The 20th Century & Beyond:

My Virtual Time Capsule By Jennifer Kitchen

Kaplan University

HW300-16 Arts & Humanities

Dr. Scott Robinson

February 12th , 2012

(Kitchen,2011)

Letter of Introduction

Dear Reader,I am an American living in the Rocky Mountains of the

Southwest corner of Colorado. I smoke cigarettes and go out for a few drinks with my friends about once a month. I like to take walks around the town of Mancos where I live and often visit the park to swing. I love to read and collect books from many genres, like some people collect thimbles and key chains from different states. I am also a music lover and collect CDs like I do books. I am an artist and a poet, but may not be great at either. Maybe someday. I love being human and accept myself with all my faults as they make me who I am just as much as my talents.

Unlike many people in the World, I do not have any traditional customs that I take part in. I do not celebrate the holidays of Christmas or Easter as either consumer or religious holidays. The only annual events I like to celebrate are the birthdays of my loved ones and I do this via the internet and text messages. Other than that I take several trips to go camping and hiking with my daughters and our friends. We start going as soon as the weather is warm enough, around the end of May, and our last trip is often in mid-September. My daughters and I also take part in local events, such as Mancos Days and the local Renaissance Faire.

I believe future generations should remember this time in history and learn from what we have not gotten right. There are too many people fighting in this world in the name of religion when we really know it is more about power and greed (everyone wants it) and prejudice (racial and sexual). Americans have spent the past half century in prosperity and now it has bred laziness, unjustifiable demands in life, and unfulfilled wants. I do not think the world will be the same in a short while. We humans are destroying our world and disconnecting from each other. We no longer even make phone calls its text. People have more friends on social networks (friends they have never met in person) than they have in everyday life. I will survive this strange change we are going through and somehow remain who I am.

I work in a grocery store and pizza shop right now. I am making it by in life but have higher expectations for myself. I am in university to get a bachelors in science for health and wellness. For me, I only want to reach my idea of success and I feel I am well on my way. I desire to help those that want to help themselves by taking control of their health and their intentions. I think people deserve to be looked at and treated as individuals with their own unique set of gifts and faults. No one is perfect and no one has all the answers but we can each flourish in our own ways and assist each other in this life. We need each other.

Sincerely,Jenni

(Kitchen,2011)

Morality and Decision MakingIn today’s World I have a hard time seeing morality and good decision making on a larger

scale, yet, there are many people who still have good morals and values. There is a movement going on by the name of Occupy. It started with Wall Street and has spread across the World. Now it has people looking at everything going on, we are looking at the big picture. People have opened their eyes to a “deeper understanding about the power corporations wield over the great majority of us” (Nelson, 2011). Every faucet of American life is under the control of the corporations given power by our own government.

Capitalism, that which says if people are allowed to make as much money as they can others will also profit, does not work the way it supposed to. The free-market of capitalism has failed Americans and the World. It has taken ‘our farmers, farmlands, and rural communities, their forests, wetlands, and prairies, their ecosystems and watersheds” (Berry, 2001). It has only made the rich richer and the rest of us must still struggle and work harder to simply survive while we lose our World. Corporations dominate our most basic needs. Although this is not fair, in any way I can conceive, the masses are not going to let this continue.

For years we have been working to back in control of our food system. In 1985, a movement, Farm Aid, was started for just this reason. Many key markets of agriculture are controlled by a handful of corporate companies, while family farmers struggle to make a living. 93% of soybeans and 80% of corn, two of the United States’ most commonly used crops, are controlled by 1 company. Of the grain sold globally, 90% is controlled by 4 companies. 3 companies control our 70% of the beef market in the U.S. and 60% of the chicken and pork is under the control of 4 companies (Nelson, 2011). These corporate companies do not care about feeding the people as much as the care about the bottom line, the dollar amount they can get. This greed does not benefit anyone, not the workers or the consumers, only the corporations themselves.

Although, there is no altruism in the way these corporations treat the people, I do find it in individuals. Willie Nelson, Farm Aid’s president, stands beside the family farmer and the consumer to take back control of our food system. Corporations have taken from the people, causing “loss of millions of family farmers, destruction of our soil, pollution of our water, and health epidemic” (Nelson, 2011). If we continue to abide these few conglomerates we will lose sustainability on a global level. The population has grown, the World has changed, and we have lost track of the importance of the individual. Movements such as Farm Aid can make a difference, the Occupy movement has shown that people are listening.

Lawrence Kohlberg, a developmental psychologist devised a 6-step approach to morality using basic guidelines for behavior. These steps are as follows;• 1: Obedience and punishment. This is reasoning

with respect to the external punishment that may be incurred.

• 2: Individualism and exchange. This takes into account that what we give out we may get back. This reciprocated affect can be found even when acting in one’s self-interest.

• 3: Interpersonal relationships. We seek approval from others and therefore conform to what we believe others may desire.

• 4: Maintaining social order. People may act out of duty for the sake of order, social implications, and laws.

• 5: Social contract and individual rights. Moral decisions are made in order to avoid harming others. This is what we view as human rights.

• 6: Universal principles. There are human ethics of which are binding on all. These are universal principles of justice.

• (Cherry, 2012 and Janaro & Altshuler, 2009). (Occupy Together, 2012)

HappinessI believe happiness is the contentment of living fully. It is the

pleasure of having loved ones in life and the cheer of celebrating special occasions. Happiness is the delight of hearing my child’s first words and the magic my children's’ laughter. It is the feel good feeling that the smell of fresh baked bread creates. It is the exhilaration of seeing the beauty in everyday life and the inspiration in seeing nature. Happiness is the rapture of true love. It is breath taking sunrises and sunsets.

For me happiness is the satisfaction of accomplishing what I set out to do, achievement. It is basking in my uniqueness and reveling in the joy of simple things. It is the enchantment of seeing a new land or experiencing a new culture for the first time and the exquisiteness of experiences yet to come. Happiness is those cherished memories and the bliss of knowing what it is to be present in life.

It is surviving all the overwhelming experiences that life brings at us. Happiness comes from living as good as one can. It comes from accepting the way things may happen even when it is far from what we want to happen. It is letting our smile change the World and not letting the World change our smile.

(Kitchen,2011)(Kitchen,2011)

Happiness is a hot summer day spent with my daughters in the river.

(Kitchen,2011)

Literary WorksWords were my first love in life. Humankind uses words to communicate.

We use them vocally, verbally passing on information and stories, but have been writing word down for millennia now. We write in prose, poetry. We write text books full of nonfiction, the facts as we know it. We print books by the millions. These writing are sold, traded, and shared. Journals are written to share new information. Words narrate our lives and the lives of others, human and animal. Fiction novels are long stories that are creative writings, imaginary tales with heroes and villains. Invented stories also come in short forms, often found in magazines. Today we read many books on computers or reading tablets.

I have two stories I would like to share. Isaac Asimov, a biochemist , a scientist, wrote almost 500 books. He wrote text books for schools, elementary and university, on about every subject math, history, literature, mythology, and science. He even wrote books to compliment the reading of the Bible. The words he wrote that I have found most enthralling are his novels and short stories of science fiction. He has written many books of this genre. Many of his works, such as “Nightfall”, “Foundation”, “Foundation And Empire”, “Second Foundation”, “The Caves Of Steel”, “The End Of Eternity”, “The Naked Sun”, and “The Gods Themselves”, won both the Hugo and the Nebula awards of literature (Liukkonen, 2008). He knew science and made it understandable to the common man.

I highly recommend reading the Foundation Series but I want to share with you these two stories, about questions and answers. “The Last Question” and “The Last Answer” are not a set of stories that were written as a series. They were written 24 years apart and deal with Life, the Universe, and our own quest for Knowledge. They are timeless, although they both deal with the infiniteness of time and space. I have summarized the stories here but I hope you are able to find them in their original form for more enjoyment and better understanding.

The Last QuestionWritten by Isaac Asimov (1956) Summarized here by me

The story start with “The last question was asked for the first time, half in jest, on May 21, 2061, at a time when humanity first stepped into the light.” This is far in even my future but the story is relevant, it is a universal story that spans time and space. Two men are sitting behind the most amazing computer ever built, Multivac (the "ac" for "analog computer“) The sun powers everything on Earth and man is no longer tied to fossil fuels. These men are having a drink and discussing how long the sun will last because nothing lasts forever, when one, on the whim of a 5$ bet, asks the Multivac the question, “How can the net amount of entropy (the running down) of the universe be massively decreased?“. After sometime the answer comes, “INSUFFICIENT DATA FOR MEANINGFUL ANSWER”. The incident is forgotten. The story goes on through time and space. We travel with a family through hyperspace where they ask Multivac’s predecessor, Microvac , how to turn the stars on again if entropy happens in the universe. Then we find we are in a quickly populating universe (due to immortality) with the Galactic AC. Humankind is aware of the universe running down and the question is asked, "Can entropy ever be reversed?“ And we progress even more and now humankind no longer lives in bodies but in the ether of space as minds while the bodies remain on planets. Two minds wonder where humankind originated and the question is put forth, "Universal AC! On which Galaxy did mankind originate?“ The answer, "THIS IS THE ORIGINAL GALAXY OF MAN.“ A series of questions are then asked. "And Is one of these stars the original star of Man?“ "MAN'S ORIGINAL STAR HAS GONE NOVA. IT IS NOW A WHITE DWARF.“ "Did the men upon it die?” "A NEW WORLD, AS IN SUCH CASES, WAS CONSTRUCTED FOR THEIR PHYSICAL BODIES IN TIME.“ These ,minds see that the stars are dying and when all energy is gone, their bodies will die and then must their consciousness. In his distress the question is asked, ”How many stars be kept from dying?“ The answer, again comes to, "THERE IS AS YET INSUFFICIENT DATA FOR A MEANINGFUL ANSWER.“ Finally matter and energy, space and time were gone. AC existed for the sake of the last question it had not answered trillions of years before. AC had collected all the data it could and correlated this information in timelessness. When it finally came up with the answer no one was there to hear it. AC organized a program and started with the answer to how entropy may be reversed, “"LET THERE BE LIGHT!“

The Last AnswerWritten by Isaac Asimov (1980) Summarized here by me

An atheistic physicist, Murray, falls to the floor in his laboratory due to cardiac arrest. He feels a peace wash over him, darkness invades his consciousness, in the distance he sees a light. The light fades. He is all there is in the Universe when he hears the Voice, “I have done this so often and yet I still have the capacity to be pleased at success.” Murray wants to say something, aware he has no body he manages to make words, “Is this Heaven?” A conversation ensues, “This is no place as you understand place.” “Are you God?” “It is strange that I am always asked that in an infinite number of ways. There is no answer I can give that you would comprehend. I am – which is all that I can say significantly and you may cover that with any word or concept you please.” Murray then goes on to find that he is still himself , in a way, and that he chosen for his “capacity for thought” from quadrillions of other “intelligent species of the Universe.” Murray was brought to this place to think and to come up with any thoughts not already thought. “Consider. I have existed eternally, but what does that mean? It means I cannot remember having come into existence. If I could, I would not have existed eternally. If I cannot remember having come into existence, then there is at least one thing – the nature of my coming into existence – that I do not know.” The Voice had “constructed the Universe in order to have more facts to deal with. I inserted the uncertainty principle, entropy, and other randomization factors to make the whole not instantly obvious. It has worked well for it has amused me throughout its entire existence.” New things are learned all the time, now Murray must come up with new thoughts, for eternity. He cannot understand how the purpose of finding new knowledge is a means in itself and looks for another purpose. “The purpose of my thinking will be to discover a way to disrupt this nexus of me that you have created. I do not want to think for no purpose but to amuse you. I do not want to think forever to amuse you. I do not want to exist forever to amuse you. All my thinking will be directed toward ending the nexus. That would amuse me.” He is informed this plan will not be successful , as he will simply be reconstructed. “Then I will create another purpose for myself. I will not try to destroy myself. I will set as my goal the humiliation of you. I will think of something you have not only never thought of but never could think of. I will think of the last answer, beyond which there is no knowledge further… You cannot know your beginning. You have said so. Therefore you cannot know your end. That will be my purpose and that will be the last answer.” “Then try to think of it.” Murray begins to think, he had plenty of time.

Mancos Public Library

The public library is a place to borrow books, music, and movies. A place to find the latest news and information. All the references ever needed to write a research paper or make origami figures can be found at the library. You can use the computers to connect to the internet or make a resume. If you so desire you can simply sit and read a book of poetry. As long as you do not disturb the peacefulness that is within the library you can stay all day perusing shelves and finding out something new. If you would like to read the books “I, Robot” written by Asimov in 1950 or Bicentennial Man (1976) or watch the films made by Twentieth Century Fox in 2004 or 1492 Pictures (1999) (Liukkonen, 2008) , both can be found in the interlibrary loan system if the library does not have it stock.

The Mancos Public Library also has Game Dayz, every Wednesday, where people can play on the WII gaming system. They also show documentaries by Independent Lens on the last Thursday of the month. Recently they started a Monday afternoon movie time for the afterschool crowd. This week was The Labyrinth, my all-time favorite romantic comedies. There is a bulletin board that keeps the town up-to-date on library happenings. The library is my favorite place in the world. It is free to all and has everything a person needs to educate themselves.

(Whelihan, 2011)

The Mancos Public Library has a Mission Statement that they stand by: They serve all members of the community, and visitors to our town, in a setting free of discrimination. They provide informational resources, support lifelong learning, offer materials and programs for pleasure and entertainment, nurture artistic creativity and literacy, support developing research skills, and provide the community with a meeting place. They have a knowledgeable and courteous staff. They carry “deep, broad, and current collections and have dynamic, well-rounded programs and current technology and facility.” The library is a spacious, well-lit and comfortable place to visit and spend a day. They support intellectual freedom and showcase the arts (Mancos Public Library, 2012). It really is a place to learn, experience, and grow.

This library is a great piece of architecture as well as work of art in itself. It is a new building with solar power and water saving restroom facilities. The fireplace is natural gas and quite inviting in the winter months. The children’s reading room is colorful and has tiles made by the children and families of Mancos. There are art displays around the building to show off local artists and their work. I chose to put the public library in my time capsule because of all its greatness. It is whatever you want to make of it.

Bright EyesConor Oberst, a singer songwriter from Nebraska, is Bright Eyes. One man brings together many

instruments and musicians to form an album. Conor uses a wide range of melodies, moods and sounds to create his songs. With the help of other musicians he has made music that is orchestral, country, rock, emo and hardcore, and more. His songs have included guitars, drums, piano, flute, mellotron, dulcimer, glockenspiel, accordion and keyboards, as well as many other instruments. He is diverse and all-encompassing with his music.

Saddle Creek produced Bright Eyes’ first album, Letting Off The Happiness in 1998 when Conor was a teenager. He has continued to make music since then quite regularly. Conor has done 7 recordings as Bright Eyes, in the past 12 years, and has had 3 side projects. Desaparecidos was formed in 2002 and made the album, Real Music Speak Spanish which was a fusion of garage-rock and emo-core. Conor debuted solo with the radio-friendly proletarian rock in 2008 and in 2009 did an album Outer South as Conor Oberst And The Mystic Valley Band. Also in 2009 Conor got together with Mike Mogis, Jim James, and M Ward to form the Monsters Of Folk which was reminiscent of rock in the1960s and 1970s(Scaruffi,1999).

In 2005 Conor put together two albums that shared two sides of himself. These are two albums I own and enjoy. The electronic album Digital Ash In A Digital Urn contains the song Easy/Lucky/Free which tells of life in so many words and reminds us that nothing as simple as we would like it to be. I Believe In Symmetry is about the desire for simplicity, which is to not desire. The Bottom of Everything and First Day of My Life from his acoustic album I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning are both very moving and provoking. I would like to preserve at least these two albums but really think all he has done deserves to be kept.

Conor Oberst sings not just to share his story but to share the connection of being human. He sings of truth and even tells lies to show the difference. He uses all the sounds we have created with instruments and technology to make music that is easy to listen to most the time. He has worked with many multi-talented instrumental artists; Britt Daniel, Son Ambulance, Neva Dinova, Andy LeMaster, and Nate Walcott. The music of Bright Eyes is for every event, every mood, every intention of human nature.

Bright Eyes at Austin City Limits

Star Wars and Popular CultureIn 1975 George Lucas came up with and wrote the story of Anakin Skywalker, his rise

and fall. He then wrote more stories involving the adventures of Luke Skywalker, Anakin’s son and redeemer. The story was too large for 1 film, so Lucas had to divide the story into 12 episodes consisting of 4 film trilogies (this is the rumor, no one can be certain).

“The first Star Wars trilogy focuses on the life of a young Anakin Skywalker (Star Wars prequel trilogy) while the second Star Wars film trilogy (Star Wars classic trilogy) and the third Star Wars movie trilogy (Star Wars sequel trilogy) focus on Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia, the daughter of Anakin Skywalker. The fourth Star Wars film trilogy is vague and esoteric with a strange plot. It is set countless thousands of years after the third Star Wars movie trilogy (Star Wars sequels).” (Super Shadow, n.d.).

George was given 11million dollars by 20th Century Fox to make the first film. He used this money wisely and made a movie that was beyond impressive for the time. Using parts from models of cars and planes, trash cans, bailing wire, molding clay, and even duct tape George created a vast universe. He also had the help of special kinds of puppets created by Jim Henson. In 1977 the first episode of Star Wars was the most successful film in North American history with a gross in excess of $ 307.2 million. Since then he has built his own Empire or maybe he really has a Republic. He has started many companies, from Lucasfilm and his THX Sound to Industrial Light and Magic and the Skywalker Ranch.

George Lucas is an innovator in the film industry and has helped form and change the way movies are made, viewed, and heard. He created a story that is universal and timeless. This is a film that has spoken to many to generations and still continues to speak to all humanity.

(Super Shadow, n.d.)

While some may believe Star Wars will someday become a religion, Lucas has stated that Star Wars "will be nothing more than a pretty minor footnote in the pop culture of the 1970s and 1980s."(Super Shadow, n.d.).

The Star Wars Universe was first brought to our World on May 25th, 1977, with Episode IV: A New Hope and began with the words, “A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…” May 21st, 1980 Lucas brought to us Episode V:The Empire Strikes Back. On May 25th, 1983 the 3rd film in the trilogy, Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, was released. In 1997 the trilogy was re-released in theaters with new graphics and special effects. The original films made use of models and muppets but the a new technique in the film industry, computer generated imaging (CGI), made it possible to polish these older films into a very realistic world now.

With CGI came an all new Star Wars Universe. Episode I: The Phantom Menace opened on May 19th, 1999. On May 16th, 2002 Episode II: Attack of the Clones was released. November 7th, 2003 The Star Wars: Clone Wars animated micro-series debuts on the Cartoon Network. May 19th, 2005 Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. August 15th, 2008 the animated movie Star Wars :The Clone Wars opens in theaters. October 3rd, 2008 the new Star Wars: Clones Wars series begins its first season on the Cartoon Network. It has been running for 7 seasons now. Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace was released in 3-D just 2 days ago.

All the while, as these films were played and replayed in theaters and on video in homes, books were being written that expanded the Universe George Lucas started. There are over 200 hundred novels and counting that can take you to the Star Wars Universe and they can be found at your local public library (I really hope you still have free access to reading).

References•Asimov, I., (1956). The Last Question. http://www.multivax.com/last_question.html

•Asimov, I., (1980). The Last Answer. http://www.thrivenotes.com/the-last-answer/

•Berry, W. (2001) In the Presence of Fear. Orion Society; MA.

•Cherry, K. (2012). Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development: Stages of Moral Development. http://psychology.about.com/od/developmentalpsychology/a/kohlberg.htm

•Janaro, R. P., & Altshuler, T. C. (2009). The Art of Being Human: The humanities as a technique for living (Kaplan University 2nd custom ed.). New York: Pearson Education, Inc.

•Liukkonen, P. (2008). Books and Writers: Isaac Asimov (1920-1992) - pseudonym Paul French http://kirjasto.sci.fi/asimov.htm

•Mancos Public Library (2012). Mancos Public Library. http://mancoslibrary.org/

•Moyers, B. (2008). Bill Moyers Rewind: Isaac Asimov (1988). http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/blog/2008/03/bill_moyers_rewind_isaac_asimo_1.html

•Nelson, W. (2011). Occupy the Food System . http://www.huffingtonpost.com/willie-nelson/occupy-food-system_b_1154212.html

•Occupy Together, (2012). Occupy Together. http://www.occupytogether.org

•Scaruffi, P. (1999). Bright Eyes. http://www.scaruffi.com/vol5/brightey.html

•Super Shadow, (n.d.). http://www.supershadow.com/starwars/history.html

•Whelihan, J. K., (2011). Pictures of MLP. Via E-mail.

•Video from google.com

•Bright Eyes, Austin City Limits. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4012485956805549121#

•Videos from Spike.com

•Bright Eyes, At the Bottom of Everything. http://www.spike.com/video-clips/56o94t/at-the-bottom-of-everything

•Bright Eyes, Easy/Lucky/Free. http://www.spike.com/video-clips/te42ji/bright-eyes-easy-lucky-free

•Bright Eyes, First Day of My Life. http://www.spike.com/video-clips/3jo22t/bright-eyes-first-day-of-my-life

•Videos from Youtube.com

•Bright Eyes, I Believe in Symmetry. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kdvwtlFY5A