martes, 15 de enero de 2008

Njal´s Saga 78-52

When I finish reading the chapters assigned for the day at the end of the book there are some notes about some of the chapters. And i really thought that the notes of chapter 91 are really interesting. I liked the following quotes:

"The effect of every action is two-sided". I like this quote because it is totally true from my point of view, when anyone tells you something it is not for your benefit but for theirs. People always consciously or unconsciously do things that benefit them. That's why the world is so ruined because we do everything revolving around us and do things that fit us best.

"We must put out such a wide net". This means that you should always have patience. because it is a metaphor that is related with fishing, which is a very slow thing to do. So he says that even though it will take long you know the outcome is going to be good.

"Pay him a red skin for his grey one". I can interpret this quote the following way: that even though someone did not such a good job you are going to reward him/ her well.

So far I have really like Njal's Saga and I like the quotes a lot.

lunes, 14 de enero de 2008

Njal´s Saga 60-77

At the beginning of today's reading there was something that I noticed that I thought was very
nice. Njal is talking and he says ".....my friend Helgi". I thought this was a very nice gesture
because like it is said Helgi is Njal´s actual son and instead of calling him
son he tells him friend, which is the exact kind of relationship a kid and his parent should have.

So i decided to do this blog about his beacuse my mother always tells me that more than mother/daughter we are friends. I think both Gunnar and my mom are right, because to trust someone you frist have to be frinds with that person. A relationship of a child and a parent cant be based on the order tha parent says, it is based on communication and trust. I like that they mention this and in the last pages it is clearly explained that the bond that Njal and Helgi have is very tight.

And when think about it my mom and I are very good friends and I think that considering each other our friend has helped built our relationship stronger and bigger. Also it makes me think that when i grow up I want to be just like this with my children. I want to listen to them, talk to them, and very importantly: trust them, and vice versa. I think it was very important that they included this in the Saga and that they explained it.

Njal´s Saga 39-59

Recently in a "Write Now" there was a question that really caught my attention is was stated like this: If Gunnar and Njal were real life actors who would they be? I find this question very fun to answer so I decided to do my blog about it, considering in the reading I did today confirmed it even more.

If Gunnar was a real life actor i would say he is Brad Pitt. This is because Gunnar is described as a valiant young man , and I cant hep thinking about him in his "Troy" outfit all string and brave. Also the personality I think might fit. Gunnar is not afraid of anything and so isn't Brad, or at least the rolls he has played. He has a very strong personality and he is good with girls, meaning he can get any girl he wants.

Njals could be interpreted as Johnny Depp, I can think of this unique character because he is very serious but at the same time wise. He is really handsome but reserved also. He can interpret fascinating and extravagant characters like Jack Sparrow but serious and discrete one like in Finding Neverland. He looks like a very simple man who doesn't talk too much, but with the few things he says it is just enough.

When reading the chapters assigned for today, I confirmed my Write Now thoughts, because a man like Gunnar_Brad Pitt, needs someone like Njal-Johnny Depp to put his feet back on land. You always need a friend who is not as crazy as you but who wants the best for you and gives you good advice just as Njal does.

domingo, 13 de enero de 2008

Njal´s Saga 30-38

Chapters 30-38 were much more understandable tan the others. I got things a lot better and there were a lot of important events. Fewer people are introduced this time so that was a really good thing. A thing that happened in the last chapters caught my attention. When Gunnar and Hallgerd (Gunnars wife) went to a dinner in the house of Njal and Bergthora´s house and considering Gunnar was a great friend of Njal Hallgerd started to become like jealous of him so there was Gunnar in just the m idle of the fight.

This happens to me a lot, many times when I have two good friends and they fight with each other I am in the middle of the fight and I really doubt know what to do because though I like them both I cant lean towards one side or the other. In fact that happened to me approximately 1 year ago, two of my good friends where fighting and I was just in the middle. I couldn’t spend break with one of them because the other would get mad and vice versa. It was really awkward but at the same time disturbing, because I had nothing to do with that. And the worst of all is that at the end they ended up forgiving each other and they didn’t like me as much! I was really mad, because since the beginning I had nothing to do with it, but I got over it. Something that also happens is that when you have a class with two of your friends and they don’t like each other you never know what to do when its partners or projects etc.

So in conclusion this part of the story got me very familiarized with Gunnar because I know what he is feeling! But when you really think about it when this sort of things happen the best thing to do is frist never take a side, which Gunnar did, and second back of just a bit, trust me it is better!

Matthew 23-28

On chapter 26 after the last supper when Jesus knows Judas is going to betray him, he goes to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. I found it very interesting the thoughts that go through Jesus at that moment. He starts praying to his father if it is possible to escape the suffering that is coming. This shows weakness from his part because considering he is the son of God you wouldn’t think he actually feels the pain, but instead he does, and he feels it just like a normal human being. When Jesus is being crucified he says the following phrase which left me amazed: “My Gog, my God why have you forsaken me?” (27:46): I relate this quote with my personal life because when something in my life goes wrong or not the way I wanted I think that God has forgotten about me, but that’s to true. Because regardless what happens to you, God is always there by your side and he will n ever abandon you. And even though things don’t always go the things you wanted, it all happens for a reason.

Matthew was a great part of the New Testament considering it describes Jesus’ life from beginning to end.

miércoles, 9 de enero de 2008

Njal´s Saga 19-29

Reading the Njal’s Saga was a totally different experience from that of reading the bible. It is like a story or a short novel that concerns different poeole based on one knowledgable man.

One thing I found very confusing is that they mention a lot of names at the beginning of each chapter and they mention who is the son of who and everyone’s relationship with everyone, even if it doesn’t matter. Which at the end makes it very confusing to know who is who and where did they come from.

I could make two categories or stories of the pages we had to read: The first one would be chapter 19-26 and the other chapter is 26-30. In the first part they introduce a lot of characters but the main is Gunnar they tell e is a man who has a friend called Unn. One day Unn comes to him and tells him she is in a big need for money and she needs his help. Soon Gunnar tells Unn that all his money is at her disposition, but she tells him she doesn’t want that. She tells him that she wants to regain some lands that were hers. So she tells Gunnar to go to Njal who is a very wise man from other lands and that he will give him advice of how she will regain her money back. When he arrives to this man and tells I’m all his issues he says he has a way to save this money. He gives him a set of instructions which include dressing in a cape with hood, taking two men each with two horses (one thin and one large), and telling he is sort of a merchandiser. He then talks to Hrut and they will discus and at the end he will win the argument and regain all the money. And so does this happen just as Njal said so and successfully Gunnar returns the money to Unn. This is basically the same story, we can see that Njal is a very wise man who everyone goes for advise and they all end winning.

The second part of the reading was basically about Njal himself and his sons. It tells a short description of all his sos and their names. Njal has a great urge to marry them and is looking for a wife for every one of them. There is a man names Asgrim who has a daughter and he is marries with one of Njal´s sons. At the feast Gunnar is at the party. I really didn’t understand how the story ended.

To be sincere this is not one of my favorite pieces that we’ve read. I’m more into the Tao Te Ching and the Annalects kind of stuff, but it is always good to read different stuff and learn from it.

martes, 8 de enero de 2008

John 1-21

John was the last Gospel and surprisingly it was very different from all the other ones. Though it makes a great emphasis Jesus birth it doesn’t talk much about his family and Mary’s conception and Jesus infancy. John is divided in basically 3 parts: 1, Jesus miracles 2. Crucifixion and resurrection 3. Appearance to disciples after his resurrection.

One thing I didn’t know is that John brought a lot of followers to Jesus. He believed 100% in him and supported him. I think this was a nice gesture form him

One ting that surprised me about this Gospel that they don’t mention in others is that when Jesus begins to baptize people in Judea, John the Baptist hears about it he is very happy about it, he feels very honored that Jesus, the Son of God is doing the same thing he is. I think this is a very nice gesture because unlike we would he gets very happy that other people do what he does. And instead f getting all mad he takes it very well. This shoes us the great personality john has; we should be more like that. This also shows the deep feelings that Jesus and John feel for each other. As soon a john meets Jesus he say the following “He is the son of God” (1:34). So he was one of the few persons that instantly believed him.

Just like John a very noble thing Jesus did was once, Jesus encounters with a Samaritan (which where a group of people who hate Jesus) and he started talking to her. So I think this was very nice because he was talking to somebody who belonged to a group who didn’t like him and even still he cordially talked to her and interacts. This shows us to not have rancor against others.


There are several quotes I really liked Jesus mentioned in this chapter were:


o “Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment”.
o I am the way, and the truth, and the life, no one comes through the father except through me”.
o “Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her”
o “I am in the father and the father is in me”

The gospel ends pretty much like all the others Jesus revives and goes to his disciples. One thing I didn’t know when Mary Magdalene saw him she thinks he is a gardener also it is a lot more intense when he re-encounters with his disciples.

I liked reading the last Gospel of the New Testament I think like all the Gospel John was very interesting. And though all the gospels told the same story it was form a very different perspective that it was told and each had its special unique touch.

Luke 1 -24

So far I think Luke has been my favorite Gospel. It is very “humane” and I liked Luke as a person because he has a lot of Jesus characteristics, he also wants to be more like him. For example he gets along very well with women and treats them like they deserve, he doesn’t like rich people, and instead he gets along better with humble people.

Something I really liked about the gospel of Luke was chapter 15. In this chapter they mention that a sheep, a coin, and a boy get lost. But after they all return where they belong to. By telling these three stories Luke represents that God will always watch out for lost people. People who might think that they are forgotten, but the fact is that god is always by their side. I also liked this part of the gospel because it teaches us that even though we might feel lost god will always take care of us and lead us thought the correct way.

What I thought was very interesting about Luke was that at the beginning a lot of new characters that are not mentioned in the other Gospels are introduced. They mention a story that I had never heard before! It tells that the parents of John the Baptist (Zechariah and Elizabeth are told by angel Gabriel that Elizabeth is pregnant. Then angel Gabriel appears to Mary, who is her relative and tells her that she too is pregnant. Then it is Elizabeth who tells Mary that she is going to be the mother of the lord.

In conclusion I really liked this Gospel but I think this story was a little too invented and over made. It is very complicates and even sometimes hard to believe.

lunes, 7 de enero de 2008

Finish of Mark 11-16

One thing about Matthew and Mark that I didn’t quite understand is that the disciples and the people keep questioning Jesus. I really don’t get this because after everything he has done even his own “students” question him and like mentioned in Matthew they think he is a ghost, which from my point of view is very offensive.
Mark makes a great emphasize in gathering crowds of people and preaching to them, also teach them new things. They also keep mentioning that Jesus has an “issue” with rich people or people who have money. They even mention that rich people will have trouble entering the Kingdom of God.

A part they pint out a lot is when Jesus goes to the Gethsemane garden to pray. He goes with three of his disciples but they keep falling asleep and Jesus waked them up each time because he was really scared. This shows a very human side of Jesus because he is scared and he just wants to avoid everything that is coming. He is showing us that he also has fears and wants someone to be by his side.

It was till this Gospel I noticed that Mary was the only person that stood by Jesus’ side through the entire journey. She was the only one, not even Joseph, actually you never ever hear from Joseph again in the whole Jesus story.

Mark 1-10

Since the beginning of Mark you can see that the whole chapter you can see that the whole chapter is very straight forward. Luke and Mathew both tell the same story about Jesus’ life but in a colder way.

I found it very awkward that at the beginning of mark they don’t mention Jesus’ birth. Instead it begins by describing when Jesus was an adult. One thing I also found weird was that Satan tests Jesus for forty days, and I don’t really understand this because isn’t Jesus the son of god? And why should he be tested? I also was wondering isn’t Satan not suppose to exist according to God. I don’t think this should be included in the bible because it makes us “loose” a bit of trust in Jesus considering he should be almighty. They shouldn’t even test Jesus just for the fact that he is the son f God himself.
The miracles have been pretty much the same : heals a paralytic, cleanses a leper, revives a young girl multiplies food and walks on waters. The only thing that is not mentioned is that he cures a man possessed by a demon.

I found Mark a bit confusing and I didn’t like it very much, I am looking forward to reading the rest of it.