, the CAI, will continue to provide assistance to these middle eastern areas. I hope they continue to have the mindset and necessary funds to continue their work in these countries.
I mentioned that i'm not a huge non-fiction fan in one of my earlier blogs. That stills holds true for this novel, but by no means does this take away from what I think of the story that it tells. This is definitely on of the most amazing stories that I've ever read, and I'm glad that we're doing the cookie sale to help out. Congradulations, and good luck in the future, to Greg and all who were involved in this story.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
In this chapter is, I believe, the first negative review in this book expressed towards salt. Prior civilizations didn't seem to address any of the health aspects of salt; they just knew that it tasted good, helped preserve stuff, and was an important economic tool. Platina, a fifteenth century author from Italy, however, recognizes the unhealthy side of salt. He writes, "It is not good for the stomach except for arousing the appetite. Its immoderate use also harms the liver, blood, and eyes very much." He also warned people of the hazards of eating too much butter and aged cheese. Smart man, this Platina must have been. These dairy products can't sneak anything past him.
This chapter talked about cheese alot! That was fun. Cheese is pretty cool. The book states that the Romans made a really lot of different types of cheeses. Today, there are close to one thousand types of cheeses. If you want a quick run-though on some cheese names, watch this video:
skip past the first 15 seconds..
I never really thought about the effect that the discovery of North America had on much of Europe. Whever I thought about it, I focused on the obvious places, such as Great Britain, Spain, and other countries on the Atlantic Ocean. I realize now that it proved to be disastrous to places like Italy and the rest of the Mediterannean. Its all kind of eye opening. Its scary how an area can be doing so well, and after just one discovery start to decline so rapidly. It makes me think of those diagrams of a civilizations rise and fall that Mr. Farrell drew on the chalkboard. Those are terrifying...
This chapter talked about cheese alot! That was fun. Cheese is pretty cool. The book states that the Romans made a really lot of different types of cheeses. Today, there are close to one thousand types of cheeses. If you want a quick run-though on some cheese names, watch this video:
skip past the first 15 seconds..
I never really thought about the effect that the discovery of North America had on much of Europe. Whever I thought about it, I focused on the obvious places, such as Great Britain, Spain, and other countries on the Atlantic Ocean. I realize now that it proved to be disastrous to places like Italy and the rest of the Mediterannean. Its all kind of eye opening. Its scary how an area can be doing so well, and after just one discovery start to decline so rapidly. It makes me think of those diagrams of a civilizations rise and fall that Mr. Farrell drew on the chalkboard. Those are terrifying...
Salting It Away in the Adriatic
Alright, first things first. In the section about Marco Polo, it mentions "salt cakes." That sounds terrible. I'm usually pretty excited about anything with the word "cake" in it, but a salt cake is something i'd never like to try. It says it was used as currency, though, so maybe they didn't eat it. Most people today don't eat their money.
Anyway: Italy. I may be going there in like 8 or so months. Mom still won't give me a definite yes or no. It seems like the Italians were pretty innovative in their salt harvesting techniques. They thought of that nifty multi-pond system, which was much more effictient than previous methods. It also saved alot of work; very little manpower was needed until the final stage where people scraped the salt off the bottom of the pond. The system that the Italian government devised to regulate salt prices was also pretty smart. They were able to manipulate it in a way to get a large profit, and at the same time keep the people happy.
The whole Marco Polo section confused me a good bit. I never even knew he went to China...and it doesnt mention his travels anywhere else at all.
Thats it for this entry...not too much went down in this chapter.
Anyway: Italy. I may be going there in like 8 or so months. Mom still won't give me a definite yes or no. It seems like the Italians were pretty innovative in their salt harvesting techniques. They thought of that nifty multi-pond system, which was much more effictient than previous methods. It also saved alot of work; very little manpower was needed until the final stage where people scraped the salt off the bottom of the pond. The system that the Italian government devised to regulate salt prices was also pretty smart. They were able to manipulate it in a way to get a large profit, and at the same time keep the people happy.
The whole Marco Polo section confused me a good bit. I never even knew he went to China...and it doesnt mention his travels anywhere else at all.
Thats it for this entry...not too much went down in this chapter.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Salt's Salad Fingers
Salt on salads?
Silly Romans, salt is for hams.
I've definitely decided the Romans were a bunch of big ol jerks. They really seem to enjoy killing and enslaving other peoples, and then stealing their inventions. Its kind of like...when the big not smart bully cheats off the smart kids paper, and then kidnaps/kills him.
Yep.
...Wait, no!
No i hope that doesnt happen too much..
Er anyway, yeah the Romans jacked many or their salt processing techniques from the civilizations they conquered. On one page, it states that the Romans aquired satworks from Hallstatt, Halleain, the Celts, the Phoenicians and Carthaginians, and the Greek. After the big paragraph explaining the processes used by the Romans to get salt, it even said, "none of these techniques were Roman inventions." Oh well. I spose it really is true that nice guys always finish last. [selfpity]Of course, I figure I should have learned that by now.[/selfpity]
One thing that i've been thinking is prety cool as I read through this book is all the words and phrases that i've never really thought about that actually originated way back inthe BC days. It kind of amazes me when I realize that so many of these figures of speech (is it figures of speech, or figure of speeches?) actually had a literal meaning way back when. Things like "earning his salt" and stoof like that.
And now I have another reason to yell at my friends! Sweet. Not once, when I visited any of their houses, did they have the salt shaker out for me. Wheres your common courtesy? Do yins not respect my right to common salt? I'm offended. Actually, now that I know this is grounds for suspicion, I'll make sure to be super suspicious next time. I'll probably even look at you like this:
Silly Romans, salt is for hams.
I've definitely decided the Romans were a bunch of big ol jerks. They really seem to enjoy killing and enslaving other peoples, and then stealing their inventions. Its kind of like...when the big not smart bully cheats off the smart kids paper, and then kidnaps/kills him.
Yep.
...Wait, no!
No i hope that doesnt happen too much..
Er anyway, yeah the Romans jacked many or their salt processing techniques from the civilizations they conquered. On one page, it states that the Romans aquired satworks from Hallstatt, Halleain, the Celts, the Phoenicians and Carthaginians, and the Greek. After the big paragraph explaining the processes used by the Romans to get salt, it even said, "none of these techniques were Roman inventions." Oh well. I spose it really is true that nice guys always finish last. [selfpity]Of course, I figure I should have learned that by now.[/selfpity]
One thing that i've been thinking is prety cool as I read through this book is all the words and phrases that i've never really thought about that actually originated way back inthe BC days. It kind of amazes me when I realize that so many of these figures of speech (is it figures of speech, or figure of speeches?) actually had a literal meaning way back when. Things like "earning his salt" and stoof like that.
And now I have another reason to yell at my friends! Sweet. Not once, when I visited any of their houses, did they have the salt shaker out for me. Wheres your common courtesy? Do yins not respect my right to common salt? I'm offended. Actually, now that I know this is grounds for suspicion, I'll make sure to be super suspicious next time. I'll probably even look at you like this:
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)