Blog post HW- 03/05/09 - Dervaes family video response

In the video with the Dervaes family it shows a family who is built on supporting your self and giving your family a source to food as apposed to going out and buying what you can have easy access to if you work hard for it.  They where a very out going family and had worked really heard to (very key words next)sustain themselves.   They went out of their way to give them selves more room to plant rather than working with an easily expandable garden.  They held many surprises, they contribute to many of the solution's that where presented previously.  Like supported local living economies by selling to local restaurants and other business that are in the food service.  They also did not use electricity and used almost all manual kitchen tools to prepare their food.  

This family lives a pretty simple life, all their needs are met from their hard work and do not use many luxuries.  Their needs list is just as big as any one's.  They are humans in the same time period as us so they have the same needs.  Their wants list would be pretty small, the way they live they seem pretty dedicated to the life style they live and having a smaller impact on the planet.  They use bio-fuels to get their car moving to have a smaller impact on the planet, they gather their own food and have a purely vegetarian diet.  This in my opinion would say they are about sustaining themselves and trying to pass on the lesson.   They don't seem to keep much to themselves besides what they need.  The little money they make they save for staples (favorite foods/ commonly used, not the kind of little metal staples) which aren't a necessity but a want.  If you count each of the staples individually it still only adds up to 3 different things.  As apposed when I check my pantry and I see a bunch of food.  

This family really ties into what where are learning about sustainability.  This family has really adopted a very sustainable lifestyle.  Where they do not depend on outside food or many outside recourses, they use natural recourses so not only are they keeping themselves really sustainable but also trying to reduce negative effect on the planet.  We are learning and about research a way to live more sustainably when this family is way ahead of us.  So it's seems pretty obvious how these two connect.  

This family lives really sustainably, their recourses come from within 100 feet of them.  This is a great idea to start living more sustainably.  There is more than one way to live more sustainably but this is a great way.  This group of people has set an example that will hopfully be caried on by others.  It's also a good thing they don't over stock and sell surpluses.  Rather than wasting stuff they go off and sell it to others who would have a better use than letting it go to waste.  All in all these people seem like a family who would really 

please check this out if you've got the time http://www.pathtofreedom.com/

 

My Ishmael Calliope part 2

Question one: How is Ishmael using the word anthropomorphism in the text on page 82?

Answer:  I guess it's because I think he's saying humans think themselves to be above everything else.  That we see our selves 'better' than all other life forms because of our intelligence.  It's described to say that humans want everything for any(one/thing) must be earned under our conditions, and since animals do not comprehend this system of ours they tend to think it's every one's land.  We see that if you do not earn whatever you have through our system then you are some kind of threat.  For example most of our trading and exchanges are through money and that is how we earn what we have.  Since animals are incapable of doing this than we see them as 'value less'.

Question 2:  In this chapter Ishmael leads us through the evolution of the Awks on planet Calliope. They start out as Awks and then some evolve into Bawks and then a few evolve into Cawks. These Cawks live in tribes and have a cultural heritage. They practice the strategy of ‘Erratic Retaliation’.

Part A:  How does Ishmael define ‘Erratic Retaliation’? How does it work in the case of then Cawks?

 Ishmael defines erratic retaliation as a peacekeeping system for the Cawks because it is a way of serving justice for what one member has done to another.  It allows them to settle the two individual's rather than having the situation explode and get two whole tribes at each other.  The Cawks developed it so people would get what they deserve but keep it down to a certain limit and keep the whole race from eradicating it's self.  

Part B:  Why is Erratic Retaliation a peacekeeping method?

Erratic retaliation could be considered a peace keeping method because it allows the Cawks the ability to control a dispute amongst parties (creatures, tribes etc.).  By doing so problems can be solved without destroying too much or killing to many other creatures

Part C:  Why don’t the Cawks just annihilate each other (instead of just doing the occasional attacks?

The Cawks might be separate from each other since they separate into tribes but they do not annihilate each other because they cannot continue their species inside of just one tribe.  Their tribes are too small to reproduce between the people in that one group.  They need the other tribes to find more mates and keep the race going.  If they killed each other and one tribe was the final victor then they would be forced to mate with a small amount of other Cawks and keep it to a minimum.  As long they do the occasional attacks a tribe can establish its dominance and still have more breeding options. 

Ishmael blog post

Question 1: What are Ishmael’s two general rules on how to identify people from our culture? Do you agree with Ishmael when he says that people from all over the world are part of the same culture? Why or why not?

Answer: Ishmael defines people 'from our culture' as normal humans, and people who live in around the same general area.  However I don't think that people from all over the world are part of the same culture.  We all have different values and ideas for different things such as food and architecture.  We all have the same needs like food, shelter, and water.  Different cultures view different things as beautiful or bad or ugly, so we don't all belong to the same one, we have different religions that change our ideals or way of ever day life.  The definition of culture is : The quality in a person or society that arises from a concern for what is regarded as excellent in arts, letters, manners, scholarly pursuits, etc.  Not every country's ideas are the same as another, not every country views the same art as beautiful or modern, not every country has the same mannerisms like "thank you" or "hello" or shaking hands.  

Question 2: Ishmael disagrees with Mother Culture’s voice that says that humans are inherently flawed. After reading through page 66 of My Ishmael do agree or disagree with him? Why?

I actually agree with what Mother Culture says in the book, humans are inherently flawed.  Humans are not perfect and I really feel what is stated in the book about humans not being so simple they do not seemed flawed, but we are not high and mighty enough to develop some Earth saving machine.  This put it into perspective to see how we are flawed.  We do not have the intelligence to solve the big problems like wars and world hunger but we can make life a bit easier and give our selves some luxuries.  We do not have any technology that can save us.  So I disagree with Ismael, when Julie mentions the perfection of simpler creatures how they are so basic they live because they are adapted to the simple life

  

Question 3: Ishmael uses a parable of Tunes and Dancers to explain his idea of Takers and Leavers. Who are these Takers and Leavers and how do they relate to American culture?

Answer: I guess the Takers in the book are kind of like everyone here in the U.S.A because we are all consuming and getting it only from working.  Just like the dancers in the story they work for what should be given to us simply because it is a human necessity (in this case it would be food) and we shouldnt have to work for.  In which case just like us we work for things we should get anyway.  The leavers in this society are more like the criminals.  They choose to abandon the laws of the people they live with and try somthing crazy, for better or worse.  

Sustainability

1. What does it mean to live sustainably?

To live sustainably would mean to able to live in a manner where all your needs are taken care of and is at least some what enjoyable.  It would mean you have obviously some hard times but it means you are content with what you have available.  If you live sustainably that mean would you have all that you need.  It could also fall into the category that you get everything you want (materialistic), but that's a little more than sustainably.

2. How much freedom and independence do you have as a 14-16 year old in our society?

In our society 14-16 year olds have a pretty decent amount of freedom.  At 16 you get to drive a car and in our school epically we get a lot of freedom to do what we want.  At around 14 most people tend to give us more freedom but more responsibility in order to help us learn for when we go off to college and/or start a life of our own.  The responsibility we get at around this age tends to increase as we get older.  All in all people in this age group tend to get a pretty good amount of freedom and at the same time responsibility.

3.As a 14-16 year old, how can you currently live your life more sustainably?

In the age group of 14-16 there are many ways to live your life more sustainably.  You could get a job and try get your money rather than asking your parents for money that way you give your parents more spending money for food, mortgage etc.  Also I guess working hard at school could also help with that because then it helps with college and could be considered a investment for the future.  You could also use less energy or find some other way to cut down on the resources you use thus saving your guardians some money.  

2nd semester goals

Goals 

My goals for this semester are to get a 85 over all (at least) in every class for many reasons, but mainly because a sense of accomplishment always feels good when you have been through something as long as a school year.  Also to just avoid any kind of trouble as I have some minor trouble with in the past. 

Question 1:  How are you different now then when you started school in August?

I think I am different now in a way that makes me look like I have a sense of urgency.  In previous years I settled for the minimum in most of my pieces of work and when ever something was due soon I would lay back and do it a good portion of the time but the times it didn't it hit hard so a sense of urgency did kick in but too late but after seeing all that I feel like I can force that feeling on my self to make me seem a bit more productive because I have to now more than ever

Question 2.  What skills do you think are the most important for succeeding in humanities?Why?

Well first of all you have to have the will to learn after the rest of the skills start to come to you pretty easily.  Next to that you have to have some kind of researching skills as our previous project showed us.  Simply because humanities is about history, literature, and writing.  So for the writing portion you would need researching a lot since you need to inform your self.  Not just being able to read stuff but to pick out the important details and be able to understand the work.  Also study skills, to able to learn something important efficiently and how to summarize different kinds of information.  Like studying math if different than history so you have to able to know how to study different formats of material.  

Question 3:  One thing you would like to improve on

I would like to improve my work ethic a bit.  Primarily at home because I can honestly say I think I work pretty efficiently at school but at home I have too many distractions.  So I would like to turn off the computer volume and put on headphones to keep anything else from getting my attention which would keep me locked on my work

Question 4:  What are you most curious about?  If you could study any topic, what would you study and why?

If anything I would like to study genetics.  I don't know a lot about the topic but form what I do know it seems very interesting.  Also because it's nice to have that kind of knowledge to know that you could help someone with what could previously have been called an "incurable affliction"   

1. To achieve a 85 or better in all classes

2. To watch any Superbowl in person

3.  Live to see a Charger Superbowl win

4.  To get my DP up to speed and make sure all it's links are working 

5.  Get all my WOW characters to the level cap before the start of next year

6.  To make more friends

7.  To go to Washington D.C

8.  To go to Brazil

9.  To go on road trip with my friends 

10.  To go to college and get a doctorate

Dialectic Journal (Final) Gates of Fire

Journal 1 book 7 

Part of text:  Directly above rose a copse of oak, lit by-iron cressets howling in the gale, and beyond, past a single picket line of Egyptian marines, could be glimpsed the pennanted kingposts of a pavillion so vast it looked like it housed a battalion.  "That's it."  Rooster pointed.  "That's Xerxes' tent."  

Response:  First of all it was nice how the Pressfield describes the place to almost exagerate it.  Also it was nice how it left the chapter in suspense to make the reader want to keep on reading.  

Journal 2 book 7

Part of text:  The warrior's thoughts at the brink of action, my master had often observed (as the student of fear he ever declared himself to be), follow a pattern unvarying and ineluctable.  There appears always an interval, often brief as a heartbeat, wherein the inward eye summons the following tripartite vision, often in the selfsame order: 

Response:  This kind of brings in the element of Spartan training that they do early on in life that is somewhat explained in the contents of the book (primarily in the beggining) but it kind of explains how they get in the zone before they strike at their enemies.  

Journal 1 book 8 

Part of text:  As when a hailstorm descends unseasonably from the mountains and hurls from the sky its icy pellets upon the husbandman's newly sprouted crop, so did the bolts of the Persians in their myriads thunder down upon the Spartans and Thespians.  Now the farmers assumes his anxious station in the doorway, hearing the deluge upon the titles of the roof, watching its bullets of ice clatter and rebound upon the stones of the walk.  How fare the sprouts of spring barley?  One here and there survives, as if by miracle, and holds yet its head aloft.  But the planter knows this state of clemency cannot endure.  He turns his face away, in obedience to the laws of god, while without, beneath the storm, the final shaft breaks and falls, overwhelmed by the insuperable onslaught of heaven 

Response:  This is another example of building suspense it leaves kind of a gap in the story.  The simile in the text is also nice as they compare the arrows that supposedly "block out the sun", as they compare it to hail.  Also describing the arrows hitting sheilds.  

Journal 2 book 8:  Such was the end of Leonidas and the defenders of the pass at Thermopyle, as it related by the Greek Xeones and complied in transcription by his Majesty's historaian Gobartes the son of Artabazos and completed the fourth day of Arahsamnu, year five of his majesty's accension.  

Response:  This seems like a very nice semi-emotinal way to start the ending the book.  The way they even start in with just this paragrph with simple words like "such" when put in context like this make the story come to epic proportions.  

What I'm thankful for

I am very thankful that my parents still have a job considering the trashy economy 

I am thankful for still having a house and Internet access 

I am thankful for still being alive and having my health 

and finally I am thankful for being me