Cultural Honor

So, I’m reading this book called Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. It’s kind of a strange book in that it doesn’t really help you do anything exactly, it just sort of helps you understand things. Basically, it examines some successful people, and tries to figure out exactly what it is that makes them that way. There are some really interesting parts, and some parts that I sort of skimmed. But my favorite part so far was this:

Cultural honor.

Stick with me, please, because I found this to be profoundly eye-opening.

You’ve heard about family feuds and stuff, right? How for generations and generations, families will just fight with each other for reasons they might not even remember?

Well, as Malcolm Gladwell points out, one family doing this is a feud. A ton of families right along the Appalachian doing it is a pattern.

What in the world makes those people so prone to violent out breaks with each other?

Did you guess it? Cultural honor. Because the main profession of the mountain areas was livestock and stuff, people honor was very important. I mean, if you were a farmer, you had to rely on other people and get along with your neighbors, but there was never a danger of having your crop actually stolen. When your job was tending sheep or something, people very well could steal your hard work, and it wasn’t necessary to get along with the people around you really.

All you had to protect your livestock and your family was your reputation. Build up your reputation as a tough guy and no one will mess with you. Keep your honor intact.

There are other reasons why culture honor was (and is) such a big thing in those parts. It has to do with heritage.

Back when people were still coming regularly to America, a certain group of people settled in a certain spot: the Scotch-Irish immigrants settled along the eastern/southern US.

That would be “from the Pennsylvania border south and west through Virginia and West Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina, and the northern end of Alabama and Georgia.” And that’s where all this “cultural honor” stuff is big. You can steal my stuff, but you can’t insult my mama. That’s how it works here. *clears throat* I mean, there…

Okay, I’m from North Carolina. And when Mr. Malcolm Gladwell started raggin’ on my homeland, I started getting pretty hot inside.

And as I started boiling, I blinked and realized I was proving his point.

Oh.

…

I read on.

There was then an experiment described. In the early 1990s, two psychologists decided to get together a bunch of 18-21 year old guys and insult them, see how they would react. They came up with the insult they thought would resonate with them the most. “A—hole.” (I am quoting the book, sorry.)

Here was the experiment set up:

“The social sciences building at the University of Michigan has a long, narrow hallway in the basement lined with filing cabinets. The young men were called into a classroom, one by one and asked to fill out a questionnaire. Then they were told to drop off the questionnaire at the end of the hallway and return to the classroom.”

Half the guys were from the states that were high on cultural honor, half of them were not.

“As they walked down the hallway with their questionnaire, a man—a confederate of the experiments—walked past them and pulled out a drawing in one of the filing cabinets. They already narrow hallway now became even narrower. As the young men tried to squeeze by, the confederate looked up, annoyed. He slammed the filing cabinet drawer shut, jostled the young men with his shoulder, and, in a low but audible voice said the trigger word: ‘a—hole.’”

Through different tests that I go into in too much detail, the suspicions were confirmed. Confirmed A LOT. The cultural honor boys were mad. Even though they didn’t act out in violence, their handshakes were firmer than usual, saliva samples revealed that being insulted had raised their levels of testosterone and cortisol (hormones that drive aggression). The guys were also given a short story and told to supply a conclusion. The story had to do with a guy’s girlfriend being come onto by another guy. The cultural honor guys who had been insulted made it end violently, while the guys who lived in other places did not.

IS THAT INTERESTING TO ANYONE ELSE?

I’m going to be perfectly honest with you:

I never thought people reacted any differently.

Call me ignorant, but I thought this was the same everywhere. I had no idea that in other parts of the US, it wouldn’t be natural to react violently to having your honor insulted. I mean, you just don’t do that here. No one gets upset if you steal their stuff, but if you attack their honor, boy, it’s on.

It’s not just guys, it’s girls, too. I mean, I honestly had no idea that it would occur to anyone not to get wild about something like this…I think I’ve already said that :) But you get the idea.

Who knew? I had no idea that culture honor wasn’t the same everywhere. What a cool eye-opener!

Hope you guys found this at least half as interesting as I did :)

~Kendra

What Kind of Guy?

Hey, welcome to Carpe Diem, JT Norlander! Thanks for following! If anyone didn't see my "announcment" about the Caption Contest at his blog, here's the link.
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Question Day!

Okay, so, I thought about this one like all night last night, trying to think of a good answer. Justagirl4god asks:

"What type of guy do you find attractive?"

Prepare yourself for one of my infamous LOOOOONG-Probably-Could-Have-Been-Short answers XD

First, let me decide how I want to come at this. What TYPE of guy do I find attractive? That would imply a specific sort of stereotype that I naturally gravitate to. I'll answer the question that way first.

What TYPE of guy do I find attractive? I'm honestly not original or complex at first. If we're going on a shallow, superficial level, I will go ahead and admit that Jocks/Preps are the ones that catch my eye. There. I said it. I am guilty of following society's lead, too.

I have had crushes on people of ALLLLLL types though. Not kidding. Jock, prep, nerd, loner, tall, short, white, black, older than me, younger than me. Once I get to know people, my preferences are all over the place. But, if we're going at first glance or first impression, I guess Jock/Prep is unfortunately it.

Now, to answer the question differently. What type of guy PERSONALITY do I find attractive?

Now we get real. Top five personality qualities I find "attractive" (more or less in order):
1. Christian
2. Intelligent
3. Funny
4. Adventurous
5. Protective (I've been over this before. Not Edward Cullen, but looks out for me.)

One more way: What type of guy LOOKS do I find attractive?

I'd really rather not go into this, but, to answer the question all the way, it must be done ;)

Again, I am pretty diverse in my preferences. I will find the generic hottie attractive, but I think people are good-looking that my friends are all like, "KENDRA. Seriously??"

I've never really gone for the blonde surfer dude. I think they're cute and all, but sort of stereotypical. (Gosh, if anyone reading this is a blonde surfer dude, PLEASE don't be offended!!) BROWN-HAIRED surfer dudes on the other hand...XD Haha, just kidding. Er, okay, not really.

Black hair is cool. So extreme. But I'm really not...I don't know, picky. I'm not. ESPECIALLY about hair.

Eyes are VERY important to me. It doesn't matter what color they are, I just like eyes. I like different eyes for different reasons, and some I think are cooler than others. It usually has nothing to do with the color, though.

Height. Hmm. Well, considering I'm 5'8", tall guys have always been more on my radar, lol!

Celebrity crushes I've had based on appearance (in order of occurance):
Orlando Bloom (...how can you NOT think he's cute??)
Rollo Weeks (something about him...)
William Mosley (I love Peter.)
Hayden Christensen (Anakin <3)
Jesse McCartney (eyes of WOW)
Zac Efron (everything of WOW)
Joe Jonas (reminds me of Him.)
Kellan Lutz (I love Emmett.)

Currently, I think all of them except Joe Jonas are very cute. Joe I think is just average now. Eh.

*blink* Wow. The appearance section was the longest. Am I that shallow??

Long answer short: I am so hopelessly diverse in looks and type preference that it HONESTLY comes down to the personality. I am not trying to seem virtuous, it's just really the way it is for me.

Thanks for asking, justagirl4god!!
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Today, Lizzy is thirteen (13!!) years old.

Dang. Wow. Awesome. Wow.

School is...absolutely great/fine, which probably means I forgot something HUGE.

Oh. Yeah.

Read "Pilgram's Progress" and write my own allegory. That might qualify as HUGE. *GROAN*

I will finish it tomorrow.

Speaking of procrastination, here are some awesome quotes for that:

"Procrastinators: Leaders of Tomorrow"
"OCD Procrastinators: Do it right, but do it tomorrow."
"If you wait until the last minute, then it only takes a minute."

I love those.

Okay. Sorry. Back to real stuff.

Uhm...the usual:

1. Writing:
- Mirror = nothing
- Desirae Mayes = nothing
- Gembira/Chinese story = something
- The W Chronicles = thoughts, no writing

2. Announcments:
- Vote on the poll
- Ask me questions for next week
- Follower's Say is in a week and a day if you want to participate

Thanks! Bye!

Character Day: Taking Sibling Rivalry To a Whole 'Nother Level

FIRST: Thanks, Lady Brainsample, for following! I love your name.
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Character Day:

One of my own today--a character that resulted from my temporary obsession with Chinese culture.

Of course, to have a story set in actual China would be too simple. I have to create my own fantasy world based on China (see, that way if I get half my facts wrong, it's not wrong because it's MY world. See how it works? XD). I have no idea how exactly Chinese the culture will be. I've added some things, and will probably change some things, too. The one-child rule was ditched because of my obsession with big families.

Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever written a story about an only child...(Well, Darren is an only child).

Anyway. Back to my character. Her name is Gembira, and she's fifteen years old. She has twelve siblings, including a twin brother.

The culture she lives in is much like China in its system of honor and respect, but I added the rule that your older siblings are also to be honored and respected, and boys are generally valued over girls (not an original concept, especially for Chinese culture).

This creates a very interesting relationship between Gembira and her twin brother, Gan. Gembira is the older of the two, but Gan is a son. Who has more authority? They often have arguments over this, but at the same time share a close mental and emotional bond.

Gembira's personality is curious and unsatisfied with life, but she mostly sticks to tradition and obeys the rules of society. However, in her mind she is constantly questioning the status quo. She's the third daughter in her family, preceded by Darpana, the practical and harsh "oldest daughter", and the long-suffering but unimaginative Fara.

Gembira struggles between trying to be the perfect daughter and wanting to question the family's way of life. She feels that she has just as much to offer as her brothers, but she has trouble accepting those thoughts as legitimate because of her upbringing.

The story (if it goes anywhere) will begin with Gembira's oldest older brother getting married, followed by a terrible fight between her and Gan (her twin brother). The argument becomes so severe that it is brought to the attention of the parents. Father sides with Gan, being a son, and Mother follows his lead. It is decided that [insert something terrible that I haven't decided yet] is to happen to Gembira.

By this time, even Gan is horrified and wants to help his twin sister, but cannot go against his parents. He decides to help Gembira escape somehow.

The story from there is fairly generic in my mind so far: Gembira is thrust into the world where men rule and girls drool, and she probably gets the help of an "unlikely friend" (how cliche, I know), and discovers more about herself and the status quo and how it's unfair.

OR.

Gan might end up going along with her for some reason and that same stuff happens.

It probably won't be that generic, but I haven't thought through the plot very far yet XD

So, there's Gembira, a curious and unsatisfied victim of unfair upbringing struggling to find herself, no thanks to her power-hungry but close twin brother.

:D

For all the other family-and-character-obsessed people, here's a handy list of all the things you didn't need to know about Gembira's family. The list includes the names of her siblings, their ages, and their name meanings. I found some pictures from Google that sort of look like the character. You can click on their name to see the picture (I didn't have much luck at all with the brothers). Sorry Gembira is in a bathing suit. There's no reason for that except that her face looked kind of like I imagined her looking. *shrug*

Name - gender (hey, it's hard to know by the names sometimes!) - age - name meaning

1. Aran – brother - 25 – forest
2. Bien – brother - 23 – sea
3. Eun – brother - 21 – silver
4. Darpana – sister - 19 – mirror
5. Chet – brother - 18 – brother
6. Fara – sister - 16 – flower
7. Gembira – sister - 15 – happy one (Ironic, right?)
8. Gan- brother - 15 – dare; adventure
9. Hikari – sister - 14 – light; shining
10. Izanami – sister - 12 – welcomes others
11. Jun – brother - 11 – obedience
12. Kiet – brother - 9 – honor
13. Lek – brother - 7 – small person
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Gracie and Krevan both got the answer right to yesterday's Fact or Fiction.

China is considering renouncing its one-child law.

FALSE. That law is here to stay, at least for a while. They are, however, allowing families to have two children IF both the mother and father were only children. Interesting, isn't it?

Sorry, Krevan, you were just a little too late! Congratulations, Gracie, for being the first correct guess! Here's your award:

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Today's been fine. It's raining, so that means the church thing was canceled, so that means I can go to play practice!! Yay! As much as I was looking forward to hearing the church band play, I'm glad I get to got to play practice. I really do love it.

I've listened to NOTHING except Mulan (oh, well, I listened to the LotR soundtrack while I did math, as usual) for about 48 hours. I have never, ever, ever been so totally emersed in something in my whole entire life. (With the exception of being consumed by physical science during exam week last year.) I listen to Mulan, think Mulan, read Mulan, quote Mulan, dream Mulan. I've listened to the CD five times in two days (it's 57 tracks long, people), and had Mulan dreams several nights in a row. I've had nothing but Mulan songs running through my head absolutely-no-freakin'-lie-CONSTANTLY for three days now.

Miraculously, I still love it. Completely do. I don't see how it's possible, but I do. (Haha, I've still got three weeks to go, though.)

School is school. *shrug* Nothing really new there. "Pilgram's Progress" = FTL, but maybe a little less than before.

Still drowing in Latin, but not quite as badly.

Writing...well, Gembira's story has been getting on fairly well for me. (Fairly well meaning a page and a half and ton of back story and character sketches, lol!)

Thanks for reading, I love hearing from you!!

P.S. Also, don't forget tomorrow is Question Day! If you have a question, no matter how weird, awkward (within reason XD), random, generic, or silly, I'd love to hear it!

Chinese Culture

Fact or Fiction?

"The Chinese are considering renouncing the one-child law."

Comment. Email. No Google. First one correct gets an award (no longer all who get it correct, sorry :-\).

Oh, yeah, and here's the award from last week that I forgot about XD Cavender and Justagirl4god got it right! (Will a tooth left in Coca-Cola over night disolve? The answer is NO! That's a myth!)

Award:
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"Let's get down to business

To defeat the Huns

Did they send me daughters

When I asked for sons?

You're the saddest bunch

I ever met

But you can bet

Before we're through

Mister, I'll make a manout of you

***

(Be a man)

We must be swift asthe coursing river

(Be a man)

With all the forceof a great typhoon

(Be a man)

With all the strength of a raging fire

Mysterious as thedark side of the moon!"

I am listening to the Mulan soundtrack for the third time today. I have no idea how, but I'm still not sick of the songs yet...

Favorites:
1. Written in Stone
2. I'll Make a Man Out of You
3. A Girl Worth Fighting For

The way the guys do A Girl Worth Fighting For is hilarious! They do a great job, even with the harmony and stuff. I have no real idea who's reading this, since no one uses their real name, but if any of the guys from the play is reading this, GOOD JOB! XD

School is going okay. I've barely started "Pilgram's Progress", and I need to finish by tomorrow so I can start on the writing assignment: write an allegory. Sounds pretty fun to me. I'm going to try to make mine more subtle than John Bunyan's. *rolls eyes* I mean, really. A guy named Help? Hmm, wonder what he symbolizes...sheesh :P

I've become a little obsessed with Chinese culture. (Gee, wonder why? It can't be the fact that I'm totally EMERSED in it 24/7 because of Mulan, can it? XD) It's so fascinating. Very unfair, but fascinating. I love different cultures, they get my imagination going, and I just love learning about them. Chinese culture is such a good culture to write stories in. It's really sad that you're only allowed to have one child, but it does create an interesting premise for stories.

*frowns at self* Maybe I'm just horrible and unfeeling. Oh dear...

I had lots of crazy dreams last night, but I can't remember them clearly at all. Something about kidnapping and a driveway...lol, no idea!

Dance tonight! And no play practice, so I don't have to miss it.

Lizzy will be THIRTEEN YEARS OLD in TWO DAYS!! :O :O It's freaky enough that Matt ("little brother") just turned thirteen, but Lizzy? That's freakier even still.

He turned eighteen (18) today. :- Wow.

Writing on "Mirror" = zip
Writing on random otherness = some

That's all :D Thanks for reading!

Five Days in One

Sorry. I've been really busy with Bible school and Fourth of July stuff, and frankly, I just didn't feel like posting.

I still have nothing to say. I'm having posting block or something. Well, since I missed Thursday through Sunday, I'll just do those specialty posts:

Thursday, Name Day:

Let's do the most popular names, shall we?

Most Popular Top Ten Girls' Names:
1. Emma (means "universe" or something)
2. Emily (Nothing to say.)
3. Madison (Wisconsin?)
4. Isabelle (Love it.)
5. Abagail (Don't like that name just a whole lot. Reminds me of the 1800's. I like Abby, though.)
6. Olivia (Reminds me of an olive.)
7. Ava (Love this name.)
8. Chloe/Khloe (Kewl.)
9. Sophia (Means "wisdom" or something.)
10. Addison (Pretty much like Madison, only someone drops their "M"s.)

Most Popular Top Ten Boys' Names:
1. Jacob (And Esau ;))
2. Noah (And the ark. Seriously, can't believe this is making a comeback.)
3. Aiden (Means "fire".)
4. Jackson (Yay for surnames as first names!)
5. Jack (And Jill...)
6. Logan (My last name...)
7. Ryan (I like this name. But I think it would be a cute girl's name, too, for some reason.)
8. Matthew (Okay.)
9. Jayden (Hey, I made this up!)
10. Joshua (Generic, but I like it.)

How interesting. Hey, wait a minute! I thought I made up the name Jayden! I thought *I* invented that! -_- Apparently not. Oh well. Just goes to show I make up pretty sweet names, right? Lol ;)

My favorite girls' names out of those would be Isabelle, Ava, Khloe, and Sophia.

My favorite boys' names out of those would be Aiden (it means "fire"), Jackson, Jayden, and Joshua. I like "J" names :D

Okay, Friday, Challenge Day:

Uh. Okay, read a chapter book in a day. Good luck :P

Saturday, Carpe Noctem Day:

You could just go read Carpe Noctem, you know.

Sunday, God Day:

Oh, boy. Well, here's something. I'll tell my favorite Bible point from Bible school this week: God is with us (FEAR NOT!). And he is. All the time, everywhere. How cool is that??

Today, Monday, Word Day:

Ooh, I actually like my word from my Word of the Day calendar! It's "atrabilious", which means given to or marked by melancholy.

Pretty much it means gloomy. Cool word, right?

Well, in the words of Bugs Bunny, that's all for now, folks!