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The morning of Oct. 27, 2003, about 1.2 billion Muslims worldwide woke up an hour before sunrise for the only meal they would eat until sunset that day. This was the first day of Ramadan. The holy month of Ramadan is when Muslims believe the Qur’an was completed and revealed to the last of God’s prophets, Muhammad (peace be upon him). Muslims follow the lunar calendar, so the month is actually moved back ten days each year. A grave misconception of “following the moon” is that it is somehow included in the worship of Muslims. However, the Muslims follow the lunar calendar as it was followed by the Roman Empire, Jews, Chinese and Hindus today. With the appearance of every new crescent, a new month begins, which is why, apart from giving light, it has been used as a calendar for centuries.
The month of Ramadan is the ninth month in the Islamic Calendar. Muslims eat a predawn meal called “Sahoor” and are not allowed to eat or drink during the daylight hours. Slander, telling a lie, and greed are actions which could break a person’s fast. Smoking and sexual relations are also forbidden during these hours. At sundown, the fast is broken with a meal called “Iftar.” Contrary to popular belief, Muslims don’t fast to lose weight, although that would be quite a perk! Achieving “Taqwa” or consciousness of the presence of God is sought after during this month.
Morally, Muslims are trying to acquire and strengthen their will power, patience, and self-discipline. Socially, it helps in experiencing the hardship of the poor and needy. Catholics fast during lent, Jews fast on the Sabbath and Hindus fast on various holidays throughout the year. For Muslims, fasting orients the art of balancing the spiritual essentials with the physical needs and is a time of worship and contemplation.
During Ramadan, Muslims go to the Masjid (Mosque) to spend several hours praying and studying the Qur’an. In addition to five daily prayers, Muslims perform a special night prayer called the “Taraweeh.” Muslims observe “Layla-tul-Qadr” (the night of power) on one of the last ten days. Although most Muslims observe this night on the evening of the 27th, the actual day is unknown. It is believed that this is the night on which the Qur’an was taken from its sacred tablet and revealed to the first heaven. The end of Ramadan is celebrated with a major Muslim holiday called Eid-ul-Fitr (the Feast of Fast Breaking). It is a day when Muslims around the world celebrate with loved ones, exchange presents, and gather for traditional meals. It’s a bittersweet feeling when the holiest month for Muslims is over.
A common misconception of fasting is that there is an increased chance of dehydration and fatigue. However, medically, it actually helps the defense and endurance mechanism of the body and rejuvenates the brain. Two-time NBA all star Shareef Abdur-Rahim and former NBA player Hakeem Olajuwon, have spent the month of Ramadan fasting even as they played professional basketball. Olajuwon echoes the sentiments of Muslims around the world when he says,“I find myself full of energy, explosive. And when I break the fast at sunset, the taste of water is so precious.”
Within less than a month now the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy will come to a close with its final installment, “The Return of the King,”and like a sizable percentage of the rest of the general population, I wait with great anticipation the grand finale. If movie history has taught me anything, it is not to put too much faith in a franchise’s third film, a lesson I recently remembered after seeing the third and final Matrix film: “The Matrix Revolutions.” Third installments of a trilogy just never seem to answer all the questions an audience wants answered, ends up resorting to some stupid twist of the plot or takes a Hollywood swan dive with a less affective, unsatisfactory ending. We all remember how George Lucas ruined “Star Wars” with the addition of those walking teddy bears known as Ewoks to “Return of the Jedi” or how “Back to the Future” was devastated with time travel to the Old West.
It just doesn’t stop there, though. Look at all those franchises that thought they could extend beyond the standard third film and make a fourth, or fifth for that matter. Hollywood has seen the natural deterioration of some of their more popular franchises over the years. Take the “Rocky” films for example; some movie executives apparently thought it was a brilliant idea for Rocky to fight Mr. T in the third film and then travel to, and fight in, Russia in the fourth.
What about when the star of the fourth film publicly declares that the film itself was a disgrace to the franchise, which was the case with George Clooney and the “Batman” films. I won’t even go into the embarrassment Ridley Scott must suffer on a daily basis, thanks to his third and fourth “Alien” films. There may not be an actual law in Hollywood stating that your third movie has to suck, look at “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.” I know some critics will say the franchise was struggling, and casting Sean Connery as Indiana’s father was just a last- ditch effort to squeeze out one more film and a few more bucks-but then why has there been such recent talk to make a fourth? This is probably why the creators of “Bill and Ted” decided to stop with their second film.
I know I’m getting ahead of myself here. I’ll admit one can hardly start to pass judgment on “Return of the King,” a film that probably only the franchise’s director, Peter Jackson, has born witness to and knows what the final outcome may look like. However, there are millions of readers who have read the trilogy of books by J.R.R. Tolkien who could pretty much guess how the film is to end, since Jackson has reportedly stayed true to the texts. But I’ll be the first to admit it; I have never read “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, and the closest I have come to doing so was having to read the prequel, “The Hobbit,” my freshman year of high school. The only thing I have to base my judgment on thus far are the existing troubles of every other third installment in a trilogy and the first two films of “The Lord of the Rings” franchise.
But in what seems to be the traditional path for any trilogy franchise to follow, “The Two Towers” was magnificent, as were other second installments such as “The Matrix Reloaded,” “The Empire Strikes Back,” and “Back to the Future II” for that matter. Of course the characters are introduced and the plot line becomes known in the first installment, which then makes it possible for the second film to open up and jump right back into the thick of things where the last film left off.
“The Two Towers” is adventure packed to say the least; the Fellowship sworn to protect the ring has been broken, creating separate factions for the film to follow. The audience now sits witness to everything from a pair of little hobbits struggling on their own to destroy the ultimate weapon, the one ring, to tracing the movements of a dwarf, an elf, a wizard and what may be the long lost one true king of man. Like all second installments before, there is always the climatic battle scene where the tides turn and the fate of the hero doesn’t look so certain anymore. In “The Two Towers” this point comes with the battle of Helm’s Deep, as war is waged on man at one of the last strongholds on Middle Earth. Yet when all is said and done in “The Two Towers” and the battle is over, the perfect tagline to lead to the next film is: “The battle of Helm’s Deep is over. The battle for Middle Earth is about to begin.” I just hope the battle for Middle Earth can withstand the cruel traditional fate of being the third installment in a trilogy.
All right, fellow V-dubbers, it’s that time of year again! No, I’m not talking about Christmas but that excruciating time of year known as FINALS! Every semester it’s the same. For example, I hear the same repetitive phrases such as “I am so going to fail this exam” and my favorite “why did God invent finals?” Finals are a dreaded way for professors to test the students to see exactly how much they have learned over the course of a semester. It is also a good chance for students who have not done well in the class to finish the semester out strong and raise their grade. In order to do this, however, some steps need to be taken to ensure success.
As a junior, I feel that it is my duty as a fellow student to inform you on my five ways to make it through the hell known as Exam Week. Some people have their own system, but I just wanted to share my remedy that has helped get me through for the last two years. If used correctly, you are guaranteed to be successful and have a great break. Remember, TRY THIS FOR EXAM WEEK! Idea No. 1: Review all materials that are assigned to you over the course of the semester. This idea came be a little tricky. Some professors choose not to use all the material that is assigned over the course of a semester. Most of them choose to just use the most important and repetitive material. In order to have your own personal safety net, review everything!
Idea No. 2: No matter how many times your friends try to distract you, try your hardest to avoid them and keep on going. It does not matter how long you have had plans, you will have time to go out afterwards. The clubs will always be there, but will you always be at Wesleyan? Once you are finished with exams, you can go to BAR Norfolk and The Beach House as many times you can, depending on how long your money holds out.
Idea No. 3: If you decide to cram the night before the exam, then the day of the big test you will be exhausted and can hardly focus. On the other hand, you have some people who work better in all-night study sessions. This is the category in which I happen to fall. Usually, if I know that I am going to be up all night, I try to get a quick nap at least two hours prior to getting started. Once I finish all the studying, I try to catch a good two-hour nap and I’m ready to go again.
Idea No. 4: Make sure that you eat something the day of the test. The one thing you do not want to do is draw attention to yourself in class with a growling stomach. Eating will also help you to stay awake during the exam, instead of feeling hungry and exhausted. Even if it’s just a bag of chips and a drink, it will still keep you alert.
The fifth and most important idea I have devised is to make sure that you take your time. Each exam time is only about three hours, which gives you an ample amount of time to sit and answer each question to the best of your ability. I know some of the questions can be tricky, and you may not have seen them before. If all of these elements are used together, you should be able to pass each exam with flying VWC colors. You do not have to use all of these, but at least try one or two.
Once you look on MARSIS and see that you earned a good grade in the class as a result of the final exam, be sure to say to yourself: “You know something, Cory was right after all.” Then, when I am back in my wonderful hometown of good old Jarratt, Va., for winter break, I will know that I, Cory Johnson, made a difference in my fellow student’s lives.
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