My Response to Jacqueline's Blog #11

Another September 11

Very interesting! The Remeber September 11 is spelled wrong... they forgot an "m". Random fact that bugs me now! :) Anyway, moving on... I like your analysis of the picture! I would add about Allende that if he was pointing the gun at himself, what would that show? Not much faith in what he stood for. Suicide is the easy way out, and you wouldn't want to proclaim that is what you did/what you would be doing to your supporters. I think the fact that he is aiming the gun shows he is at the "soldiers" and his supporters level. He too is fighting with them. He isn't just a leader that directs, but is one with the people, which goes quite well with his message! Great blog post!

Blog Número Once



Gioconda Belli's: In the Language of Memory

I quite enjoyed this poem, especially compared to Neruda's. I have no doubt Neruda was a talented poet and his poem meant a great deal of things, but I just didn't get a whole lot out of it. Belli's poem, on the other hand was very vivid. I love her description of events and the impact it had on society. I don't know how many of you researched some of the words she uses, but here a couple ones that stood out to me.

Native Words:

Quequisque: is a tuber that is mostly used in soups. It is found in many Latin American countries, but each country gives it a different name. Quequisque is the Argentinean name.

Yuca: is like a potato as well, and used in soups as well as other dishes

Quequisque is in the lower left, and yuca is above it.

Jipijapa: is a type of palm tree as known as the Panama hat tree. It isn't a true palm because it doesn't have the bark trunk. It has soft, flexible, durable fibers that are used to make Panama hats or other objects like baskets as described in the poem.

Ceibos: is a huge tree that some species can grow up to 230 feet tall or more. It has straight branchless trunk and a spreading canopy as well as large buttress roots. There is a  legend associated with one species of the ceibo tree found about an indigenous woman.

Quena: is the traditional flute of the Andes. It is kind of similar to the recorder, which most of you probably played? except that you rest the mouth piece between the chin and lower lip and blow downward to create sound. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a video to upload, but go to Youtube and look up the quena!

Have a great weekend everyone!



My Response to Jacqueline's Blog #10

I completely agree! I find it amusing in an odd way of how Posada depicts her. It's very ironic that she is a skeleton with a big fancy hat. I agree that what you do with your life is more important than money. There's a quote: "People don't remember what you say or what you did, but how you made them feel." It doesn't matter how much money you have, or what clothes you wear, its the impact on people around you that matters. Money doesn't buy happiness. People who think earning a lot of money will make them happy are very off track. Sure it is nice, but you don't have a good grasp on the meaning on life if money is distracting you.

Blog Número Diez

Copper

I don't know about the rest of you, but I had no idea how you would mine copper. I expected it to be quite simple with a bunch of machinery, but really there are a lot of different processes and techniques that can be used. I did a little bit of research and came up with some interesting tidbits and a couple processes which I briefly describe.

First off some interesting facts about Chile today: Chile has about 24% of the world's copper reserves, and Chile's mine, Codelco, is the world's tope copper producer. In 2010 Chile produced 5,390 metric tons of copper.

Copper Mining:

There are various copper extraction techniques which I'll give a brief overview of.

The first stage: the rock containing copper is crushed into small particles. This process is called accurate grinding or comminution. The particles are then separated to remove the gangue (minerals such as silica, magnesia, alumina, and limestone), then by physical liberation where the ore minerals are separated from the rock.

 

If the copper ores are an oxide ore: then a hydrometallurgical liberation process is undertaken. Big word, yes, but actually isn't that difficult to understand. Hydro - means water. So pretty much this extraction uses aqueous chemistry to recover the metals from the ore. This is only possible because of the soluble nature of the minerals.

If the copper ores are sulfide ores: a froth flotation process is used. This is a modern technique that was invented in the early 1900s in Australia. The froth flotation is a complicated process - in a nut-shell depending on the ore different "frothers" are used in order to bring the ore to the top of the cell which is then pumped out. If you are interested in the chemistry of it - go look it up!

This is a copper sulfide foam in one of the froth-flotation cells.

This is an example of what a froth-flotation cell would look like. It takes special machinery, which is why many jobs were lost in Chile as this took over.

After the ore has been removed the copper sulfide is smelted. The purpose of smelting is to eliminate the unwanted parts such as iron, sulfur, and the gangue minerals. This produces a matte. Now they would have copper sulfide. The sulfur is then removed at a high temperature as sulfur dioxide by blowing air through the molten matte.

For all you chemistry people out there here's the equation.

2CuS + 3O2 ---> 2CuO + 2SO2

CuS + O2 ---> Cu + SO2

It is then refined in a furnace or by electrolysis.

And...this is only part of the process of refining copper from ore. Hopefully this blog gives you a little insight into copper mining and how complex it is!





Blog Número Nueve

The South: A different take on Civilization vs Barbarism

So we had a really great discussion on Borges's The South. I think we all agree that there was a difference between Dahlmann's self in the city and the country. I found it interesting that while he was in the city, he yearned for the country and the ranch. After he leaves for the ranch, you kind of forget about the city, but he always has a part of the city with him, his book - the Arabian Nights (or One Thousand and One Nights). But he eventually forgets about the book as he is caught up in the countryside, and he leaves the city behind. The city is similar to civilization and the South is the "barbaric" part of the country.

This brings a thought to my mind. Every person struggles with civilization vs barbarism.There is that side of a person that yearns for civilization, for cities, and people. Elegance, a higher form of life. The strength of this is different in each person, just as the barbaric side is. The barbaric side is the side that pulls Dahlmann to the country. He seeks quiet, tranquilly, adventure, a valiant death. Who would choose a death on a hospital bed over a death defending your rights or your beliefs?

Now, back to the story. Dahlmann had lived in the city his whole life. In a way, he had fulfilled that "civilized" part of him and his "barbaric" side was pulling him toward the country. That, combined with the fact that he didn't want to die a death in a hospital bed, was why he took the train out to the South.

I was hesitant to use the words civilization and barbarism - though for the sake of clarity and lack of 2 opposite words that are similar I did. 

My Response to Elena's Blog #9: Balthazar and the Biblical Magi

I find this connection super interesting! I thought of Belshazzar - a King in the Old Testament when I read the story at first. If you are familiar with Biblical history he was the King who saw the writing on the wall, had Daniel interpret it, and died the next day. I almost find that a closer representation than Balthazar, one of the wise men. Belshazzar is also sometimes called Balthazar. Interestingly though, the number of Wise Men is unknown. People just assume it is three based on the three gifts - one per person, and of course that has been passed down as tradition and depicted in pictures and books, but is not historically correct. There is actually another tradition as well that says there were 15 Wise men that came. Thought I'd pass that knowledge on, seeing as I just found out we don't know for sure how many Magi there were this last Christmas!

My Response to Grace's Blog #8

Horacio Quiroga 

Awesome blog! Thanks for this interesting post! It is no wonder his stories were about death and despair if his life was like that! I wonder if his fascination with the jungle stemmed from this as well. There are wild animals and few people. Seeing as all those who were close to him died and/or committed suicide, he may have blamed himself. That is the sad thing about suicide - it oftentimes hurts those who are still living more than the person that commits suicide. Younger children, especially, tend to blame themselves. He may have found an escape in the jungle.

Blog Número Ocho

Zapatista Mural

I was just in Chicago yesterday, and unfortunately didn't have the time to visit some of these Murals at the Latino Cultural Center. But as I was researching it, I came across this mural, The Zapatistas. Having the discussions about the Mexican Revolution and murals has really opened my eyes, and now I actually get something from looking at a mural/painting. 

This mural is quite self-explanatory, especially to all of us because we have just gone over the information about the Revolution and Emiliano Zapata. There isn't a lot of information about this particular mural, so I am going to divulge into a short interpretation of some of the aspects in this mural.

The watch: I would think a timepiece would not be a very common object in a Zapatista's household, and the fact that is quite prominent in this mural is interesting. It may be because time was something that was important, yet not a huge aspect of their life. They didn't live on a schedule, but the timing of their attacks with the other Revolutionary leaders was what enabled them to win. 

Notice in the lower right hand corner it looks like waves. Rough waves. The color is dark - navy blue. This color is also expanded into the upper right hand corner. This is a huge contrast to the seemingly bright blue sky in the left upper hand corner. Just by the way the painting is focused, it seems as if it is showing that the Zapatistas came from a stormy, tumultuous background, spurred on by their passion to have a voice. Their history is not a smooth ride, they struggled to survive as their lands were taken away. But there is hope in the future. Clear sky is ahead; smooth sailing.

What do you think the object in the lower left corner is? It's bright colors and "grin" just doesn't seem as if it fits in such a somber painting...

This is also a mural that I found intriguing.

El Corazon

It is a heart with flames that signify love and passion. According to some American Cultures, the fire in a heart drove warriors in battle, which is signified by the arrow.