Extra Credit Post

Poetry has always been enigmatic to me. I can read or listen to poetry and appreciate its unique structure and rhythm, maybe even glimpse some meaning from it, but it has always been difficult for me to interpret the deeper message the author is trying to convey through their words. Because of this, I knew that attending a poetry reading and being able to write a 300 word response would be a challenge for me. I had never heard of the poet before but Graham’s poetry caught my interest because they were so different from most of the poetry that I have ever read. One line that really caught my attention was from the poem After Taxes. “We are more boring in the dark, less ugly.” I cannot remember the rest of the poem, but for me this line had some meaning.
In a very literal sense the poet is saying that life is more interesting because of the variety of people, places, animals, cultures, etc. In the dark it is easier to hide our imperfections, our differences. This would make life much less interesting because there would be no variety, no differences, no arguing, no controversy. This may be a very literal translation of the authors words, it may even be completely opposite of what Graham was trying to say to his audience, but that is the beauty of poetry. It can be interpreted in dozens of different ways, depending on the reader or listener. This means that even someone who is poetically challenged can get something out of reading a poem. Graham’s poetry was so unique, it was shocking and abrupt and that is what made it interesting to me. Many poems that I have read in the past a too wordy and focused on form that I become distracted by the rhyme scheme or having to lookup words that I do not understand. That what was wonderful about Graham’s modern poetry, it was short and to the point, but there were also many layers of meaning behind his words.

Post X

I recently read an article about an incident that took place at Bellevue East High School. Six students face suspension or expulsion for taping another student to a wall. All six students were charged with misdemeanors, three for disturbing the peace and three for disorderly conduct. This was most likely part of a stunt or prank that are common in high schools and colleges. Senior pranks are something that nearly everyone has heard of or been a part of during their high school years, but when does a prank go to far? This incident involving several students at Bellevue was a prank that went to far, but there have been far worse pranks that have ended in people being seriously injured or killed. The part that bothered me most when I read this article was that there were dozens of students witnessing their classmate being harassed and humiliated and instead of stopping this they took pictures of it. It is terrible that people are so unwilling to help someone who is in such a situation, instead they just go along with the crowd and laughed at the boy’s humiliation.
I know that I am naïve at times, having been sheltered in small private schools for most of my life, but I cannot imagine just watching while this happened, let alone taking pictures and video taping it. It is very sad that there were not enough people willing to stand up and stop this from happening. This complacency and unwillingness to stand up for anything is something that worries me about my generation. I know that there are many good people my age but I also know that there are many people who will do whatever is easiest for them and whatever is in their best interest no matter the consequences for others.

Lincoln's Children Zoo

It is a beautiful early fall day in Lincoln, the sky is clear and there is a gentle breeze carrying a slight smell of flowers and feces. Yes, that’s right, the smell of feces is in the air, the first sign that you are at a zoo. By the time I pass through the entrance, the smell is becoming overwhelming and there is not an animal in sight yet. The first thing that I notice once inside the zoo is a bulletin board announcing seal performances at 11 and 3 and encouraging children to have their birthday parties at the zoo and “party with the animals.” This area is surrounded by a wall of trees and other plants, one would hardly know that they were at a zoo if not for the pervading odor of animals. Walking past this I catch my first glance of some of the animals over the line of trees.
Before I get close to these animals I am hit by an array of sounds, the bleating of goats as wells as shrieks and giggles from the children petting them. The first animals that I notice are the goats in the petting zoo and they seem to notice me as well, because as soon as I come near them they jump onto the fence, practically begging me to feed them. One of my friends had gotten some goat feed and a feeding frenzy ensued. I took some of the food and offered it to the goats in a less crowded part of the area, but a large goat followed m e over and looked ready to fight the others for the small morsels of food that I was offering. I soon ran out of food, but the goats did not seem to notice and continued to crowd the fence whenever someone got close to it, whether or not that person had food.
After the goats begin to realize that I have no food to offer them they move to another part of the enclosure, hoping someone else will have something that they can share. Free of this distraction I take my time to observe the goats’ habitat. There are almost twenty goats in this one area and there are also, I notice for the first time, several llamas and other horned animals that I do not recognize. The llamas are isolated from the goats in a smaller section of the petting zoo and they appear somewhat board with their surroundings and are a lot less eager to get near the visitors than the goats are.
Visiting the petting zoo was a fun experience for me because it was always my favorite section of the zoo when I was younger. I always enjoyed feeding the animals and seeing them fight each other, jostling for my attention and the food that I had to give them. Looking back, I realize that it is somewhat sad how domesticated and dependent on humans some of the animals in the zoo have become. You could offer these goats anything and they would eat it, and this is something that many little kids might do. This can harm the animals health and make them very ill.
The experience of feeding these goats reminded me of an area in the Omaha zoo that used to be one of my favorite to see, but as I got older my opinion of it changed drastically. There is a large pond with a bridge over it where my family would always stop to feed the fish in the pond. Just like at the petting zoo in Lincoln, you could purchase food to feed to the fish, but often people would just throw anything over the bridge, watching it drop to the smooth water below. As soon as the object hit the water there would be 25 fish fighting each other for a bite. This used to amuse me, seeing the fish swim through the water and each other, competing for a small piece of food, but I realized that it was very dangerous for these animal to behave like this. It is not normal for fish to fight for unknown bits dropped from above them and it is not natural for goats to behave like that either, but being in an unnatural environment has destroyed their natural instincts.
I have wonderful childhood memories of visiting the zoo with my family and friends, but as an adult, I have realized that zoos are not the wonderful places that I always thought they were after visiting them. Many zoos, such as the Lincoln Children’s Zoo do not have proper habitats for their animals or the animals are not stimulated and they lose their natural characteristics and instincts. Some of the worst habitats at the Lincoln zoo were in the indoor area, which housed a lot of the smaller animals. What I noticed first about this building was a very strong smell as soon as I walked through the doors. I smelled somewhat like animal waste, but that was masked by a stronger smell, probably cleaner to eliminated the scent.
The first room I saw contained several small monkeys that were jumping around and making a lot of noise, but what caught my attention was the small, sad looking creature towards the back of the room. This animal looked like an oversized mouse and appeared very timid and scared. Looking at the signs to the right of the exhibit, I read that this animal was an acouchi whose natural habitat was the riverbanks of the Amazon Rainforest. Reading this I could understand why this creature looked so lost and nervous, not only was it alone with a species that it would rarely naturally interact with, but it was in a strange environment.
In the next room there were several small monkeys, a sloth, and another acouchi, looking just as tentative and frightened as the other acouchi. Watching both achouci for several minutes I did not see either move. Seeing cages of these animals and how it was so different to where they would be living in the wild really angered me. I could not understand why the acouchi would have to be separated from each other when they were clearly uncomfortable in their current habitats. Looking around the rest of the indoor enclosure I realized that none of the creatures were looking very active as they would normally be, not even the small monkeys, who are normally hyperactive.
Going to the zoo used to be a very fun experience for me as a child, but during this visit I noticed things that I would normally overlook because I was distracted by my surroundings. I noticed that the animals were not as active as they should be and that their habitats did not look anything near what their natural environment would be. Visiting the zoo was an important part of my childhood and I think that every child should have the opportunity to visit a zoo so that they can learn about animals. I also think that zoos perform an important role in protecting animals and conserving endangered species. It is important that zoos focus on education and conservation instead of entertainment. Instead of spending money installing a train to carry children around the outskirts of the zoo, money should be spent improving habitats or adding more educational exhibits to the zoo, especially when it is a children’s zoo. Zoos must also work hard to maintain the animals habitats and avoid causing more harm than good to the animals.

Beautiful Nebraska

Watching this video really made me think about how I view the state that I have lived in my entire life. I have never thought of Nebraska as a very exciting place to live. Over the last few years my perception of Nebraska has drastically changed. I lived in Omaha for most of my life and despite it being the state’s largest city, it still felt like a smaller city with little to offer compared to other cities I have visited on vacations and trips. My opinion about Omaha changed when I began to spend more time in the downtown area and Old Market. I really enjoyed seeing the unique shops and restaurants that this area had to offer. I realized that there was a lot more to the city than the boring suburban area that I had grown up in, and even that part of the town was not as plain as I had thought it was as a child.
I have only been in Lincoln for about a month but I see that, like Omaha, it has its own features and attractions that make it unique and interesting. This video showed other areas of Nebraska that I have never thought of visiting before. My vacations are always spent and other states and I have never before been interested in exploring what Nebraska has to offer. The video shows that there is more to the state of Nebraska than Husker football and the College World Series. The images in this video made me curious to see other parts of the state and a the variety of unique sites. Although there may be more exciting towns to live in, I would not want to live in any other state. I have really grown to love Nebraska and am proud to say that I am a Nebraskan.

Post IV: Sunken Gardens

Driving through Lincoln several days ago I stumbled upon the Sunken Gardens. I only saw it in passing but I was instantly interested. The gardens stood out not only because of their beauty but also because they are so unexpected. In the middle of a bustling city one would normally not expect to find such a haven. When given this assignment, I knew that I wanted to return to the Sunken Gardens and spend a little more time exploring them. At the entrance to the garden the first thing that I noticed was the large elaborate metal dome engraved with a saying from one founder of the gardens, Ernest Bair. The inscription reads "I expect to make this spot the most beautiful place in the city, either in or out of the parks. The ground lends itself perfectly to the making of a sunken garden, and at the same time a spot rich in beauty.” In the time I have spent in Lincoln this is the most beautiful spot that I have seen in the city.
The gardens also have a very unique history. The project was started during the winter of 1930-1931 during one of the worst times of the Depression era. This project provided 200 jobs, helping men support for their families during difficult times. The garden was originally designed as a rock garden, featuring many rocky structures and waterfalls. A cast concrete sculpture, “Rebecca at the Well” was installed in 1936 and soon became a central element of the garden. Retired in 2004 because of deterioration, it was replaced by a similar sculpture by a local artist. Another striking area was the Healing Garden. Inspired by the famous White Gardens at Sissinghurst Castle in Kent, England, the white blossom are said to inspire calm, serenity and recreation. The gardens did not have quite that effect on me, but I really enjoyed visiting them and learning about their history.