I found this website about Crossing the Equator. It's possible that Jack might be over stating the magnitude of things he had to do: http://www.paganspace.net/forum/topics/the-ancient-order-of-the-deep
Hey! I went to Queens today and got a lot of pictures of the area around Astoria. Does anyone know how to upload pictures on here from a macbook pro? I can't figure it out.
Matt: Was there some way of making us administrators or otherwise allowing us to post additional blog entries? Or should we just continue adding comments to this entry?
The show's time period is listed as the day before Labor day, 1990, four months before the Gulf War.
This of course refers to the US's direct involvement in the war, or Operation Desert Storm. The war began on August 2nd of 1990 when Iraq invaded Kuwait. At this time, the US immediately declared its intention to protect the safety of Saudi Arabia and began Operation Desert Shield: the build-up of military forces in Iraq's neighboring country to the south.
On January 17th of 1991 (a little over four months after Labor Day) when Saddam Hussein failed to withdraw troops, the coalition army of over 28 UN countries entered the Gulf War in Kuwait's defense, led by the US bombing of Baghdad. This effort was called Operation Desert Storm.
The USS America (which Jason was serving on) was active in both Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm (It was deployed in December). Her last major military operation before this was in Libya in 1986--presumably Jason wouldn't even have been out of training at this point. His time spent on the USS America was therefore quite uneventful, boarding the ship while it was harbored in Virginia between 1986 and 1988 and then operating along the East Coast and in the Caribbean for the rest of that year.
The only noteworthy operation of the America's that Jason might have participated in would be the evacuation of the US embassy in Lebanon (1989).
As for Jack, on page 41 he says he was on the USS Smalley stationed in the Persian Gulf in 1956.
According to the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships however, the USS Smalley spent all of 1956 cruising the Caribbean followed by some yard period.
In short, both Jason and Jack apparently spent a good deal of their time "cruising the Caribbean." This is certainly no coincidence.
USS America's History: http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/a8/america-iii.htm
USS Smalley's History: http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/s14/smalley.htm
Gulf War References: http://arabic-media.com/saddam.htm http://www.history.com/topics/persian-gulf-war
Hello All! This is a link to a website that spells out all the Gun Control Laws of the United States in chronological order. It's a nice little timeline, that I think some of the characters should be aware of. Enjoy!
I've been trying to diagnose George's condition, and what exactly is wrong with him, because there are some contradictions in the text that need to be worked out. I'll lead you through my thought process so you can see where the ambiguities are.
First, Bernice says that George has claustrophobia, and George's dialogue during his panic attack(s?) suggests this too: "Get me out of here," "I can't breathe," "I gotta get outta here," etc. These are all typical symptoms of claustrophobia.
Lance Armstrong's LiveStrong website has a lot of really good information on anxiety disorders, including claustrophobia. It says that claustrophobia presents itself in 3 ways: anxiety-related, physical, and cognitive. Anxiety-related is simply anxiety caused in a claustrophobic person, "when triggered by certain situations or by just thinking about it." Physical symptoms are usually a result of the anxiety reaching a tipping point. They start with an increased heart rate, sweating, and possibly heart palpitations; increased anxiety results in trembling, nausea, and in the most extreme cases, chest pain, vomiting, a feeling of choking, and a series of hot and cold flashes. Finally, cognitive symptoms are fears of losing control and dying, a loss of empowerment in the mind, that is caused by severe anxiety.
I think it would be interesting to play with all 3 of these with George - is he so claustrophobic that he is in a constant state of anxiety throughout the whole show, and the physical/cognitive only get triggered by Jason's actions? Or maybe he is able to control his phobia, but not under these extreme circumstances? And where exactly is the triggering point for him?
Now, the problem is that there are contradictions to the claustrophobia diagnosis in the text. George says "I almost went to 'Nam. But I got a heart condition," referring to the 4-F deferment given to physically/mentally unstable men during the Vietnam War draft. But as far as I can see from the research, heart conditions don't cause claustrophobia - except in the case of panic disorders. According to LiveStrong, a panic disorder is characterized by "unexpected periods of fear accompanied by symptoms, which can include weakness, fainting, heart racing, dizziness, sweating, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, abdominal distress, chest pain and hot flashes... People who experience these episodes while being in an enclosed space may develop claustrophobia."
So, perhaps George has a weak heart that, through a tramautic event in his past, developed into claustrophobia? That could be a good explanation, except for a really interesting comment that I think shows an even deeper mental problem. Page 28, to Jason: "Hey, do you get claustrophobia out in the middle of the ocean? Would affect me the same being at the bottom of the ocean. Being out in the middle of the ocean. I'd go crazy." This line suggests not claustrophobia, a fear of closed in spaces, but rather the opposite: agoraphobia, or fear of wide open spaces (also means fear of public places). So perhaps he has both phobias?
In light of this comment and George's panic attacks, I don't think George has just claustrophobia. He says "Get me out of here, I can't breathe" outside on the patio of Queens, hardly an enclosed space. However, you can infer from this that the play takes place in a kind of prison, a world that George gets caught in and shot in, one created by the attitudes of Jason and his family towards each other. But medically, I think George has a weak heart, a tendency towards anxiety, and tramautic events (perhaps in his childhood?) that have made him live cautiously for his entire life. He abhors excitement and probably does as much as he can to escape potentially anxiety-causing situations. This is identified as claustrophobia, but the triggers can come from anywhere: Jason's gun, the wide open ocean, etc. - it really doesn't have anything to do with physically being in an enclosed space, it's simply the powerless feeling that he is in an enclosed space, created by the anxiety in his mind and the weakness in his heart.
Hey guys. Jordan here. So I loved the facts about crossing the equator rituals that Michael provided. I found an interesting visual collection of these ludicrous going ons. The images might help our Jason and Jacks with subtext and imagery.
Hey guys. Jordan here. So I loved Mike's examples of dysfunctional families. I recently watched a movie called City Island that I think will provides us with some great examples of life in New York, a variation of the Queens accent, secrets and lies of a family, and finding the truth in the humor. This family is horrible, but it's funny because their are people like this.
Hey guys Jordan Here. I loved the pictures that Tay posted up. I watched a movie recently called Do the Right Thing. One of Spike Lee's films, and although it takes place in Brooklyn, it takes place in 1989 and the fashion would be great to look at. It also takes place in the summer so it's appropriate to the time. I believe it's on Netlix.
I found this website about Crossing the Equator.
ReplyDeleteIt's possible that Jack might be over stating the magnitude of things he had to do:
http://www.paganspace.net/forum/topics/the-ancient-order-of-the-deep
Or maybe he was being truthful. Check out the COntroversy section:
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line-crossing_ceremony
Read My Lips. This speech was given two years before the events in PIG.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CP9_kkzfN-w
Barney Cuts out a few lines but here is "The Other Day I Met a Bear":
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UEF8FfVIAM
And the lyrics altogether to help follow along:
http://www.scoutsongs.com/lyrics/imetabear.html
pretty aggressive for a Barney sing-a-long
Here is a site for the Queens dialect. Natalie recommended it so the examples seem pretty trustworthy. There are 3 examples of a Queens accent:
ReplyDeletehttp://web.ku.edu/~idea/northamerica/usa/newyork/newyork.htm
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHey! I went to Queens today and got a lot of pictures of the area around Astoria. Does anyone know how to upload pictures on here from a macbook pro? I can't figure it out.
ReplyDeleteHello again! So I posted all of the pictures on my blog because they wouldn't post here. The link is:
ReplyDeletehttp://taylorwithredhair.blogspot.com/
I only posted half of the pictures- expect the other half soon!
HEY GUYS!
ReplyDeleteSo I was looking up what a "shellback" is online and I found this great cite that explains what a pollywog is as well.
A short explanation is a pollywog is someone who is about to cross the equator for the first time or, simply, someone who has not crossed the equator.
A shellback is someone who has crossed the equator before.
A Golden Shellback is someone who has crossed the equator at the 180th meridian.
Here is the link to more detailed information on shellbacks and pollywogs:
http://www.desausa.org/pollywog_to_shellback.htm
Matt: Was there some way of making us administrators or otherwise allowing us to post additional blog entries? Or should we just continue adding comments to this entry?
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe show's time period is listed as the day before Labor day, 1990, four months before the Gulf War.
ReplyDeleteThis of course refers to the US's direct involvement in the war, or Operation Desert Storm. The war began on August 2nd of 1990 when Iraq invaded Kuwait. At this time, the US immediately declared its intention to protect the safety of Saudi Arabia and began Operation Desert Shield: the build-up of military forces in Iraq's neighboring country to the south.
On January 17th of 1991 (a little over four months after Labor Day) when Saddam Hussein failed to withdraw troops, the coalition army of over 28 UN countries entered the Gulf War in Kuwait's defense, led by the US bombing of Baghdad. This effort was called Operation Desert Storm.
The USS America (which Jason was serving on) was active in both Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm (It was deployed in December). Her last major military operation before this was in Libya in 1986--presumably Jason wouldn't even have been out of training at this point. His time spent on the USS America was therefore quite uneventful, boarding the ship while it was harbored in Virginia between 1986 and 1988 and then operating along the East Coast and in the Caribbean for the rest of that year.
The only noteworthy operation of the America's that Jason might have participated in would be the evacuation of the US embassy in Lebanon (1989).
As for Jack, on page 41 he says he was on the USS Smalley stationed in the Persian Gulf in 1956.
According to the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships however, the USS Smalley spent all of 1956 cruising the Caribbean followed by some yard period.
In short, both Jason and Jack apparently spent a good deal of their time "cruising the Caribbean." This is certainly no coincidence.
USS America's History:
http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/a8/america-iii.htm
USS Smalley's History:
http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/s14/smalley.htm
Gulf War References:
http://arabic-media.com/saddam.htm
http://www.history.com/topics/persian-gulf-war
Hello All! This is a link to a website that spells out all the Gun Control Laws of the United States in chronological order. It's a nice little timeline, that I think some of the characters should be aware of. Enjoy!
ReplyDeletehttp://usgovinfo.about.com/blguntime.htm
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteInformation on Arthritis (Jack's Hand).
ReplyDeletehttp://health.howstuffworks.com/diseases-conditions/arthritis/symptoms/what-arthritis-feels-like.htm
http://www.orthop.washington.edu/PatientCare/OurServices/Arthritis/Articles/FrequentlyAskedQuestionsaboutArthritis2.aspx
Hey guys,
ReplyDeleteI've been trying to diagnose George's condition, and what exactly is wrong with him, because there are some contradictions in the text that need to be worked out. I'll lead you through my thought process so you can see where the ambiguities are.
First, Bernice says that George has claustrophobia, and George's dialogue during his panic attack(s?) suggests this too: "Get me out of here," "I can't breathe," "I gotta get outta here," etc. These are all typical symptoms of claustrophobia.
Lance Armstrong's LiveStrong website has a lot of really good information on anxiety disorders, including claustrophobia. It says that claustrophobia presents itself in 3 ways: anxiety-related, physical, and cognitive. Anxiety-related is simply anxiety caused in a claustrophobic person, "when triggered by certain situations or by just thinking about it." Physical symptoms are usually a result of the anxiety reaching a tipping point. They start with an increased heart rate, sweating, and possibly heart palpitations; increased anxiety results in trembling, nausea, and in the most extreme cases, chest pain, vomiting, a feeling of choking, and a series of hot and cold flashes. Finally, cognitive symptoms are fears of losing control and dying, a loss of empowerment in the mind, that is caused by severe anxiety.
I think it would be interesting to play with all 3 of these with George - is he so claustrophobic that he is in a constant state of anxiety throughout the whole show, and the physical/cognitive only get triggered by Jason's actions? Or maybe he is able to control his phobia, but not under these extreme circumstances? And where exactly is the triggering point for him?
Now, the problem is that there are contradictions to the claustrophobia diagnosis in the text. George says "I almost went to 'Nam. But I got a heart condition," referring to the 4-F deferment given to physically/mentally unstable men during the Vietnam War draft. But as far as I can see from the research, heart conditions don't cause claustrophobia - except in the case of panic disorders. According to LiveStrong, a panic disorder is characterized by "unexpected periods of fear accompanied by symptoms, which can include weakness, fainting, heart racing, dizziness, sweating, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, abdominal distress, chest pain and hot flashes... People who experience these episodes while being in an enclosed space may develop claustrophobia."
So, perhaps George has a weak heart that, through a tramautic event in his past, developed into claustrophobia? That could be a good explanation, except for a really interesting comment that I think shows an even deeper mental problem. Page 28, to Jason: "Hey, do you get claustrophobia out in the middle of the ocean? Would affect me the same being at the bottom of the ocean. Being out in the middle of the ocean. I'd go crazy." This line suggests not claustrophobia, a fear of closed in spaces, but rather the opposite: agoraphobia, or fear of wide open spaces (also means fear of public places). So perhaps he has both phobias?
ReplyDeleteIn light of this comment and George's panic attacks, I don't think George has just claustrophobia. He says "Get me out of here, I can't breathe" outside on the patio of Queens, hardly an enclosed space. However, you can infer from this that the play takes place in a kind of prison, a world that George gets caught in and shot in, one created by the attitudes of Jason and his family towards each other. But medically, I think George has a weak heart, a tendency towards anxiety, and tramautic events (perhaps in his childhood?) that have made him live cautiously for his entire life. He abhors excitement and probably does as much as he can to escape potentially anxiety-causing situations. This is identified as claustrophobia, but the triggers can come from anywhere: Jason's gun, the wide open ocean, etc. - it really doesn't have anything to do with physically being in an enclosed space, it's simply the powerless feeling that he is in an enclosed space, created by the anxiety in his mind and the weakness in his heart.
Source:
Causes of claustrophobia:
http://www.livestrong.com/article/269093-what-are-the-causes-of-claustrophobia/
Symptoms of claustrophobia:
http://www.livestrong.com/article/98071-claustrophobia-symptoms/
Hey guys.
ReplyDeleteJordan here. So I loved the facts about crossing the equator rituals that Michael provided. I found an interesting visual collection of these ludicrous going ons. The images might help our Jason and Jacks with subtext and imagery.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/object/article?f=/g/a/2009/09/23/crossingequator.DTL&object=%2Fc%2Fpictures%2F2009%2F09%2F22%2Fba-equator33_0500627657.jpg
Hey guys.
ReplyDeleteJordan here. So I loved Mike's examples of dysfunctional families. I recently watched a movie called City Island that I think will provides us with some great examples of life in New York, a variation of the Queens accent, secrets and lies of a family, and finding the truth in the humor. This family is horrible, but it's funny because their are people like this.
City Island(it might be on Netflix)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1174730/
Hey guys Jordan Here.
ReplyDeleteI loved the pictures that Tay posted up. I watched a movie recently called Do the Right Thing. One of Spike Lee's films, and although it takes place in Brooklyn, it takes place in 1989 and the fashion would be great to look at. It also takes place in the summer so it's appropriate to the time. I believe it's on Netlix.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097216/
Hey Guys!
ReplyDeleteI found this podcast. It is free episodes of King of Queens.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/king-of-queens-podcast/id318628727
Surround yourself with it!
Ashley
Dial-A-Ride is a real thing!
ReplyDeletehttp://maps.google.com/maps/place?hl=en&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=dial+a+ride+nyc&fb=1&gl=us&hq=dial+a+ride&hnear=New+York,+NY&cid=11318930874686459225
Also, this may sound pathetic but I did not know how to play Charades. So I looked up an eHow. If you are "special" like me, this is how to do it.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ehow.com/how_2485_play-charades.html