Geography Articles

So, this is an assignment that I just completed, and I thought I'd post it on here. Anybody who knows what this is, feel free to plagiarize. However, be warned. I've placed subtle writings throughout that will instantly let a teacher know this has been copied from the internet. So, edit those out.

GEOGRAPHY PARAGRAPHS

Middle East

Significance of Israel--                    Israel is very significant in the Middle East. It is a country that is the homeland of the Jewish people, who previously had no homeland at all. It has a lot of religious sites that are very important to the people of the Jewish faith, and HAS BEEN COPIED FROM THE INTERNET!!! it is good for them to safely be able to visit them. However, the country is the cause of a lot of conflict. Palestinians (people of Islam) think that the land is rightfully theirs, especially Israel’s capital, Jerusalem. There is constant conflict over the land, and it will not likely stop in the near future.

US war in Iraq--                                 The land of Usa has been at war with Iraq a lot this decade and last. Desert Storm was a conflict in which we fought to protect the country of Kuwait from the invading Iraqis. Now, we sought to upset their leader, Saddam Hussein. We brought him to our country and executed him, and now we are in (well, not any more) Iraq training their people to protect and fight for themselves, and also showing them how to form a good government, because the US just has to do things like that.

US war in Afghanistan--                We are in AfghanHELLO, HOW IS YOUR ICEREAM TODAY.?istan to try and fight the Al Quada and the Taliban. They are Islamic groups who don’t really like America all that much. The leaders of these terrorist groups were believed to be in Afghanistan, and we went there to fight them and stop them.  About a year ago, we killed Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan, and that was great, I guess.

Characteristics of the Religions of the Middle East--       In Islam, there are five pillars (the Five Pillars of Islam) which dictate how a Muslim person should live their life.  Here is a brief description of each of them: Shahada…There is now God but Allah, and Mohammed is his Prophet; Salat…pray five times a day, facing Mecca; Zakat…2.5% of your net worth giving to the poor; Ramadan…month long fast from sun-up to sun-down; Hajj…pilgrimage you must make once in your life to Mecca. Mecca is the religious center for Muslims. It is to Islam what Salt Lake is to the LDS faith. You are only allowed into mecca if you are a Muslim. Inside of Mecca is the Kabba, mosque that is the most sacred in all of Islam. It is part of what Muslims must do on the Hajj. In Jerusalem, the Dome of the Rock (a Muslim religious monument) and the Wailing Wall (a Jewish religious monument; the last standing wall of Solomon’s temple) are very near each other. One can see where controversy may arise.

Theocracy--                                        Theorcracy is when a government is ruled by religion. Decisions about the country are made either by religious leaders or in the best interest of the religion. Countries like this usually don’t like a lot of other religions. Examples of countries with theocracy are Saudi Arabia (Islam) and India (Hindu…well, it’s sort of theocratic).

Abundance/Scarcity of Resources--      There is one resource that the Middle East is very well known for: oil. Most of the countries there have economies based on oil, and they become very rich because of it. There is always a need for oil, at least for now. However, fresh water is a very scarce resource. As a solution, wealthy Middle Eastern countries often build desalinization plants. These plants take sea water and convert it to fresh water. It’s very expensive, but hey, they have a butt load of $$$ from all of the oil.                                                           

OPEC--                                                  OPEC stands for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. A lot of Middle Eastern countries are part of this, as well as ones from Africa and South America. OPEC has two main purposes (as Carter has said time and time again): Set the price for a barrel of crude [oil] and decide how much to produce (aka pump out of the ground).

Fertile Crescent--                             The Fertile Crescent is a region in the Middle East that is, well, fertile. It has very nutrient-rich soil, and was the birthplace of civilizatMY NAME IS CHESTER, CHESTER THE MOLESTORions. It is located between two rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates, in present-day Iraq. It was and is very important to the people of the Middle East, which is reflected by their symbols on their flags (crescent moon).

Africa

Colonialism--                                      In the early 20^th century, some countries from Europe wanted to take control of Africa. They all wanted land so they could exploit it for its plentiful natural resources. It was at the Berlin conference were eight countries all divided Africa into borders of their choosing, not taking into consideration the many African tribes that they were cutting in half with their new borders, which caused much unrest from the native people of Africa. Only two countries were not put OSCAR, OSCAR, OSCAR MEYER WEINERSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!! TASTES SO GOOD, KETCHUP AND SPICE under European control: Ethiopia and Liberia. Kenya was one of the countries that didn’t like European rule, enough so that they had an uprising led by people like Jomo Kenyatta to take back control of the country.

Landlocked Countries--                 I assume this should be done without a map, so I’ll do so. The countries that I can think of that are landlocked are Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Swaziland and that is about it. I probably got some wrong, but this was without a map,so…yeah.

Serengeti--                                         The Serengeti is a tropical grassland (or savannah) below the Sahel in Africa. It is very important to Africa for tourism reasons (that will make quite a bit of money) and for the fact that a lot of species of animals live on the Serengeti that are important to the world’s ecology.

Nile Delta--                                         The Nile Delta is in the northern part of Egypt, in Africa. It is where the Nile River empties into the Mediterranean, and is very important to Africa. A lot of animals use it as a watering hole, and people use it for irrigation and farming.

Desertification--                               Desertification is the worldwide change of land into desert.  This is happening every year around the world, and pieces of land about the size of Kansas changes into desert. This can be caused by many different reasons, such as over grazing, bad farming habits, and global warming.

Disease in Africa--                            Disease is a major problem in the country of Africa. Aids, malaria, yellow fever, dengue fever, and sleeping sickness kill millions of people GUESS WHAT IS AWESOME? 666every year (a lot of which are children). Poor medical care and other factors (climate, under education) cause this. This is especially present in South Africa, where AIDS is such an epidemic that it is causing a decrease in the population.

Arab Spring--                                     The Arab Spring happened last spring in the Middle East and in northern Africa. It was a rash of violent protests by the oppressed population of countries like Libya, Tunisia (where it started) and Egypt. The people fought military, overthrew and killed dictators, and took control of their governments to try and make a better life for themselves and their countrymen.

Nomads in Africa--                          In Africa (especially the Sahara) there are groups of people who roam the land, just trying to survive. The heard camels, practice sustenance farming, and just try to deal with the harsh climate of the Sahara. It is one way to survive in Africa, and many people are able to do it. People like the Centaurs and the wild-fire Phoenixes are nomads in Africa.

Population/Natural increase rates in Africa--        In Africa (especially the sub-Saharan part) there is a high infant mortality rate. There are many causes of this, diseases, lions, dingoes (or was that Australia) and also molesters.  So, what do parents do? Have a bunch of kids (sort of like Utah, although here there are different reasons). If you have eight kids, you know that at least a few will survive. So, the population of Africa is growing very rapidly, except in South Africa…they have AIDS.

Apartheid in South Africa--          An apartheid is when the minority (in the case of S. Africa, the whites) rules over the majority (again, in the case of S. Africa, the blacks). This was a major problem for the people of South Africa. Why should a thousand people rule a hundred thousand? Nelson Mandela aimed to change that, and was sent to prison for a few decades because of it. When South Africa finally became free, he was elected president.

South Asia

Characteristics of Hinduism--      Hinduism is the main religion of India, and the people there are very passionate about it. In Hinduism there are A LOT of gods: Ganesh, Kali, etc. There are over three million gods (think). The religion is about being kind to others and connecting with nature. There is reincarnation involved, and until you live an absolutely perfect life, you are stuck in reincarnation, and can’t go to nirvana.

Caste System--                                 Hinduism involves castes, or societal groups. If you are in any other caste than the Untouchables, you are fine. However, if you are an Untouchable, than you are pretty much screwed. You have to do all of the worst jobs and can never reach nirvana. You are treated as the dirt of society, and are born into it. If your parents were Untouchables, then there is nothing that you can do to change your position in society.

Creation of the Himalayas--         Above India lies the Himalayas, the largest mountain range in the world. It was created when the plate that India was on collided with the Asian plate, and they made a HUGE mountain range (the Himalayas, btw, the home of mount Everest…THATS WHAT SHEE SEDfive miles tall).

Population Density in South Asia--   India is the second most populous country in the world (China being the first, the land of Usa being the third) with something like 1.2 billion people. Of those, 75% of them live in rural villages of India (that’s why India is called the Land of Villages, or something). It is the size of the western part of the US, but has like fourteen cities with 1 million plus people. That’s dense (just like your mother).

India/Pakistan conflict--                Pakistan used to be part of India, until it broke off and formed its own country. It did this because Pakistanis are Muslim and that clashed with the Hinduism of India. Anyway, there is a lot of debate between these two countries of the region of Kashmir. It is a sacred place for Pakistanis, but India actually owns the land. The two countries have been fighting for a while over it, and some people think that this may be what causes WWIII (both countries have nuclear weapons….0_0)

Monsoons--                                       Monsoons are tropical storms that plague the coast of India. Wet monsoons happen in the summer, and bring a lot of rain (16 feet in some places) and dry monsoons are in the winter, and blow back towards the ocean.

Flooding in Bangladesh--              Bangladesh is another country that broke away from India, it is on the east side (yo). It has a lot of problems with flooding. There are maMONKEEEEEEYYYYYYSSSSny causes, such as its low elevation (its capital, Dhaka, is maybe 25 feet above sea level). The monsoons that it gets are also very powerful, and the wet monsoons bring a lot of rain to Bangladesh.  All this, plus storm surges are factors in causing the flooding.

Outsourcing--                                    Outsourcing is when US companies build huge factories in places in South Asia (like Bangalore) and give hire Indian people to work there. This has an impact on the US economy, as Americans aren’t getting jobs that are in India. Also, the companies don’t have to pay as much (or any) taxes.

Green Revolution--                         Back in the 60s, India was starving. Majorly. Scientists needed to develop a way to grow crops more efficiently to be able to feed the people. This caused the Green Revolution, where many new types of corn and other crops were genetically modified to make new, better versions.

East/Southeast Asia

North Korea--                                    North Korea is a very isolated country from the rest of the world. It and China are basically the last countries that still have communism, but even China has contact with the outside world. N. Korea will allow now outside help, media, or anything to enter their country. This is isolationism. North Korea became this way after the Korean War. They wanted to unite North and South Korea under communism, and the UN got involved to put a stop to it. A border was drawn (on the 38^th parallel) and a DMZ (demilitarized zone) was created. This is a no=man’s land and nobody can cross it. US troops remain in South Korea to stop an attack if there is one. Kim Jong Il was the previous leader of North Korea, but he died this year, and his son, Kim Jong Un, is the new leader. This scares people, because they don’t know what he will do with his power.

Tibet/China conflict--                     China considered Tibet to be part of the PRC, even though Tibet had an autonomous rule. The PRC (communist) didn’t quite trust the Buddhism of Tibet, and sent troops there to occupy Tibet, and destroy temples and monuments. The Dalai Lama (Buddhist leader) was forced to flee and now lives in India. There are protests to try to make Tibet independent.

Religious Characteristics--            In China, the average person’s religion is a combination of four schools of thought: Buddhism, which deals with the religious side of things; Taoism, which is the more spiritual and self-focused part; Confucianism, which is about loyalty to the government and obedience to laws; and Atheistic, which is basically Communist. The main religion is Buddhist, but there are indigenous religions like Shinto in Japan (spirits in everything).I LOVE DRUGGGGGGGSSSSSSS

Ring of Fire--                                      Around the Pacific Rim, there is a lot of volcanic and seismic activity. This is caused by the Specific Plate, which is sub ducting under its surrounding plates and causing magma to go upward into volcanoes. PS Hawaii is the warning station for all of the Pacific Basin for seismic activity.

Archipelago--                                     A group of islands is called an archipelago. Indonesia and the Philippines are both examples of this. They are both very big archipelagoes, Indonesia being the biggest with 17,000 plus islands (the Philippines has 7,000 plus).

Economic Characteristics of East Asia--        China has a free trade agreement with North Korea (no isolationism there) and Taiwan, which they need to trade with even though the PRC and ROC are having some conflicts. Japan has to trade for most of its natural resources like iron and coal (which is provided by China and Africa).

Three Gorges Dam--                       Largest dam in the world!! The Three Gorges Dam has just been completed on China’s Yangtze River, and will proSWEAR WORD CUSS *&%$#vide a lot of hydroelectric power to China. This will do something, I’m sure of it.

China/Taiwan Conflict--                 In the 50s, some people who were part of the PRC didn’t want to be, so they left. They were led by Chan Kei-Shek and moved to Taiwan, an island off of the coast of China. They formed the ROC (Republic of China). They are democratic, and an economic powerhouse, which is one reason that China doesn’t take them over, they need the trade. However, China can make the ROC’s life harder in other ways. They won’t allow them to join the UN, even though Taiwan’s government has been petitioning for years.

Resources of East Asia--                China is a huge country, and has an abundance of natural resources like coal. They can trade this to Japan, because they have none of their own. Japan, in turn, uses the resources they trade for to make technically advanced stuff like cars (Mazda!!!!) and electronics.

Land Use in East Asia--                   In China, a lot of land is used for farming. Things like rice paddy fields are very common, and rice is grown abundantly in the southern part of China. Wheat is grown in the north. The Yellow River is very prominent in China. It is yellow because of the loess, or glacial soil, that it carries. It has been called China’s sorrow because it will overflow every so often and ruin crops and other stuff of that nature. Aquaculture is also very prominent (raisin mARAJUANAg fishes as crops), and China also has a very profitable silk industry. Japan’s land use is much sparser. Only 15% of the land is arable (able to be farmed on) and of that, it is terraced (steps on a mountain) to make even more space. They do, however, have a huge fishing industry.

Oceania

Climates of Oceania--                     The Climates are pretty diverse in Oceania. The island groups of the South Specific (Melanesia, Polynesia, Micronesia) are all very tropical and have rainy and hot climates. Most of Australia (the Outback) is a desert, and is very hot and dry. The Southeastern part of Australia and New Zealand are more temperate, closer to here.

Australian Outback--                      The outback makes up 85% of Australia’s land. It is in the center of the country, and is a hot desert. Not many people live there, and it is mainly used for huge ranches (which can be as big as 18,000 miles and are only looked after by a couple dozen people).

Aborigines--                                       They are the native people of Australia. Their situation was very similar to what the Native Americans went through with European explorers. The British came to Australia and brought diseases and kicked the Aborigines off of their land. TheyFISHANUS lived off the land in Australia, and were very in sync with nature. Now, there are very few left, and they have huge educational and health issues to deal with in the modern world. They have been given back some land, but it is not a lot.

High and Low Islands--                   High and low islands of the South Specific are very different from one another. High islands have good soil, are volcanically made, and have the most people out of the two. Low Islands (atolls made from coral and sunken volcanos, bad soil, and fewer people) don’t have a lot of fresh water or resources, but they sure do look cool. A lot of them are used as landing strips and bases (DIEGO GARCIA).

Land use in Australia/New Zealand--   Australia is 85% Outback, which is used mainly for ranching. Australia produces coral, cattle, and is also the leading exporter of opals. New Zealand ranches a lot as well. They produce sheep, dairy products, and….kiwis!!

yeah, make sure you edit it

               

Cop out, again

Ok so, this is a cop out, but I leave you with hope.....I hope (sorry, bad bun, I mean pun). This is a science report I did a few weeks ago, but next week, I'm going to do a HUGE movie-review extravaganza of the absolutely amazing movie Birdemic: Shock and Terror (available on Netflix Watch Instant). So be afraid, be very afraid.

Realization of Global Warming

                Global warming is a prime example of how scientific data can actually affect a whole society. Everybody, including politicians, will state their view on the issue. It’s a very political issue, and everyone wants to talk about it.  We are so used to phrases like ‘greenhouse effect,’ ‘ozone whole,’ and ‘carbon cycle’ are very common in speeches and general conversation. However, most of us are so concerned with politics and have lost track of the actual facts about global warming. Many scientists hope to make the general population aware of global warming, but it has been hard. There is a lot of data that backs up global warming (140 years of data and also reconstruction of the last 1,000 years of weather patterns) show that the earth is warmer now than it has been in the past millennia. The main question is: how much of an impact have humans had on the warming of the earth. Is it our fault alone, or is earth doing it by itself. Some people are so say that scientists are just trying to scare people, and also state that science isn’t used to prove global warming. The global average of warming goes from 0.5⁰ Celsius to 6⁰ Celsius. Some regions of earth will also become colder, say scientists. Global warming could be catastrophic, and potentially cause a lot of harm to the world. Without our atmosphere, the temperature of the earth would be about the freezing temperature of water.

                Although it might seem that anybody studying the environment should have realized that the earth could be affected by human pollutants, it’s not that simple. A lot of global warming evidence isn’t a complete study. It’s bits and pieces. It takes a certain type of researcher to actually study climate change, as they have to go to obscure places to gather data. Global warming wasn’t discovered in one experiment, it was the product of many different experiments over a long period of time.  Even as far back as 1896 scientists like Svante Arrhenius were commenting on how “evaporating coal mines” into the atmosphere was having an effect on the earth. In the 1950s, two scientists started to study carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere: one of whom was David Keeling, a post-doctorate student as Caltech. He had been studying the carbon dioxide levels in different areas of the country in 1955. He loved the outdoors, and decided to work outside of the lab.

                By 1958, he’d collected a huge amount of data and found that there were two invisible carbon dioxide cycles.  Another scientist, Gilbert Plass, was researching heat-seeking missiles, and began to study the absorption of energy by carbon dioxide. Many researchers began to study global warming, and the decided to meet in Boulder, Colorado. The meeting was called “Causes of Climate Change” As fuel resources began to become used at alarming rates, the world began to feel the effects of climate change, however, when politicians and reporters wanted a lot of answers that the scientists didn’t have.

                By the 1980s, climate change started to become a very public topic. Although one=third of America’s population had actually heard of global warming, accurate details haven’t been discovered yet. It was becoming more popular, and more scientists began to make shocking discoveries. People had to face the truth that global warming was actually happening.

1.       Important inventions are often thought of when we think of science’s contributions to the public’s well-being. However, many scientific ideas contribute to society as well. Without research into global warming, we never would have known that we need to reduce our emissions. So now we can at least try to stop global warming.

2.       Science is such a broad subject that one subject or experiment can’t cover a whole phenomenon  We need multiple experiments to cover all of the angles of the subject of study.

3.       If we are just working on trying to do experiments for the benefit of society, we won’t study everything that is available for study. The research will be on what the people want, not what needs to be studied/done.

4.       They don’t understand that not all experiments can be done in the lab. Some experiments can only happen if we take a more broad experimental approach.. 

nand now, the trailer for Birdemic....

P

Cop out....maybe; Lazy.....yes

So, this may be considered lazy, but I'm truly having a hard time finding the spirit to finish out the school year. So, here's an essay I wrote earlier this week:

Singapore: Good or Bad?

            Singapore is a very important port in Asia. A lot of shipping goes through there, and it needs to run smoothly. Singapore has become a very efficient society, but sometimes is criticized for sacrificing human rights. There things that are good and bad about Singapore. It doesn’t have the best human rights in the world, however, and freedom of speech and press are a bit behind. Both of these things are important, and some are more important to different people.

            I have opinions on many things about Singapore’s society. I like how smoothly everything seems to run. The streets are clean, everything is fast, and everybody has a job. However, I don’t like how steep the fines are. Things like selling gum are very expensive, which isn’t that great. The government might have a bit too much control.

            There isn’t much human rights in the city. The government censors a lot of the media that comes in to the city. There is harsh punishment for protesting and there is a required permit for gathering politically in more than five people. It’s discouraged to be an active political person.

            I think that economic security is more important. If your country has a lot of money, than the people won’t want to protest as much, and will be happier. If the country is in debt, like the US, than more people will protest. If you are making a lot of money, more people will be happy.

            There is plenty of good things in Singapore, and plenty of bad. The economy is strong, and the quality of life is good. The people are mostly happy, but they don’t have a lot of rights. There are restrictions on a lot of the things that people see and read. It is hard for people to express their thoughts without fear of the government. 

What to do..

There are a lot of moments this week where I've sat back and wondered: "What will I do about_____________?" And it's been sort of depressing, actually, because I don't have answers to any of these questions (or at least answers that I'm happy with). So, in this post, I'll try to answer some of those (because the best answers come from frenzied writings on the Internets at a quarter to eleven). 

1. What will I do about....Computer Tech?

            And all the other classes that I'm falling behind on, for that matter? I'm not even doing that bad (A-), but I've just been struggling so much in that class. I can't seem to do the long timings (I must have spent forty five minutes on one of them, making no progress at all...I got 7 or 8 errors each time, and the cut off is six!!!!!!!!!) I don't want this class (or Spanish-see why I have a sub par grade in that class in the previous post) to be the reason that I look bad on college applications or anything like that.

2. What will I do about.....the Biology CRT?

           I took biology this year because I thought it would be more interesting than Earth Systems, and it turned out to be a awesome bonus "Honors Class." However, taking this class was a mistake. It is pretty much the boring-est class that I have ever been in. Now, I don't necessarily blame the teacher (due to unfortunate circumstances, he was thrown into this class without much preparation time this year), but I simply do not like this class at all. And, more importantly, I'm pretty sure that we won't be able to learn enough to do good on the CRT. I took a practice one and got  79%. That's not very good!! I can't even remember what we learned about at the beginning of the year. How am I supposed to do good on this test?

3. What will I do about.....a girl that I (think) I like, but am no sure how to approach her or talk to her about it?

             So, I've had a crush on this girl since the beginning of the year. I think that she's smart and funny, and a genuinely nice person (unlike a lot of people that go to my school). However, it's not that I'm completely afraid of talking to/approaching her (because I have). It's that I'm afraid of saying what I feel like, because unfortunately, I will see her often, just in my normal life, and couldn't deal with that can of dead worms. It would be incredibly awkward to see her if I ever actually said what I want to say. Anyway, next question.

4. What will I do about.....yo' momma jokes?

             I honestly have no idea, except for perhaps building a time machine, going back in time, incrementally stopping in a middle school in from each of the past 100 years trying to find the kid who started these joke and beating him to death with a rusty spoon. (btw[by the way] if you couldn't tell, I hate yo' momma jokes).

That's all folkes..........................PEACEA

Late Spanish, Funny Video from TKsBurninLuv

So, there is this thing in Utah called the BYU Foreign language fair, and you can go there and see what it would be like if you were dropped into a country that actually spoke the language that you’d been learning for the past couple years. It’s supposed to be a good opportunity to showcase your skills with the language: there are ‘events’ that you participate in (telling a joke, reciting a poem, presenting a memorized prepared talk, etc.) which are all supposed to be in your non-native tongue. These are grade (albeit on possibly the weakest scale in history: good, very good, excellent, and superior…..really, you can’t stick a ‘bad’ in there for the kids who are just mal*). Then you can go into ***Espanolandia***!!!!! and have an absolutely grand time walking around listening to people talk really fast Spanish and trying to buy some crappy store-bakery cake and frozen burritos. Also, you are graded on all of this. It’s basically our term project, and as such, I assumed it would be pretty well organized and easy to understand. It wasn’t, IMO (in my opinion). So, since this was term project, I was expecting a lot of explanation and attention to what we were required to do from the teachers, and the HOUR AND A HALF bus ride seemed like a great time to do this. But walking into the building, I really had no idea where anything was and what I was supposed to do. “Go to your event,” they say. OK, I did that. Then, after I got done (I got and excellent, btw [by the way]) I spent an hour walking around and trying to find anybody (seriously, anyone at all) who was in the Fair. All the human contact that I got was some weird looks from college kids and a look of immense resentment from the general goods store attendant when I pulled out my wallet. I kept searching for the actual Espanolandia, and finally found it upstairs. I went in, and actually I felt pretty good about my grasp of the language. I was able to understand maybe 40% of the words the people said. I got a few stamps on my visa…………………..pause for a second, let me explain the mechanics of this visa:

So, we all were given a fake visa to go on this ‘trip.’ The first few pages are filled with little short paragraphs explaining the rules of Espanolandia (accentuated with little sarcastic lines at the end of each) and then some lines to fill in your personal information. After that, there is a bunch of spaces for you to get stamps from each of the stations that we visit in Espanolandia. In the passport, it clearly states that you are required to get twelve of these spaces stamped.

So I did. I got twelve stamps on my visa, and left (because I was running out of time before the bus left as I had been trawling the campus for a wasted hour and a half). I turned in the visa and certificate from my event, and thought everything was supa-dandy as I rode the bus home (side note: the bus rides, while long, where actually much more enjoyable then the actual fair). Then, today, I look at my grade in Spanish, and I got a 100 out of 170 on that visa. Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!!!! I did the requirement as I was told, but ended up with 58% on that assignment. That is some bravo sierra in my opinion, and has driven me to write this anger-fueled post (also, I needed a topic, and disclaimer: may have elaborated a bit on my anger). So, good buy (at Bowens), and achieve success! (ps mal means bad in Spanish)

Also, my friend TKsBurninLuv recommended this video, I hope you enjoy it....

Road Trip w/ Hannah!! (Montana aka Miley Cyrus)

What's her photag's name? I need a pic
of me like this :)

What's her photag's name? I need a pic
of me like this:)

My family and I took a road trip to Moab today. I was a six hour drive, which was overall pretty long and boring (like my life….oh, sad). Luckily I had my trusty IPod and a laptop with me, which provided mild entertainment. However, the drive was still SIX HUGGING HOURS through the worst part of Utah, the eastern middle part. All the scenery was just endless fields of grass and low hills. LOW HILLS!! Whoop-dee-doo. That’s what I was looking at the whole time we drove, which, might I remind you, was six hours. Also, my sister invited her friend on this little vacation, so I had to listen to them watch the Hannah Montana movie in the TV in the back. It was not the best of both worlds as Hannah would like me to believe.

Yeah, imagine that trailer, and hour and a half long, repeated three times. That's what the drive was like. Now, I'm not dissing Miley C in anyway, shape or form, it's just that any movie get's utterly annoying when it's been repeated three times (unless you're a nine year old girl and the movie is about your favorite "singer" getting back to her grass roots in the country and maybe, just maybe falling in love with a kind hearted and handsome country boy who may be a little rough around the edges, but overall has a good heart). Well, perhaps any movie except: 

BIRDEMIC: SHOCK AND TERROR

This is possibly the best movie that's ever been made. I can't really describe it with words, but if the trailer interests you at all, go on Netflix Watch Instant and watch it. I assure you that it will blow you mind and that you'll wholeheartedly enjoy it more than "The Last Song" or whatever it's title is.

Thanks,

The management

PS: I'm using a hotel computer and may not have the most time to write this, but more will come tomorrow. bye, and do the icecream freeze

CHEESE FOR EVERYONE!!!

You might be wondering what this is. Well, there is this video game called Skyrim. It is one Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and PCs. If you have the computer version, then you can modify (or mod) the game. This is a video showcasing one of the mods, which makes the characters in the game dance. Pretty sweet, right? I mean, how awesome is it to see people break out in some sweet dance moves. I know, it's #1. Anyway, I saw this video when I was on YouTube today, which brings me to the point of this. YouTube. What's up with that?

That was from SNL. Anyway, YouTube is probably something that we've all been on, and I'm sure it's provided countless experiences for everybody. I heard my first swear on it (and when I mean swear, I mean swear. It was at least a six-word long phrase). So that's good. I saw a guy break his ankle whilst playing soccer, and another man slide groin-first into a goal post. I also saw a this video of stunts gone wrong...

1:44 would stink. Hard. But, why is it that people watch videos like this on YouTube. Do we, as humans, just like to see people getting hurt. At least 94,481 YouTube viewers and one person I know personally seem to think so. But before 2006, when YouTube started, it was hard to find videos like this. So what could we do? Hang around skate parks and wait for somebody to get racked? A site where anyone can upload a video of anything (well, almost anything) is great for someone, like me, who loves pain. Wait, does that sound weird?

So, why does my school ban YouTube videos? I mean what's the worst that could be on there, this?

Actually, yes that is probably why the videos are banned. I am really, really, really sorry about that video of myself I just posted....I mean, how about some humor?

Ok, now that that's over with my thesis: I don't have one. This is basically a useless post, all you really get out of it is to see a strange video that I wished I'd never watched. But, all is not lost. I'd like to show you guys that voice assignment that I did in English. Here it is:

Bubba's Essay
I thought that this essay was probably the best that I've read today. All the other writing was trying to hard to be edgy, or funny, or sarcastic. Bubba, he knows what he is and states it. Clean and simple. Bubba is honest, noble, and funny. I learned all those things from some writing that was under 500 words. Boom. Much better than that blog post, all long and meandering, sacrificing brevity for interesting sentances and humor. Bubba is probably the pen name for some great writer like Charles Dickens or something. He probably wrote this in his diary so that his qualities would be known in all the land.
My Writing
Here is my writing. I hope it is good. So you want some voice do you? Here it is. Heres a joke:why did the baby strawberry cry well it was because his mother was in a jam. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Funny rite. Ill bet you just laughed your socks off then laughed them rite back on mister because that joke was one for the ages to tell to there grandkid. I bet they will laughed also as well. I hope you like d this sinceryle....Nathan. 

Theseus rough draft/A Video

THE STORY OF THESEUS

Think about the classic hero’s story. What comes to your mind? Action, violence, adventure? All of those things occur in the story of the Greek hero Theseus, and they occur often. Whether he’s fending off an Amazonian army, battling a Minotaur, or liberating the people of Athens from bandits, Theseus was always doing something exciting. He was a man who was almost worshipped by the people of Athens. However, his story isn’t the happiest one that you’ll ever hear. It’s filled with hardship, death and sadness. He wasn’t a perfect person, and his death was strange and unexplained. When he did die, though, the people of Athens buried him in a temple that was erected in his honor. Theseus’s heritage is under some dispute. Some say he was the son of the King Aegeus of Athens, others say he was the son of Poseidon (which might explain his strength and prowess in battle). Either way, his mother and grandfather raised him in poverty. When Theseus came to age, his mother, Aethra, told him of a sword and some sandals that King Aegeus had left for him as a birthright when he came of age. Theseus took up the sword and sandals and set off to Athens to claim his heritage. Theseus was well received by the people of Athens when he arrived. King Aegeus (still not knowing Theseus to be his son) invited him to the palace for a feast. At the feast, Theseus learned of the contract Athens had with King Minos of Crete where Athens had to send fourteen sacrifices to Crete to be devoured by a Minotaur every nine years. Theseus didn’t like this, and decided to go to Crete and kill the Minotaur himself. He did, with the help of Ariadne, daughter of Minos. Theseus sailed home with Ariadne (although he abandoned her on an island) and returned to Athens. However, he had forgotten to hoist white sails on his ship to show his father that he was still alive, and so Aegeus jumped to his death in the sea (now called the Aegean Sea). Theseus became the King of Greece, but resigned his power so that Greece could have a more democratic government. He went on many other adventures, but unfortunately, his story ended tragically. His only son was killed after Theseus banished him, his third wife committed suicide, and Theseus was killed tragically by a friend of his, for unknown reasons (although his ghost apparently appeared before the Greek army and led them to victory in battle, and the Greeks built him a temple.. His story displays some common themes that often occur in Greek mythology, those being: Heroes often complete seemingly impossible tasks (he killed a Minotaur, for Olympus’s sake); Heroes reclaim their rightful place in life (he became the King of Greece); Heroes often rise from lowly beginnings. Theseus is one of the most revered heroes in Greek mythology, and with good reason.
Theseus started off in poverty. He was born and raised in Troezen by his mother and grandfather. His father, depending on who you believe, was either King Aegeus of Athens, or Poseidon (which would explain his strength and skill in battle). Either way, Aegeus, after sleeping with Aethra, Theseus’s mother, left his sandals an sword should their child be a boy. He left them under a boulder and told Aethra that when Theseus was strong enough to lift the boulder and claim the sandals and sword, he should venture to Athens to claim his birthright. However, after spending the night with Aegeus, Aethra apparently waded out to sleep in Poseidon’s bed, which is were the confusion about Theseus’s lineage arises. Whatever the case, Theseus came of age and moved the stone. With his new sword and sandals, he set out to Athens to reclaim his birthright.
Theseus had to go through a bit of journey to reclaim his rightful place as King of Athens. Theseus’s grandfather offered him the chance to sail to Athens. This route was much shorter and safer. However, Theseus, inspired by Heracles, wished to prove himself a hero. He ventured to Athens by road, and subsequently encountered its inherent dangers (namely bandits). Bandits had been troubling the travelers on the road to Athens for quite some time. For instance, a man name Periphetes (son of the god Hephaistos) beat travelers to a bloody pulp with a club. However, Theseus was not an average traveler. He killed Periphetes with his own club, and wielded said club for the rest of his life as a tribute to his first good deed. He encountered several more bandits (a man who tied his victims hands to pine trees, and a sort of ancient Greek version of the killer from Saw who tortured victims in his iron bed of DEATH). Thus, when Theseus arrived in Athens, he was very well received by the city’s people he had removed the dangerous bandits from the roads, and the King (who was still unaware of Theseus’s true identity) invited Theseus to a feast. However, Aegeus’s wife Medea used sorcery to discover that Theseus was the King’s son. She didn’t want her own sons with Aegeus to lose their right to the kingdom. She convinced the King that Theseus wasn’t to be trusted, and that the King should serve Theseus a poisoned drink. However, the King recognized his sword at the last moment and stopped his son from drinking the poison. Medea fled and everything looked good for Theseus. Unfortunately, he didn’t get to spend much time with his father. When he returned from killing the Minotaur, he forgot to signal his success to Aegeus by raising white sails on the ship. The King couldn’t bear his son’s death, and flung himself into the now Aegean Sea. Theseus did become the King of Athens (although he later resigned that position for a more democratic form of government in Greece) it wasn’t under the happiest of circumstances. Theseus lost his father right after completing one of the greatest accomplishments of his life, slaying the Minotaur of Crete.
Theseus slew a horrendous monster (the Minotaur) on the island of Crete. The Minotaur was, ahem, the bastard child of King Minos’s wife, Pasiphaë, and a bull. The bull had been a gift to Minos from Poseidon. However, Poseidon assumed that Minos would sacrifice the bull to him. Minos couldn’t bring himself to kill the bull, because apparently it was that beautiful. As punishment, Poseidon made Pasiphaë fall in love with the bull, and, well, you can assume what happened next. Their offspring was the Minotaur, a half - man, half - bull monstrosity. It had immense strength, and was fiercesome. But, Minos didn’t kill it. He had an engineer, Daedalus (yes, the same one from the Story of Icarus flying too close to the sun etc.) build a labyrinth, in which he put the monster at the center. Then, he required that Athens send 14 sacrifices to Crete to be sent into the labyrinth as food for the beast every nine years. Theseus heard of this, and wanted to put a stop to it. So, he sailed to Crete, promising his father to fly white sails should he return alive (a promise that he never kept). Theseus got to Crete, and met Ariadne, the daughter of Minos. She fell in love with Theseus, and showed him the secret to escaping the complex labyrinth (trailing some thread behind you to retrace your steps). Theseus did so, and met and slaughtered the Minotaur. He returned to Athens triumphant, only to watch his father plummet to his death in the sea. Such is the life of a hero.
Theseus was a champion for those who were defenseless. He never let those in need suffer, and always fought for what he thought was right. However, his story, like that of most heroes, was wrought with tragedy. His father and one of his wives committed suicide. Another wife died in battle. His son was killed by a sea monster, after Theseus banished him for apparently being in love with Theseus’s wife (wow), and he died tragically at the hand of one of his friends. Still, he was absolutely loved by the people of Greece, and was a great hero.

Yes, this is sort of cheating, so to make up for it, I'll show you this lovely video that me and ________ made in Communications Tech. I probably shouldn't be putting my face on the Internet, but honestly, so few people read this that I don't think that it really matters. So, with out further add doo, SAVE THE DEER PSA (oh, btw {by the way} this is supposed to be like the commercial for "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" except with deer, fyi {for your info [information]}

Story Behind the Science

Story Behind the Science: Gregor Mendel

                In the summer of 1878, French Seed Company representative C.W. Eichling visited Gregor Mendel at his monastery in the Czech Republic while touring Central Europe. Eichling toured the monastery grounds with Mendel, and observed the monastery’s pea plant beds, which contained over 25 varieties of peas, many of them hybrids. Although Mendel made one of the most important discoveries in Biology, it was not until 20 years later that his discoveries where recognized. He was born as Johann Mendel in 1822 in the now Czech Republic, and lived as a peasant for most of his childhood. He went to boarding school in Opava, and earned top grades. Although he wanted to become a teacher after graduation, he was forced to return to his parent’s farm in Hyncice. He was accepted to the University of Olomouc in 1841. He earned a two-year degree in math, physics, psych, and ethics. In 1843 he was accepted into the Augustinian Monastery in Brno, and was christened “Gregor.” As long as he performed his clerical duties at the monastery, Mendel was allowed to study whatever he wished in the monastery’s vast library, which he did, still hoping to become a teacher.

                Unfortunately, Mendel encountered many difficulties in becoming a teacher. He failed the teaching certification exams four times, and was only able to become a substitute teacher at the monastery. However, when the Brno Technical School teacher got sick, Mendel filled in. The Abbot of the Brno monastery was impressed with Mendel’s teaching, enough so to send him to the University of Vienna to become better educated. Mendel received his degree in 1854, and returned to the monastery to immediately begin his experiments with peas. Although there had been many heredity experiments involving animals prior to Mendel’s work, scientist didn’t often experiment with plants because they had trouble believing that plants could sexually reproduce. A few did, however, and it was these men that inspired Mendel to experiment with a pea plant’s heredity. Scientists like Carl Linnaeus and Joseph Koelreuter both experimented with hybrid crossing, but until Mendel, no one knew how specific characteristics were passed on to the offspring.

                Mendel began his research in the summer of 1856 on the Pisum pea plant genus. Mendel’s experiment was different from the others because he had an idea about “factors.” He believed that it was the factors that controlled the different variations of a trait. After Mendel made sure that his plants were pure-bred, he began to cross them. He showed with the F1 and F2 generations of tall and short pea plants that the tall gene was dominant and the short gene was recessive. An important step in Mendel’s work was that he counted the plants with the particular trait, and came up with a 3:1 ratio for dominant: recessive.

                Even though Mendel’s research was revolutionary to the field of Biology, it wasn’t really recognized by many scientists. Very few took his research took his research seriously. Mendel was appointed the Abbot of the Augustinian Monastery in 1868. When he became the Abbot, his extensive managerial duties kept him from performing his experiments, and he quit the pea plants. Mendel died in 1884. In 1900, some scientist rediscovered Mendel’s work and labeled him as the father of genes.

OK...So, Spanish

I was having a writer's block (amazing, after having not written anything for a few weeks). So, this is basically a transcription of my part in the Spanish 3 play Arrugapieles (or Rumplestilzskin). I won't give any context, or type any of the other parts. Hopefully that will make it sort of funnier and/or more interesting to read. Also, my parts (yep, I have two. I am THAT GOOD) are Antonio, el amigo del molinero, and Carlos, el mejens wait...how do you spell that...where's my paper.....oh. Crap. I've left it at school, and unfortunately don't have it memorized yet. Wow, this has been and epic, massive fail. This is probably the most useless thing you've ever read, if you're still reading at this point. Sorry you've spent your time reading this utter piece of poo.

Learner's Permit

So, I haven't done a hugging thing on this blog (or the discussion board, for that matter) for a couple of weeks. Basically, it's because I'm sort of lazy, and procrastinate a lot (see this old post for all the deets {details}). I could try and make excuses, but there's really no excuse to be made. So, sorry to my three (who am I kidding, two) avid readers for darkening your Sunday nights for the past couple weeks. I know how you've gone to sleep weeping in despair after spending hours refreshing my blog's home page.

Anyway, on to happier things. Last weekend (and by that I mean the weekend before last) I got my Utah Department of Motor Vehicles Learner's Permit. I passed the Learner's Permit test at 86% on my first try, and I barely even studied. ((:D)) (PS that was a happy face signifying that I was glad that I didn't have to study or really know to much about driving to be able to drive). I did find one of the questions on the test odd, however. It went...a little....like this: "When operating a motorboat, do the same rules and regulations regarding alcohol still apply to the operator of the boat?".....What? Why would we need to know this. The Learner's Permit doesn't allow you to drive a boat, so why would you need to know this. Luckily, it was a Yes/No question, so I just put yes, and I think that I probably got it right.

I was pretty surprised that I passed the test on my first attempt, because there were people failing it left and right. "Oh, I only needed to get twelve more answers correct." "Darn, 63%, so close." What's the deal? What do you not get about signs, speed limits, correct blinker usage, high or low beam lights, proper four-way-stop etiquette, and municiple speed codes? What's so hard about that? OK, so maybe I did study I little. I wasn't trying to brag or anything. No, not at all.

Scout/Sal Essay

I'm normally not so punctual with my blogs, and this is kind of cheating because it's an assignment, but I'm gonna be in Sand Diego until Monday so....

In my opinion, Scout and Salamanca are similar in many ways, one being the fact that they are both very empathic characters. They care a lot about how others are feeling throughout their stories, and to me, are much more empathic than most people generally are. In To Kill a Mockingbird Scout, along with Miss Maudie, helps comfort her Aunt Alexandra when they learn of Tom Robinson’s deadly escape attempt. Scout knows how discussed Alexandra is with the ladies at the party for being so carefree in light of the rape case, and Tom’s ensuing demise, and comforts her with the help of Maudie. “She seemed glad to see me when I appeared in the kitchen, and by watching her I began to think there was some skill involved in being a girl.” She understands Aunt Alexandra’s plight, and wants to help, much like Sal does with Phoebe.

            Salamanca seems to be perfectly suited to be Phoebe’s natural empath. She went through a similar situation as Phoebe in losing her mother, although Phoebe’s isn’t quite as bad. Sal understands the whirlwind of emotions Phoebe goes through after she loses her mother, and can comfort and support her as she gets a grip on her life. “On that night after Phoebe had given her Pandora report, I thought about the Hope in Pandora's box. Maybe when everything seemed sad and miserable, Phoebe and I could both hope that something might start to go right.”  The girls can be very different, however.

            One major difference between Scout and Sal, at least over the course of the books, is their level of happiness regarding their mothers. Even though they both lost their mother’s, they each are in very different mother-less situations. Scout can’t even remember her mother, and so doesn’t dwell her passing. She does have things to be sad about, but the lack of a mom isn’t one of them. “Our mother died when I was two, so I never felt her absence.” Sal’s mom died when she was very aware of what was happening, and was a different thing entirely.

            Salamanca Tree Hiddle was a young adult when her mom died, and being such, was very aware of what had happened. She even felt some guilt, mainly about the fact that she wasn’t good enough by herself for her family, which gave her mother the desire to have more children. It just so happened that the baby died in labor and Sal’s mom had to have a hysterectomy (she couldn’t have anymore kids). This causes her to fall into a depression, and leave on that faithful bus ride. Sal has to come to grips with the fact that it may not have been her fault that her mom left; it may have been her mom’s. “While I prayed for Gram outside the hospital, I wondered if my mother’s trip to Idaho was like Moody Blue’s behavior. Maybe part of it was for my mother and part of it was for me.” One of the reasons that it takes Sal so long to come to terms with her mom’s situation is because she’s so secretive, which is the opposite of Scout.

            Sal takes basically the whole book to tell the whole truth about what happened to her mother. You never really know what happened to her mom until the end, and it’s even hinted at that she still may be alive, but staying in Idaho for her personal reasons. Sal is very reluctant to let the truth out, and doesn’t even tell Phoebe that she had a similar experience, even though it may help Phoebe identify with her. Because Phoebe doesn’t know why Sal is qualified to help her, she won’t let her help her deal with her mother’s disappearance. “I felt bad for Phoebe. I knew I should get up and try to be nice, but I remembered when I had felt like that, and I knew that sometimes you just wanted to be alone with the birds of sadness. Sometimes you had to cry by yourself.”

            Scout is incredibly out in the open with her emotions. She lets everyone know how she feels and doesn’t care what they think. You find out very quickly what Scout’s view of the world is, and it doesn’t take the whole book to find out about any of Scout’s secrets. “’Entailments are bad,’ I was advising him, when I slowly awoke to the fact that I was advising the whole aggregation. The men where all looking at me, some had their mouths half-open.”

            

I Won't Take it the Wrong Way When You Say This's Turrible, Becuase it is

Dear Mr. King,

I would like to tell you about how your book Misery was pretty significant in the life a little child (who just happened to be me). I have read this book several times--the most recent being last summer--and have enjoyed each and every subsequent read-through of its 320 pages (at least in my edition). I loved everything, the pacing, the tone, generally just the writing. Now, I know that this is getting a bit to complimentary for the official LAL guidelines, but trust me, there’s a point to this blatant disregard of all rhyme and reason. Even though I loved the book, even though many others loved the book, I’ve just got to say: it scared the (to take one of Annie’s phrases from the book) ‘eff out of me. I guess it was sort of a bad idea to read it in the fourth grade, but hey, what’s done is done. No book (not even any of yours) has scared me like this one did. There was just something that I, as a nine-year-old child (yep, it’s crazy that I read this at that age, isn’t it) found utterly terrifying. Maybe it was the cop and the lawnmower scene (a face like hash browns *ewe*) or the foot cutting, but it just got to me. It was a good fear, though, an infectious fear, and it made me want to keep reading. I wanted more. More books, more stories, more, more, more. This is one of the ways my life has been affected by this book. Before the fourth grade (and before this book) I wasn’t all that into reading. I mean, I’d read a Potter book here and there, Eragon, what have you, but nothing ever made me want to, need to read more. After this book, I did. So thank you Stephen (can I call you Stephen?....probably not) for inspiring me to want to read. I practically ate up literature. Mind you, none of it was as utterly terrifying to me as this, but it gave me a jump start, a hunger. So, thanks, thanks for opening my mind to the wonderful world of literature.

I’m not going to proclaim anything as outlandish like “I’ve been abducted by a crazy serial killer nurse” or anything; however, there are certain parallels that I can make in connection to my own life. Paul is, in essence, trying to separate himself from his past (i.e. the Misery series of books), which is similar to the way that I’m trying to separate myself from my past (or the expectations of others). For most of my life I’ve been expected to play sports (it must be because of my tremendous physical build J). But that’s not who I am. This may seem kind of lame, but one of the biggest problems of the last six years of my life was playing sports each and every year, every day, every week. I don’t want to do that anymore, just as Paul doesn’t wish to write Misery. He wants to break free, and so do I.

So, Stephen, ahem, Mr. King, thanks for taking the time to read this, if it ever gets to you (which it probably won’t) for taking the time to write, and use your gift to inspire fourth graders (who probably shouldn’t be inspired by your particular books) around the world. 

This is just some report I found in my Elementary School Stuff. . .Enjoy

NON VERBAL COMMUNICATION

Non verbal communication is something that we all do, even if we don’t know it. We all communicate with each other in other ways than using language. Most people think of non verbal communication as the process of sending wordless messages to others. Usually, the types of non verbal messages are visual, but you can gestures and touch, which is called Haptic Communication. Also you can use body language, posture, facial expression and eye contact. The voice quality, rate, pitch, volume, speaking style, intonation and rhythm and intonation are also factors. Dance is also a form of non verbal communication.

Written texts also have non verbal elements of communication, like handwriting style, the spatial arrangement of words, or even the physical layout of the page. Even though non verbal communication also exists in writing, most of the people who study non verbal communication focus on the face to face interaction and communication of people. Face to face interaction can be classified three ways: the environmental conditions of the area where the communication takes place, the physical characteristics of the communicators, and the communicator’s behavior during the conversation. This is one of the problems of texting and email, many of the subtle ways that people communicate is lost when it is just words on a screen.

Charles Darwin was the first person to study non verbal communication. He studied it in the year 1872. It was in his book The Expression of the Emotions in Men and Animals. He thought that all mammals conversed reliably through their faces, and show emotion reliably. Throughout most of the 20^th century many more people studied the effects of non verbal communication. Many prominent scientists study the effects of non verbal communication of mammals. Many studies that range across a number of fields are being studied now, and many people still question how we communicate through non verbal communication.

Non verbal communications usually communicate emotions and attitudes, not specific thoughts or feelings. They also either substitute for, contradict, emphasize or regulate the verbal meaning of the phrase, and are very often ambiguous, and are very often continuous, always going on and on. Non verbal cues are far more reliable than what we say, and are always culturally bound. Different people in different states in different parts of the world all use non verbal communication, but differently, it always depends on what country you are from. What ever country that you grow up in dictates what kind non verbal communication that you use.

Non verbal communication is something that all mammals do. They all reliably communicate what emotions they are feeling through facial expression and attitudes, and they do it much more accurately than us humans do through speaking. As people, we need to learn how to pick up the small and subtle cues that all animals pick up from their own species. If we know how to read between the lines of people emotions, and how to read their face, then we can all communicate better with ourselves and others.