Hello, World!

Colleagues, friends, strangers, welcome to The Blog. These 650 posts represent the collective work of the thirty-five young scholars in my Modern World History classes for the 2008-09 school year. Over the course of three months, seventeen assignments, and a century's worth of history, these kids grew the blog from an experiment in homework collection (driven largely by the theft of my bag – and two weeks of homework – from my car) into a lively, conversational, and truly collaborative historical text.

Assignments on the blog were generally based around independent research – the idea being that, hey, we're on the internet, let's use the damn thing. To that end, students read New York Times articles and opinion pieces off of Slate. They browsed image caches hosted by universities and national archive centers. They combed the World Health Organization databases. They reflected on their own historical experiences in the pop culture of novels and movies. The goal of each blog post was to parse the myriad online resources and turn out an informed, analytical chunk of writing. It was to muse on the strange and wonderful puzzle that is the web.

The most recent posts you'll see, directly below, are end of year reflections. Ungraded, these reflections had students ponder the single most important thing they learned over the course of the year in MWH. They weren't meant to be about the blog – they didn't even have to be about history. Overwhelmingly, however, upon stopping and reexamining the research and writing they did this year, students wrote about the blog and the particular way it made them think about academic tone, opinion and organization, historical arguments, and, most importantly, scholarly conversation and debate with their peers.

So – welcome. Have a look around. You just might learn something (I know I did).


Ms. P, over and out.

D Block History

This class has definitely been my rowdiest history class ever. But I think that fit in nicely with the tone of the class and the way we learned together. The connections we made as a class and by ourselves from the unit we were studying to something happening today were astounding. I know that my ability to recognize those connections and then convey them eloquently whether through speech or writing has drastically improved since the beginning of the year. I think this is due to the unique format of the class whether it was watching a movie like the Battle of Algiers or reading a current New York Times article. I also know for a fact that I would not have learned or grown as a student nearly as much without our exceptional teacher, curriculum, or class dynamic.

D Block MWH with Mama Pugs :)

D Block MWH was like no other class. It was a class I always looked forward to. It was a class in which people expressed their thoughts and opinions . It wasn't just a class were you sat down and took notes. Ms. Pugliese provided us with more engaging ways to learn the incredible amount of material we learned in such a short amount of time. There's one very important thing I took from this class. This is the ability to write a proper essay, not like the ones I wrote freshman year but to-the-point, argumentative, and connective essays. There's one person I should thank for this. It's Ms. Pugliese. Whenever I was stumped on how to begin or end an essay, she somehow always managed to help me succeed. 

This class provided us with different ways to express our knowledge of Modern World History than just memorizing important information and taking dreadful tests in which you had to analyze each multiple choice question in order to be able to answer it.  The idea of having a blog was genius. It allowed me to truly express what I felt about a certain issue or certain events and it also helped me think and connect certain issues with events from modern times. 

D Block MWH with Mama Pugs was MUCH more than just a plain old history class.

A look back on the year

History this year has been a true inspiration to me. Up until this year History was something that I only took because I had to. However, through learning about modern world history, as well as the atmosphere of the class I have become extremely interested in the subject. History is no longer something, which I consider a chore to do the reading homework in, as nerdy as it sounds it actually excites me to have to do reading, and learn about different aspects of history. Apart from learning history, this class also taught me a lot about myself, and the subjects that interest me.  Another change for me in history this year was the fact that I become comfortable with expressing my ideas, and sharing them with the class. This would've never been possible if it wasn't for the comfortable atmosphere of the class. I honestly love coming to class everyday because it isn't a class that I dread going to, and it is extremely fun. Each day is filled with activities, which not only test our knowledge what we have learned but plant new ideas in our minds. I am extremely sad that the year is over because I have enjoyed the time we have spent as a class, learning history together. 

What A Year

Mama Pugs made this a really memorable year. History became an extremely fun class to go to as the year progressed and I thought that this year taught me some new, valuable skills that I don't think the rest of the other classes had access to. I felt like this class was very much more based around learning how to take information and create your own, original ideas around that information, instead of just getting tested on it and forgetting it once we return from summer, or even before that. Instead of doing that, there were fun ways to apply that to our own work: whether it was through the blog, or any other kind of writing expressive assignment that we had throughout the year. Because of activities like these, I think I learned to make history a much more creative class than I always perceived it to be. Most importantly, I think that I learned two extremely relevant, connected things. The first is that the two major research papers that we did taught me how to find good information. The second thing that I learned was how to take that information and instead of just spitting that back out again in my own words, I got really good at picking out specific research to go with an argument that I was trying to prove, using my research more as evidence to support my claim rather than just write about what others have researched as well. All in all, I think that the most important thing that I can take out of this class is how to take factual history and get more creative to turn it something interesting and original that I could call my own work.

Just one important thing I learned

Although this year as a whole has brought a whole different meaning to History Class, I think the most important thing I learned this year was to discover history through modern day uses of technology as well as using not so modern tools. It is important to combine the two, because they feed off of each other, to contribute success. The best stories from Modern World History will come from live accounts (which we have access to) and may even be posted on youtube! A first account of the situation is a great, personal, and entertaining way to learn about a topic in history. I also have learned how having history class after two o'clock is an accident waiting to happen. 

I Promised Myself I Wouldn't Cry

Ok, my title is a little dramatic, but I have had a lot of fun this year in Modern World History with Mama Pugs. Though Mama Pugs teaching style is far different than any other history teacher I have ever had I feel like I am going to remember more from this class that any other. I loved the second semester whether it be blogging, reading Maus, or doing the final project. The most important thing that I learned this year was that history is sometimes hidden and you have to go and look for it. But once you find it, it is the best feeling in the world. I learned to articulate my argument and take criticism (a lot of it). To conclude, I feel that not only has my analytic writing improved but also my argument creation and my ability to take criticism.

Thanks Mama Pugs for a great year and I wish the best to D-Pugs...

--Ryan "I Complain A Lot" Stastny

Definition of History

At the beginning of this year a set some goals for both my writing and my research in history and I feel like I was able to accomplish them. For writing I wanted to able to write argumentative in a concise fashion. Even from my first essay I felt like I was improving, but it did take a couple more tries for me to be able to find the balance between being argumentative and factual thoughts. This was especially hard when we kept switching between the kinds of essays and reports. However, I feel like I have a pretty good idea of how I want to balance these two things for my final project. Research wise I think I was also able to improve through out the year. I found that when researching for a certain subject you need to gather all the sources you can and then start weeding through. This was very important lesson for my final project. I found this a lot easier than trying to weed sources out from the beginning (which is what I did for our first research paper). So overall my research paper writing skills improved drastically.
Apart from this writing improvement, I also learned how to like history. I was not a very big fan of history because to me it was just boring facts and dates I needed to memorize. Now I learned that history is not the study of the past but rather how we remember and record events. It actually made learning about these events a lot more interesting and exciting. This was, in fact, my favorite part about this class.

A Block Unofficial Awards

MVS (Most Valuable Student)= Estefania

Most Analytical= Megan Brown

Biggest Smart-Allick/ Most Pessimistic= Sam Parker

Lil' Pugs Award= Christophe

Blue Collar Jerber= Justin Lannin

MHM(Most Honorable Manchu)= Kevin Ji

Biggest Abuser of the "No Question is a Stupid Question Rule"= Connor "Rathist Bonist" Radlo

Comeback Student of the Year: Kyle Hutchinson

Most Likely to Become Villain in A James Bond Movie=Sasha Badrenkov

Class Jester=Priyanka

Brett C'plan Enthusiam Award: Ms. Pugliese

First Team All Pugs A Block:

Sam Fancher, Robert Wickers, Eliza Adams, Rebecca Friedman

Second Team All Pugs A Block:

Justin Wong, Sarah P, Jack Suiter

May I add that no award is any higher ranking or better than any other award.

From Knowledge to Opinions & Beyond

Writing research a paper is something that every highschool student has to go through, however, this year I felt I was able to turn an onerous activity into a genuine learning experience. In the first, I was able to create a stellar (in my opinion) thesis on Hidalgo & Morelos, and connect their characteristics with the leadership qualities of the ideal leader. The second essay was bit more difficult for me for I had to create love letters between two Russian lovers of the early 1900's and 1910's, one of which was a Bolshevik follower, while the other a citizen of a rioting industrial city. In a way I guess I mastered the process of creating characters, but from there I had no idea where to go. 

Research -- a beginning step to creating a paper -- came into play, and I had to dig deep. Collecting research material is tough, and I still have trouble finding the exact information I have my mind set on. Throughout the year though, I was able to improve on my techniques in acquiring research information by taking advantage of our school's library and the databases that our school website houses. With my paper, I had to point out the specific information I would need, and turn it into my own words, but the research is pointless without the most important component -- being a historian.

When writing, I try to think of each non-factual sentence as a mini-thesis. All of these sentences are opinions, and I feel that this year was a year for opinions for me. No offense to world religions, but you cannot have an opinion in that class without being pegged by the political correctness police. Throughout this year, and especially in the blogs, I was able to express my opinions in a scholarly environment, which will be helpful for next year. The blog was like a database of its own. From it gushed facts and the writers interpretation of those facts. Every class should have some type of public display like our class blog, because lets be honest, we should have outgrown the "I am self-conscious about my writing" phase after this year in history. 

To A block, you guys are awesome. I am intimidated by how much knowledge you guys have, and how energetic you guys are at all times. I hope to be your classmate again next year. Great year in history on the whole. 

Looking Back

I have always considered history to be an important subject because, in my mind, there are not many things that are more educational than knowledge of the past as a foundation for the present. This philosophy, however, has been difficult to maintain because history is typically taught in a way that is extremely difficult for me to grasp and enjoy. This apprehension was ramified when Mama Pugs took charge of the class. With Mrs. Gertmenian, I was sure to endure another year of drowning in history. I learned a ton under Mama Pug's tutelage, in fact i wanted to learn in her class. My participation improved because I actually understood what she was asking us and I wanted to jump in and contribute.

I used to think of history as linear and one dimensional, but this year, I learned that history is still widely open to interpretation. I learned how to write opinion pieces about history, which was enjoyable because it gave me something to explore and taught me to be interpretive. I believe I have a better handle on the present better because I know a bit about the events that brought us here.

What is really cool, is that I find myself reaching for the New York Times, which didn't happen that often before we started blogging and writing on current events. I feel a desire to be informed. I used to avoid books that had historical foundation, but now I am not afraid to tackle them because i have a bearing as to where to put that information in my mind. I know this class was worth my time, and an asset to my future as a writer.

I owe all my enthusiasm for history to Mama Pugs: thanx for an amazing second semester!

A Final Toast

This has been an amazing year for me. History started out not so well, but this second semester has been incredible. As I look back, feeling more than a touch nostalgic, I realize I learned far more than I thought I did. And what I learned wasn’t just facts, like so often I feel history is. History has never been the most engaging class for me, because my experience of it up to date has been a class made mostly of memorizing dates and facts, with the occasional exercise that involves thinking and making connections. But this semester forced me to rethink my impression of history.
I have been forced to think in new ways, to make connections and see patterns hidden in the layers of facts. I learned how to write both analytically and from the heart, so that I care about what I’m saying enough to put true thought behind it. This is probably the first year I have consistently found history to be an engaging, challenging, and most importantly, interesting. So many classes over the years, and so few I remember. It is never the material that defines a class, it is always the teacher. And when you look back you realize that it is the teachers who make you want to learn a subject, who plant seeds and ideas in your mind, who make you redefine just a little part of how you view the world; those are the ones you remember. I have been blessed with a few teachers like that.
My fourth grade Jewish studies teacher Alona who taught us history from archeologist’s points of view, while showing us how to make olive oil for lamps and how archeologists piece together the pieces of a broken pot. My 8th grade science teacher, Mike, who showed that science was in the real world and not in textbooks. Last year’s English teacher, Bourbon, who opened my eyes to a whole new level of thinking, and for whom I will never be able to view a movie the same way again.

Now there is one another name to add to the list.

Here’s to you, Mama Pugs. You made this year count.

Improvements

Well, This year didn't start out too well. Whether it was Ms. Gertmenian or Ms. Pugliese who graded me in the first quarter I will never know, but one thing I do know is that I didn't do so well. Interestingly enough however that was not a trend that continued on for the whole year. I got increasingly better at writing and articulating my thoughts. I think that the unusual way that this class was tought really hepled me connect the past and the present. By jumping from the Safavids to the Swat valley I was able to start to see connectinos that I didn't see before this year. Mama Pugs- Thanks for a great year...

The Most Important Thing I Learned

The most important thing I learned this year is that there is more to a history class than just dates and events.  I improved my ability to make connections between different historical events, which has allowed me to see many things in a new light.  I thought this class was very fun, and I learned a lot.

How I've Changed

This year's history class has been a lot of fun.  To go with the plethora of historic dates and names that we have been forced to mindlessly memorized, I have taken some important lessons about the subject of history and myself.

I heard recently that "History is not the old stuff in textbooks, but how we look at it."  This has taken on a huge meaning in our class this year.  On a very annoyingly ironic note, we studied old civilizations with a blog, something completely foreign, if not unimaginable, to the people we're talking about.  But more seriously, our class has taken some creative ways of looking at the past.  We played a weird version of Risk to explain the Cold War.  We made a movie to look at the Muslim Empires, China, and Europe.  We did a ton of cool stuff that probably makes no sense, but it helped us learn.  That was an amazing realization to me, because as well as being more effective at interacting with the material, it helped me learn to love history more than I did at the beginning of the year.

To go with this bountiful enjoyment, I believe that my writing style has improved and I have learned more about research papers (e.g. don't procrastinate!!!!!)  I'm sure these will be useful in RUSH next year.

Most importantly, I learned a lot about my classmates and myself.  For example, I make a lot of annoying, smart-ass comments.  Like a LOT.  But I also found that some teachers aren't totally against that, as long as it's relevant, and I can let my sarcastic side contribute to a discussion instead of taking away from it.

What I've learned this year in History:

First, I learned (started to learn at least) the balance between messing around in class (influencing the "back corner") and focusing and being extremely attentive in class. There are times when you can "mess" around in class. You can still joke around in class and still learn the material of the class and not be too disruptive.

Second, I have learned a lot about gathering and using evidence in essays (and any other writing like on the blog) this year. I need to come up with the evidence then write my thesis and not do it the other way around, because then my thesis will probably be lacking.

Third, I have learned a lot about research. Research isn't just about using wikipedia for all of my information. Research is about getting reputable sources and coming up with my own ideas, not just the easiest ideas to write about because all of the evidence is in front of me. 

Closing on a Great Year

Our class is rowdy to say the least and it can take half the period for the "back corner(s)" to settle down, but through all the chaos that it Pugliese A Block, I've learned the most about my writing skills than in any other class. English, a period based off of writing essays, has taught me nothing in comparison to what I have accomplished or more so learned over the past nine months in Modern World History. Rereading an essay that I had written back in September made me laugh. I lacked the ability to organize, use topic sentences correctly, and form a thesis. Although I still have trouble putting together a thesis, I can see that something has drastically changed. Maybe it is not shown on paper, but I notice it when going about writing a paper. For the past couple years, I've tried to use the basic thesis structure: "although -----, (claim) because (reason)." For every paper, that has been my building block and i've learned to elaborate my reasons from there. My thesis for my final project turned out to be just a claim essentially. I've now learned how to gather information from many different sources, organize it, and interpret before starting to compose an essay. I can see the difference from when I tried to do that in my Simon Bolivar project to my final project on the Brandenburg Gate. At first glance, it's overwhelming to have to deal with all the information from different sources, but I've learned how to go about it in a more organized fashion. Another issue with my writing is my analysis of the facts. I ask questions in my papers, but tend to leave them unanswered. Although I still tend to do this even now, I can now recognize this when writing and reading through my essays. I've enjoyed the class itself, but it has greatly changed the way I write for the better and helped me feel more confident when assigned a paper. 

What I've Learned

Before this year, I think that my writing was argumentative, but I think that my thesis statements were not very strong and did not well represent my persuasive, argumentative writing. I think that this year I learned to develop more concise, argumentative,  and representative thesis statements.  This overall makes my papers much stronger and makes it easier to organize my evidence in a way that makes sense and makes it easy to read. I also think that I consistently provided too much background information and factual evidence before getting to my point. One example of this was in my paper about feminists this year. I had about a page an a half of unneeded background information. After cutting this, and reforming my thesis, my written paper was much stronger. This year my writing improved, but it was mostly my organization of my papers and making it concise so that it was easy to read and made sense, that improved. My ideas also greatly improved this year. I feel as though the things that we learned were much less factual and memorizing than history classes in the past. I think that our class discussions made me really think deeper into the surface of these historical events. Mostly I think that this new outlook showed up in my writing. One of the papers that I was most proud of this year actually occurred at the beginning of the year. We had spent time in class discussing current events and we had to write a paper linking some of these events into a common theme. The theme that I chose was ethnic nationalism. I think that this beginning of the year paper really helped me to think of history in a new way for the rest of the year, and the years to come. Before this class, I would have probably just read these current events off of my Yahoo page and absorbed them, but not thought much about them. Now I am able to see connections between different things happening in the world at different times and how these patterns have repeated throughout history. I think that this new outlook makes me appreciate history even more, and makes it a much more interesting class.

Final Review- A Last Post Salute

Ms. Pugliese  A block. What a year. With A block being the most enlightened block (for obvious reasons), I was able to grab the reins of world history in an incredibly unique way. The improvement I am most proud of in this class is my new approach/perspective upon history as a whole. The history classes in years previous have seemed like a routine of going through the motions, compared to my engaged and thoughtful experiences as a sophomore in World History. Because of the way we go about class, history has provoked an interest that goes beyond facts and dates. I discovered that the past is ultimately a connection to the contemporary themes in politics, society, and economics that dominate our lives today. Although I cannot say I fully understand the mysterious power of history in our world, I feel that I have drastically improved my ability to comprehend what it means to me as a white teenager in suburban America. I feel in some way that Ms. Pugliese A block has taught me more about analyzing the blur that is life and academics, and how to approach this blur with an open mind and an opinionated voice. I now have a better idea about how history affects the patterns and form of my lifestyle- I am ready and able to question anything that comes my way. As Ms. Pugliese warned us, our ideas and beliefs will change with the seasons, but the most important part of this is that we allow our beliefs to change. And with these components of new knowledge in history, I have seen my writing transform from a plain piece of paper w/ facts on it to a crafted essay that strives to find ideas lurking in  the corners of historical elements. I now find the desire to explore on my own, to simply deepen my understanding of the world around me. History isn't just history, basically. So to conclude, I thank Ms. Pugliese for opening these doors and I enthusiastically thank my fellow classmates of A block (reppin' for life) for helping to ignite the classroom. It really was fun. Thank you, and goodnight.

What I Learned

This year, the most important thing that I learned was how to be more argumentative in my writing. In the beginning of the year my writing was almost purely factual and my arguments were weak with little evidence. Now I'd like to think that I provide a lot more evidence and my arguments are stronger and I inject my opinion more into my writing subtlety. I can attribute most of this progress to the blog posts. In most of the blog posts we have been required to post our own opinions on whatever the topic is, and in the beginning of the year we wrote op-eds. Writing these, and reading other people's op-eds helped me develop my own way of presenting my argument.

The Most Important Thing...

The most important thing that I learned in this class is how to transfer my ideas onto paper. The blog posts that we have used really helped me with that. Instead of doing homework assignments that focus on writing down useless facts, I learned how to express my opinion. Most of the writing that we did in this class focused on creating your own thesis, which holds your opinion on something. Expressing your own opinion is what is going to matter when we grow up: ether writing your Thesis for College or creating your own Senior Project. This class was really helpful by allowing me the opportunity to express my feelings about numerous topics.

Perspective

One of the most important things that you have to think about when you are learning about history is what perspective you are looking at it from.  What is being exaggerated, left out, or misreported.  You also have to think about what is fact and based off of analysis of remnants from an event.  It is very hard to get exactly what happened, and that is why we must analyze today.  To try to determine why things happened.  This can help you make a better decision in the future.  History is just a story of what happened, and it can be affected by who is telling it.  (For example, Norways role in WWII is completely left out, possibly due to the misreport of a reporter who said that they "rolled over.")

A New Tone of Voice

This class has been very different from prior classes I've been in. I found that the more easy-going atmosphere made me feel more free to show what I'd learned casually, like it were just interesting information I was sharing with others, rather than something for a grade. This class has challenged me to think in new and different ways, analyzing not only history but how history is told (a far more interesting subject, in my opinion). The most important thing this class has taught me, though, is that I can think deeply and critically and express my ideas and opinions intelligently and eloquently while still maintaining a tone that is more casual than I've always been taught is "correct".

A Year (or Semester) in Review

Not to be cliche, but I truly have learned a lot this year.  I've learned many details and facts about empires, but that's not what is important.  My analytical skills have increased vastly due to the hours of fact analysis we did.  I now feel comfortable making connections between seemingly different events that occurred throughout World History.  I learned enough about the French Revolution and Islamic Empires to last me a life time, although there's definitely more I can learn.  All the blog writing we've done this year has helped me greatly, and I need it because writing in my English class is scare.  This has been more of a humanities class than just MWH due to this blog.  The blog has certainly matured my writing by allowing us the opprotunity to look over past work and correct it, or admire it in some cases.  Overall, I've had a great time in Modern World History, as well as learning a great amount.  I'd go so far as to give three cheers for MWH, instead of the mediocre two.  Thanks for a great year; I hope you enjoyed us (only A Block), as much as we have enjoyed having you as our teacher.

Becoming a More Concise Writer

The most important thing that I have taken away from this class is how to be a better writer. I have had to make my writing much more concise and focused. This is largly due to the blog and the fact that my posts always looked so much longer than everyone else's. When I looked at my posts, which were in a smaller font than everyone else's but longer than everyone else's, I felt the need to find a way to make them shorter, and I went back through and took out any unneeded words and sentences. In the end, I think that I succeeded in becoming more concise; even though my posts still tend to be long, they are still shorter than what I started with. This informal way of writing that allows me to see the writing of others as well has truly helped me to become a better writer.

Pop Culture: De Con

Looking back I have read two novels that show decolonization. First, The Kite Runner was about the struggles of a young boy from Pakistan who moves to the U.S. Second, recently I read Things Fall Apart which is about a village colonized by the white man and it is about their struggles to fight it. 

Also, I have seen many movies on this subject including Babel, The Kite Runner (movie), and The Kingdom. 

WHO in Kenya

Looking over the WHO stats for Kenya I saw some good data and terrible data. First, I found it shocking that the life expectancy rate is 51 and 50 for women. This is scary because this means that I would live on average 25 years longer than these people which is simply unfair for me to live more than half of their lives longer. Although, there were some good stats on the amount in poverty and who are literate which are relative of course. This also scares me because I sometimes take for granite my education and the money my family has. Lastly, I hope that these numbers will get better as time passes but looking at the data it is only getting worse. 

Final Project Sources

Factual: http://www.battleofthebulge.org/monuments.html This is a website run by veterans which gives the overall specs on the monument.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/bulge/timeline/ This website shows a detailed timeline of the Battle of the Bulge and what happened during this great fight. Also, it is argumentative because it talks about how this battle was Hitler's last stand and how it was a turning point in the war.

Augmentative:

http://www.record-eagle.com/local/local_story_351095009.html This source is very argumentative because it is a interview of a veteran that fought in the Battle of the Bulge and he talks about the battles significance and overall importance to the war. 

Rosie The Riveter

During WWI and WWII the role of women were pretty much the same. Their roles included working in factories, nurses, and anything that need to get done while the men were off at war. Although, during WWI and WWII these roles seemed to be portrayed differently. First, during WWI women were a huge role but when the men came back the women were not as recognized and did not get as many rights as they should have. In WWII, when women went to work it was portrayed as patriotic. Rosie the Riveter is a prime example of this because she was part of a huge propaganda series trying to get more and more women to work. So, the U.S had to create a character which would change the view on women working. Rosie the Riveter showed women that they were being patriotic when they worked in the factories and that the had a huge part in the war (which they did). Lastly, Rosie the Riveter made such a big impacted because women felt that Rosie represented more rights for women. 

Fin.

Is it really that time of year already? That time of year when everyone starts to freak out about finals and maybe a bit about summer (and for the overachievers, about the next year). Ah, it's quite a bittersweet thing- growing up is. Part of us wants to be big, responsible adults, while another part wants to kick back as a little kid, with nothing in the world to worry about beside that Math quiz.

That time when everyone is wrapping up again is a good time to look back. It's recent enough that the turmoil and chaos of sophomore year are just about winding down, but not yet fading. As I look back, I see a very different person. In the beginning of the year, I was simply an "overgrown freshman" (in the words of the esteemed Lucas Sokolsky), with freshman-ey perspectives and outlooks, and that hint of naivette left as vestiges of the middle school days gone by. A hundred and a few score days of school later, there has been a transformation- a refinement, an aging (like a fine wine, if I do say so myself. Har har).

A good part of this growth in my personal awesomeness (Hah.) can be attributed to the blog. The casual, freeform nature of a blog allows for a more relaxed, "fun" writing style than homework written in "essay" voice. As such, I also have free reign to experiment with different writing styles and techniques in a relatively low-penalty environment (if I were to do this in, say, one of the very few essays given by most teachers, I would be...erm, in a sad place). Furthermore, there is something magical about writing something on the internet for a large audience of both peers and teachers, as opposed to the singular teacher who reads an essay. What can I say, I like attention.

Bringing it down to Earth a bit, I'd have to say that the most important thing I've learned this year is to be able to take information and interconnect it with other seemingly unrelated information. It has allowed me to take my thinking "out of the box", to be cliche. In previous History classes, or just previous classes in general, facts were of largest importance. World Religions, especially, is a larger perpetrator of this crime. Each test/quiz involved memorizing a glut of random facts about a religion (the name of a ritual, the meaning of an architectural feature, etcetera), which did not help in my endeavor to see the big picture. Thankfully, with the blog posts this year, analysis and drawing upon knowledge have allowed me to unconsciously make connections between informations (Yeah, I just made up a word. See, you can do stuff like this on a blog. Not in an essay.)

Overall, I think the more casual, less high-tension atmosphere of this class has been very conducive to learning to think differently. A high-tension, high stakes class causes most students to retreat to the common and the familiar in order to play it safe and maintain a good grade.

I'll miss this class.
Here's to one last post.

Kevin Y. Ji out.

Written Work over the Course of the Year

Hmmm. Last blog post. When looking back at all my other posts, and written work in general, it occurs to me what a tremendous amount of writing I did over the last nine months. Over the course of this year, I have written more than in another class, any other year. This has improved my writing; however, submitting my homework under the form of a blog has helped me even more.

Thanks to blogging, and perhaps even the very layout of the text box that I write in every night, I am able to see the sequence of my ideas more clearly. I am also able to seperate these different ideas into paragraphs, and make sure that each paragraph is coherent in itself, goes into enough depth about the idea that I want to talk about, and relates to my topic as a whole.

In addition, blogging has enabled me to start each homework with a stronger opening and closing than normal work would have. In blogs, I find it much easier to go back and correct sentences, straighten things that previously did not make any sense out, and add in more information than to do so on a sheet of paper. On paper, one has to constantly worry about running out of space, and making the document legible, when correcting ideas, but on a blog, this constraint is lifted, and freedom ensues.

Another convenient feature of the blog is my ability to see my work progress, and grow. This becomes easier as I can easily view all my previous posts at once, and identify their strengths and weaknesses, to help improve my newest posts. This feature of the blog has definitely helped accelerate my improvement as a writer over the year. 

It's funny to think that thanks to this blog, which I grew more and more familiar with over the last few months of MWH, I may be ever the more prepared for History next year. For all I know, I may even have possibly even gained skills that could be of use for the rest of my life. And on that note, I wish the blog farewell.

Progess from This Year

Throughout this year, we have been doing extrodinary amounts of writing.  From essays to op-eds, we seem to be working on our writing everyday. This has really helped me to make my writing more straight forward; I have also greatly improved on the way I phrasing things and my word choice. Looking back at the essays from the begining of the year, I can now see where it needed to be improved on, and agree with the comments.  Our homework posts on the blog also helped contribute to our progression, because it forced us to be constantly taking a stance on a certain subject.  I know this doesn't have to do with history, but I am really glad that my handwriting somewhat improved.  It looked awful on some of those inclass essays, especially when I was running out of time. Well, overall, I'm glad I took this class, because I actually learned something.

Media and Its Effects on Society

Media has had and continues to have a tremendous effect on our society.  It is extremely interesting to note the affects and power of advertising.  For instance, propaganda, a form of advertising, has been used through out the years. During the rise in Communism, slogans and rhetoric influenced people into being for the party.  These ideas were not bad, wanting to promote equality and such; however, it did lead to a corrupt totalitarian version of China.  It will be interesting to see China progress throughout the next hundred years, as they are now totalitarian, yet support capitalism because that boosts the economy.  Our economy has not been doing too well recently, and media that promotes the flow of money is greatly beneficial at a time when the movement of money seems to be more sedentary than it was before. In the past, media such as Rosie the Riveter made a huge impact, as it influenced American women to go out into the workforce.  Today, beneficial media would help stimulate the economy.  However, living in society today, we are constantly being exposed to thousands of ad campaigns each day from seeing labels, commercials, product placement, and more.  Although we are constantly being pitched at, we are not completely immune or uninfluenced by the media.  Hopefully, this will help give us a chance to stimulate the economy.

The Torture Issue

Currently, the issue of torture exhibited the United States has been a reoccuring topic in the news.  It is a controverial issue as well.  Some, who are for torture, believe that it is a nessecary, effective form of interrogation.  Others, agaist torture, believe that it is unconstitutional and violates basic human rights.  I found it interesting that this issue connected with some of our upfront articles on historical and current government action being concealed. For example, the history and numbers behind the Stalin purges are still concealed today.  The United States was founed upon just principals such as having a government for the people.  It is interesting, though, that these procedures were hidden from the public until recently.  Aside from China and developing countries in Africa, toture is generally not condoned. With bribes and lobyist influencing government procedures, this is yet another thing that seems to make politics questionable.

Eddie Izzard on Being Bilingual

I came across this video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IzDbNFDdP4&feature=related

In this video Eddie Izzard talks about being bilingual.
In his joking tone he dissects the issue behind languages. He jokes through the differences between British and American pronunciation of words. he then goes onto to mention that though there are slight variations of the English languages, there are 200 languages in Europe alone. he says that we are going to have to become bilingual. He says that English speakers in particular hate the idea of having to learn more languages. The reason he gives is that quite simply, we are losing business.

The English tendency to not learn other languages is crippling America. It is limiting our abilities in almost the entire rest of the world. It means it is hard for us to understand other cultures, and frankly it is a bit obnoxious. Almost the entire rest of the world learns two or three languages from an early age. To say that we only need to know one language is both a handicap on us and a slap in the face to everyone else.

The role of woman in war times increased during WWI and WWII. When all of the men left for the war, it granted the women with an opportunity to create careers instead of staying home and being housewives. They also were used as nurses in the war, which was a first. This was a large step for women's rights because they were finally able to prove themselves in the workplace when the opportunity presented itself. 

However, after the wars there was a large drop off in women in the workplace because the men came back, there were baby booms, and then the women were forced to stay at home and lose the progress they had made during the absence of men. Only after WWII did their rights stick.

When looking at the map of the middle east, it really brings some things to light. For example, most of the terrain that is rich with oil is flat and near bodies of water. This is most likely because the Oil is easier to drill when it is near sea level, because it is easier to drill out of the ground. Also, most of the large oil producing areas have very low populations, which could be because of the fact that oil drilling is a large deal. It probably is not very pleasing to live next to a large oil plantation, due to the toxins and other health risks. 

Lastly, this population also increases the GPD, because there aren't that many people per capita and most of the people involved with oil are wealthy because it really is "Black Gold".

Pop Cultue, decolonization

I have read the book Things Fall Apart, which is about an African who deals with the colonization of his village.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Things_Fall_Apart

I have also read The Kite Runner, which depicts a young boy growing up in the middle east. It was written by Khaled Hosseini.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Kite_Runner

very interesting video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2G_R59TYbr4

The username of this guy is stopfascismdotcom

http://www.youtube.com/user/StopFascismdotcom

Watch the first video. 

Mom in the Cold War

Me: I have to ask you about anything you remember about being in the Cold War for history.

Mom: I was scared.

Me: Anything more?

Mom: Yea, I had the constant fear of being bombed. By the Russians. But now they're weak sauce.

WWII Pop Culture

Besides Maus, which we read in class this year, the only other book I read dealing with WWII was  also this year in english. A Separate Peace is a story about a boy attending prep school back east at the time when the war breaks out and the U.S. starts drafting young men. It shows intentions of going to war and the effects of going at such a young age. I have also seen two movies that relate to this topic. I saw Diary of Anne Frank, about a young Jewish girl who goes into hiding with her family, trying to escape the Nazi concentration camps, a few years ago. One of my favorite movies of all time is The Sound of Music, about a nun who goes to take care of the seven Von Trapp kids, whose father is wanted by Hitler himself to come work with the Nazis, forcing the whole clan to flee out of the country at the end. 

Pop Culture

The only books that I have read that deal with post-colonization are those that we have read in school. We read The Kite Runner our freshman year and Things Fall Apart. Although one was in Africa and the other all the way in Afghanistan, these books express similar ideals relating to decolonization. 

D'souza vs. Hitchens or D'souza vs Eddie Izzard

I decided to watch another youtube video of Eddie Izzard.  This particular video was about Religion, which made me think of D'souza who is one who argues on behalf of religion.  This video successfully put down the argument of Dinesh, and Eddie Izzard actually found a way to make Dinesh (I very smart and influencing man), seem like religion is the stupidest thing ever created because it is based off absolutely nothing substantial.  How does Eddie Izzard do it, see for yourself.  He managed to take religion, something which has been around longer than almost any other idea in the world, and made it seem childish.  They way he does it is by focusing on only the strangest parts of religion.  He also takes this huge complex thing we call religion, and simplifies it so much that it can be made fun of.  Eddie Izzard seems to have a couple points and I think that having an argument between D'souza and Eddie would be much more interesting than D'souza and Hitchens.

African and Middle Eastern Writer

I have read one book by an African writer, called Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe.

I have read one book by a Middle Eastern writer called The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini.

Health in Kenya

As I glanced over the numbers for Kenya, it didn't appear to be that poor of a country. They have about 23% of people below the poverty level which is a lot of people, but it is good compared to other countries in Africa. They also had a 73.6 % adult literacy rate, which isn't great but it also isn't terrible, which means that the schools must be pretty good. One scary statistic that I found though is that the average life expectancy is 50 years for men and 51 for women. That is a terrible number because it is a very young age to be dying. Also, the healthy life expectancy is only 44 and 45 years which is even worse because that is also an incredibly low number. A final statistic that I found disturbing is that the the under 5 and maternal mortality rates have increased in recent years. Since 1990, the maternal mortality rate has even doubled. 

Op-ed .... Finally

This week in history we both watched a film and read an article in the New York Times: Upfront, about the price that girls have to pay for attending school in the middle east, in this particular article: Afghanistan.  This article titled “The Price of Going to Class” and written by Dexter Filkins, was a real insight into the lives of girls in Afghanistan.  Honing in on one story in particular, about a young girl named Shamsia Husseini.  This girl while walking to school with her sister, was asked by a man on a motorcycle if the were going to school.  Not seeing any particular reason to lie she said yes, and the man splashed acid across her face.  I believe that this is just giving these girls more of a reason to go to school, acid wont kill them, and since they have already scars from acid, more wouldn’t be the end of the world.  I don’t think acid is going to stop these girls from going to school. 

            This article also gave its piece on the Taliban and how they were the first ones to openly forbid girls to go to school.  Before the Taliban girls going to school was just socially no yet accepted.  However, with the rise of the Taliban, came a more cemented feeling that women shouldn’t be attending school.  In a sense this whole ordeal in Afghanistan is very similar to Hitler, and Mussolini.  They built themselves up by convincing people to join, and after a while they had enough power to force their idea’s on people.  They would do so through violence and making people scared, which is very similar to the Taliban.  Plus the Nazi’s also forced their opinions about women (how they should stay at home and just be house wives) on the rest of the population, yet again similar to the Taliban.  I guess all bad things have one common thread.

Appeasement Extra Credit

Although WWII, occurred years ago, the issues, and events that took place during that time are still relevant in our daily lives. One of the issues that I have noticed in movies, as well as Obama's Presidential campaign, was appeasement. In this video that I found, Obama speaks about how when Bush was suppose to be honoring, and celebrating Israeli independence, he instead bashed Obama, as well as all Democrats. Bush explained that he felt Obama and the Democrats were just appeasers like Hitler, who wanted to negotiate with terrorists. For the first few minutes of the video Obama continues to talk about appeasement. We learn about events, and issues in class, through what has happened in history. However, it is always interesting, when you notice something that is currently happening in the world that goes back to what was taught in class. 

Little Country, Big Country (countries)

When I first looked at the two maps, I tried looking really hard for a reason why there would be any conflict. Then I realized, a noticeable portion of the major oil-producing is produced in Kuwait. To the north east of Kuwait is the large country of Iran, to the south of Kuwait is the equally larger country of Saudi Arabia, and to the north west of Kuwait is the somewhat large Iraq. Being such a small country that produces a major amount of the oil that lies between three behemoths can start human conflicts like a forest fire. I don't have any other choice but to think that the miniature country of Kuwait has some thing that Iraq, Iran, and Saudi Arabi either don't have, need, or want (or an existing alliance). Other than those reasons, I don't see why one or all three of the countries can't just invade Kuwait, using their over-powering armies, and recieve the profit that Kuwait is gaining from their oil producion.

Comparison of two different Maps

In looking at both the map provided in the textbook, and the map that was put on the blog. The first difference that caught my eye was that the map in the textbook was all one color, as opposed to the map from the blog, which was different colors depending on the terrain. You can easily distinguish the desert from rural areas from the map on the blog. In addition, Egypt is two different sizes, in the textbook Egypt is miniscule and the Nile overpowers the country. This could indicate how plain and simple Egypt is, because the only significance is the river. However, if on the map provided from the blog, I noticed that Egypt is not all desert in fact the map indicates that small portion of Egypt is desert. Another difference between the two maps, which is a more obvious difference, the map from the blog stops at Afghanistan, where as the textbook map continues until The People's Republic of China. Lastly the blog map is more proportionate, and the textbook map is distorted. 

Out with the old, in with the new

In both of these examples for the textbook, chinese revolutionaries try to bring a new oder to China through violence. I believe that these 2 excerpts are very similar. In both, the peasants want to gain power and they do that by taking the wealthy out of power. In both these cases, the red guards and the peasants are doing what was previously unthinkable. In the first reading, a peasant hits an official and everyone freezes, because they don't know what to do. The reason that they freeze is that there is never a situation where someone of less power hits someone with more power. This is the same in the second reading, because she believes that since she is of higher power, she can control the angry red guards by showing them the constitution. This is clearly not the case, as they disregard her. In both of these situations, the peasants see a chance to get what they have never had, which is power, and therefore take it by following the revolutions.

Yes: they are the same

I believe that the measures taken have the same end goal. It is very easy to think otherwise as the measures taken were of two totally different ways of going for the goal. It's like, if two people had the same destination and while one person walked, another one took a plane. One of the ways the person got there might be totally different and may lead you to think that their "end goals" are different, but they are both going to end up in the same direction, even if walking is a lot slower and less reliable. What I do believe is that the less violent approach is a lot more affective in trying to reach the goal. When you take the violent approach, you are looked at as some radical group creating havoc, rather than a civilized party trying to make a point.

China

These stories are essentially the same thing.  The people wish to destroy the old, gentry way and establish a new way of doing things.  They take a more orderly route at first, but quickly ditch their initial plans after a few days of discussion and angst.  The second story begins violently and end violently.  The students wish to destroy the old government and culture.  They go so far as to ignore the Constitution of the People's Republic, claiming that it was abolished and that they only recognize the teachings of Mao Zedong.  The differences in the two stories are small and show the horrors on land reform in China.  The reformers often ignored any systematic, legal, and fair source to achieve justice, choosing to simply kill or torture whoever they please.  

The Cold War

Upon chatting with a couple of my parents, I was surprised to hear about the difference in impact that some events of the war had on them. Upon talking to my mom, I asked her about the Cold War and she had me remind her what the actual conflict was. When I described the conflict a little more, she kind of shrugged and said that she didn't remember anything and that if anything important had happened with it during her childhood, it surely wasn't significant enough to her for her to remember it. This alone I found pretty interesting, because the Cuban Missile Crisis occurred while she was in her teens, she still was not aware of any of the events surrounding the conflict. Based on some of the interesting stories of some other kids in the class, I thought that this recollection that my mom had of it was somewhat interesting as well, because it represents the fact that a lot of people sometimes in America don't always know about some important things that happen in a lot of events, and this goes for a lot of people and a lot of events in history.  My dad, on the other hand, talked extensively about the Cuban Missile Crisis, and how this really sparked some interest in him about Cuba and their dynamic of government at the time. Overall, I found it quite interesting that there could be such a wide range of interest and knowledge about a topic in a time that both my parents grew up in.

Vincent Murphy

The only person that I know who was involved in World War II was my grandfather, Vincent Murphy. Although he has passed away so I wasn't able to talk to him personally, I have heard many stories about him and from him in the past about his experiences in WWII. He was stationed in Pennsylvania as a marine where he trained for about a year. He says that he remembers how everyone hated Hitler and how he wanted to fight just so that he could stop the Germans. He says that he fought the Germans and even earned a purple heart from getting wounded in battle. 

Post Colonization Pop Culture

Since I am not much of a reader in my free time, I haven't read any books about colonialization besides ones read in school. The ones that we have read in school are "Kite Runner" because it talks about how the Taliban came to power in Afghanistan and "Things Fall Apart", because it shows how the europeans came into Africa and tried to colonize it. Although I haven't read many books about colonialization, I have watched a few movies. I have seen "The Kingdom" which is about a secret service group going into the Middle East (I can't remember which country) and try to stop terrorism, but have to deal with the government power and foreign rule. I also saw "Blood Diamond" which is about diamond hunting in Africa and the live that people live there. It also shows the impact that the europeans have had on the countries. 

Black Gold: Oil

Many people in the blog has previously talked about oil in relation to the elevation of the land and such related topics, but i want to go in another direction; I want to talk about the post world war 2 history in the Middle East, and how that relates to our current oil struggles.  George Kennan, of the U.S. State Department Policy Planning in 1948 said, "We should recognize that our influence in the Far Eastern area in the coming period is going to be primarily military and economic. We should make a careful study to see what parts of the Pacific and Far Eastern world are absolutely vital to our security, and we should concentrate our policy on seeing to it that those areas remain in hands which we can control or rely on."  The Cold War happened next, providing the US with perfect opprotunities to do what they needed to in order to gain oil concessions, under the cover of protecting the US and other countries from Communism's stranglehold.  In Afghanistan, as documented in Charlie Wilson's War, we sent arms and money to those people who we know fight against (Osama Bin Laden), to help them gain independence from Soviet Russia.  When the US first invaded Iraq in the Gulf War, we were there arguably to protect our oil share in Kuwait.  Iraq was even accused of dumping oil into the Persian Gulf to keep our troops at bay.  We won the Gulf War, removing an Iraqi presence in Kuwait, and later went on to remove Saddam Hussein as ruler of Iraq.  All of this was done to protect our oil in the Middle East.

The world's oil is under the hand of public companies and state-owned organizations.  The public companies are known as supermajors, or the six largest non state-owned energy companies.  They own roughly 5% of the oil reserves and made approximately 45.6 billion dollars worth of profit last year. Not coincidentally, these companies are all either primarily US or English owned.  As for the state-owned companies, the three biggest ones, Saudi Aramco, National Iranian Oil Company, and Qatar Petroleum all trace their routes to US and British companies.  While it is interesting how oil, elevation, and population are all connected, I find it more interesting that the world's largest oil producers all are connected to the US and Britain, two of the greatest allies 

South Africa

South Africa proved to be the country that benefitted most from colonization. Once the white government accepted that Africans were going to be involved in the politics and economy of the country, democratic elections took place. The new presidents had to face rising unemployment, widespread lawlessness, chronic corruption, and an ominous flight of capital and professional personnel from the country. The poor people argue that the benefits of the political system didn't seep down to the poor, like the failure to carry out the proposed land reform policy. Nonethless, South Africa still remains the wealthiest and most industrialized African State. According to the WHO website, South Africa's gross national income per capita is 10960, while the WHO African region has a gross national income per capita of 2074. Also, the percent of the population living under the poverty is much less in South Africa than in the rest of the African region. In South Africa, only 10.7% fall into this category, but the rest of the WHO African region has 44% of the population living on less than one dollar a day. Literacy rates are also much higher in South Africa versus the rest of the African state, a result of colonization.

debate w/ dinesh

Here's an interesting debate between Dinesh and Daniel Dennett:

part 1:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iw7J15TeDG4

part 2:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7MGyayvAa8&feature=related

part 3:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgK6M3WRFcc&feature=related

Part 4:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzUUnjcTkQg&feature=related

Part 5:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnGGOKDGLYw&feature=related

Part 6:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcunc_hQ8U8&feature=related

Part 7:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SryFVhNfvow&feature=related

Part 8:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8puuM-C9XIY&feature=related

Part 9:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0Ts_kPn5Tg&feature=related

Part 10:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMEu_pGCCU0&feature=related

Part 11:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqpumHZGx7c&feature=related

etc......

Daniel Dennett is a hardcore atheist and an Advocate of the Brights movement (naturalistic views).

He's a professor of philosophy at Tufts university: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Dennett

books/ videos

I haven't seen that many movies other than the battle of algiers (doing research for a french project this year)

The only books have been from school:

The kite runner

and

Things fall apart

Movies:

Blood Diamond

NBC showed the 50th ann. video to remind us of our history. The bomb and the developing of the bomb have effected us today. In the news today, we see so much about countries developing nuclear bombs (especially with north korea). I think that the history can put the picture together of how we got to where we are today (in terms of global issues). Also, we shouldn't forget how powerful these bombs are. Staying informed and education is important. People need to understand the severity of these bombs and the conflict that are going on in our world today.

Jackie Robinson Rotunda research:

Journalistic:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/16/sports/baseball/16vecsey.html

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/2008/04/15/2008-04-15_mets_unveil_designs_for_jackie_robinson_.html

argumentative:

http://lisa-olson.fanhouse.com/2009/04/15/jackies-legacy-still-shines-brightly/

It is hard to argue against a Jackie Robinson rotunda. Only a white supremacist would argue against anything commemorating Jackie Robinson. Jackie was a great man, a great baseball player, and most importantly a great person. He had a daunting task of representing every black baseball player. He had to be so mentally tuff and keep his head high. Anyone who has played baseball at a somewhat decent level understands how much failure you have to deal with in baseball. 3 out of 10 is good. Now put the pressure into the equation, the pressure from yourself, your fans, and all of the racists trash talking you. He had to endure something that no one should ever have to go through. 

The only arguments against the memorial is that it is in a weird place. Why is it at citifield? shouldn't it be somewhere like dodger stadium? That is the focus of my research pm part 1.

research questions

Jackie Robinson research quesions:

Would Jackie like the Rotunda? Does he really want all that fame?

Why is the rotunda located at Citi field (the home of the mets) when jackie had no affiliation with mets?

Jackie's legacy is very interesting. He was a great person and it is a mystery to found out what he would have wanted today.

Final Project

Some more sources for my final project:

Jackie Robinson Auto- biography

http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/nym/ballpark/citifield_overview.jsp

http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/mets/ny-spjack1512652824apr14,0,3517124.story

http://www.jackierobinson.org/

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/2008/04/15/2008-04-15_mets_unveil_designs_for_jackie_robinson_.html

Audio from mets home opener

http://mlb.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?content_id=4552991

Part 2:

http://www.militarycity.com/valor/2534909.html

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/03/18/INGO0OEIE21.DTL

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local&id=5020558

http://iraq.pigstye.net/article.php/SiguaWilliamM/print

And future conversation with his mother

Cold war story

I talked to my mom about the Cold war and a moment where she was aware of the war. She said that she doesn't remember much about the war, but she remembers watching the news and seeing some events unfold. She remembers when she heard about the Cuban Missile Crisis. She remembers being afraid of a war with nuclear bombs. She said that a lot of people didn't know what to think of the Cuban Missile Crisis. She was scared, but some people were a bit skeptical of the crisis. She also remembers fearing at school and home a nuclear bomb coming to the US not just from Cuba but from somewhere else. 

Parents and Grandparents view on the Cold War

I interviewed both my grandparents and parents about the Cold War, and got some very surprising answers.  My grandparents were living in Connecticut at the time, and said that they didn't really notice any difference during the time.  They did say, however, that Nikita Khrushchev was a very scary guy, as evidenced when he slammed his shoes on his desk at a 1960 UN conference.  There was no consequence from this though.  My grandparents went on to say that business was as good as always, and there was significant growth during the time.  They said that Mikhail Gorbachev, the Russian leader later in 20th century, seemed to be a good guy.  My dad's response was slightly different than my grandparents.  He was in the 1st grade during the Cuban Missile Crisis and said the Cold War was a very frightening time. He lived in Spokane, Washington, where there was a weekly siren to warn for a nuclear attack.  Russia was widely regarded as America's greatest enemy, and also a world superpower.  In one particular memory, he said remembering looking up at the sky after the Sputnik launch, trying to find the satellite.  I find it very interesting that a change in age, a child and two adults, could cause such large differences in opinion.  I believe my grandparents weren't as concerned because they were older and more mature at the time.  

Pop Culture: WWII

World War 2: List of Movies

Schindler's List
Saving Private Ryan
Band of Brothers
The Pianist

These are just some of my favorites, the list can go on and on.

three sources for project

http://www.newseum.org/berlinwall/

http://userpage.chemie.fu-berlin.de/BIW/wall.html

http://www.berlin-life.com/berlin/wall

I have seen many WWII movies, such as 'Saving Private Ryan". Here is a link for the review http://www.metacritic.com/video/titles/savingprivateryan

Ma Boy Dinesh

Dinesh D'Souza has a negative view on Islam. I read that in a debate, he stated that the Koran has a lot a violent text. And that it is the cause for a lot of "hideous deeds". I think Dinesh D'Souza has a good point. Most of the terrorist acts that are performed today are fueled by their religion. Islam. I also noticed that D'Souza's arguments are very well thought out and worded whenever he tries to state his opinion. Although I never looked as Islam as a threat, Dinesh D'Souza convinced me with only a few, "sense making" points. In this video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BqTrhrF86o) he even brings up the question, "Is liberty actually good for us?". He can take what people think as a largly popular view, and make you question it. Dinesh De'Souza's arguments about his opinions are substantial and can really change one's mind.

WHO stats

I read about South Africa in the textbook and therefore I looked up South America on WHO.  One stat that pops out to me is the deaths from aids/ HIV.  I think of South Africa as one of the more elite countries in Africa.  However when looking at the stat of death by AIDS, 52% of deaths are caused by AIDS, it makes South Africa seem like they aren't such an elite state when it boils down to it.  They themselves have having trouble containing AIDS despite any educational advantages that they have over other african countries.  AIDS causes the most deaths among people, and causes the second most deaths among children.  However, there is also a lot of data that supports my idea of South Africa being one of the more elite african countries.  For instance, 98% of the country has access to an improved water source.  There are a couple of conclusion that can be drawn by looking at these stats.  South Africa is an elite country, they just put more money into infrastructure instead of medicine, and the general well being of their people.  From my point of view africa is doing the right thing.  Almost all other african countries need to improve their infrastructure before they can even begin to think about improving the health program. 

Pop Culture: Decolonizatino

After learning about decolonization in class, as well as through The Battle of Algiers, when I think about it their have been a few movies, as well as a book that I recently read that deal with recent decolonization.

Things Fall Apart- Chinua Achebe

The Battle of Algiers 

The Kite Runner

Oral History Account: WWII

Although I wasn't able to directly talk to my Grandfather, I can remember stories that he told me in the past. He was on a ship, and he worked on repairing them. He was stationed in Japan, where he stayed for the entire war. He didn't face any combat, but he did suffer a horrifying leg injury. He broke it playing Soccer at the Ally Camp. He survived, luckily. That is where he met my Grandmother, who was a nurse in the war. 

Although he didn't see very much combat, he did suffer an injury. 

Christ the Redeemer research questions

What is the significance of the statue to the people of brazil? and how has it changed over time?

This is important because the statue is a symbol of brazil and often associated with them, but what do they feel about it. Also, what did it mean to them when it was first built.

My second question is why the statue has Jesus in the position that he is?

The position that he is in is interesting because it has him with him arms outstretched towards the city of Rio de Jainero. How did they pick that stance over other ones. 

My final question, which can also go along with my second one is Why is the statue at the top of the mountain in Rio de Jainero?

Is there significance to the statue being so high up or is it just for beauty?

Analysis of 50th Anniversary Newsclip of Atomic Bombs

The video about the 50th anniversary of the dropping of the Atomic Bomb in Japan is to commemorate the killings and so the people of the United States do not forget the horror that was inflicted on the Japanese. Also, I think that this video help advocate the anti-war or some of the outcomes that happen when war breaks out. To me, this video was very interesting because we learned alot about nuclear warfare and there is alot of unknown information about the Atomic bomb and the motives to drop it on Japan. Also, in this video there was great footage and its very interesting about the creating of the bomb. I have always wondered what it must had felt like to create a death weapon that could kill thousands of people and what that must have felt like to give a government a death weapon. Lastly, I agree that the United States did what the had to but it is had no to question the motives of anyone that killed thousands with one bomb.

The Tomb of The Unknowns: Research Questions

1. What will happen if all the unknown soldiers are identified and there are no longer any unknown soldiers?

2. Who had the power to pick each soldier at the tomb?

3. How was the WWI soldier picked to be placed under the sarcophagus? 

Above are my research questions for part 1. 

Rosie the Riveter

Rosie the Riveter was a fictional character (modeled by very real people, like Shirley Karp) used in propaganda by the US during World War II.  Rosie was depicted as having her sleeves rolled up and strong arms to show that women were capable to help with factory work on the home front to aid the troops.  As an extra precaution for really slow people, the posters had motivational slogans like "We Can Do It!", just in case it was unclear what the message was of the poster.  Also, and importantly, Rosie was painted as being a relatively beautiful woman, proving that you don't have to be totally manly to work at a real job.

These posters were essential to aiding the American war effort, as much of the workforce was enlisted and without them the factories would have been forced to operate at less than maximum capacity, which would be very bad.  Plus, Rosie was seen as a symbol of the upcoming feminism movement and how women could be productive in the workforce.

And to prove how America is far superior to Canada, Rosie the Riveter would own Canada's equivalent, Ronnie the Bren Gun Girl.

Post-Colonialism in Culture

I haven't seen/read much on the topic of areas having been recently decolonized (tricky verb tense but accurate).  I kinda dislike downers.  However, here is a list of those this I have been exposed to:

"The Kingdom"

Kite Runner

Things Fall Apart

The Cold War

I interviewed my dad about the Cold War. He was very young at the time, still in elementary school, however when I asked him what he remembered about the time the first thing that he said was the Cuban Missile Crisis. This was a time when tensions were extremely high between the US and Soviet Union, and tensions reached their peak when the Soviet Union decided to place nuclear missiles in Cuba. My dad remembers hearing about the event at the time, and that most people thought that World War three was about to break out. There was also a huge amount of relief when the crisis was averted. I also asked my dad if he did any drills to prepare for a nuclear war in his school. All they were told to do in an event of a nuclear launch was to duck under their desk, like that would help against an atomic bomb.

Sandy Quartermain

Since no one in my family fought in WWII, I asked my dad if he knew anyone who fought in the war. It turns out, someone who used to work with my dad, named Sandy Quartermain fought in the war. He was a British glider plane pilot on D-day. The point of gliders was to get into enemy territory without being heard, so they turned off their jets when they neared enemy territory and crash land. Many of these planes were unsuccessful in landing and destroyed. These men were very expensive to train, and successfully landing was very hard. Sandy was successful in crash landing his plane and delivering his troops, and since he could not take off again, he went on to fight on D-day with the invasion force.

China

Down with the old and up with the new. This cliche is so true throughout history, it is pretty much the one sentence definition of the word revolution. This revolution used violence kind of like the one in Algiers. The Red-Guards targeted the wealthy because they were against Mao and while they said that they were targeting all socioeconomic demographics, it didn't seem that way to me. I think that by destroying all of the artifacts the Red Guards were just trying to kill any memories of the old China. This 'revolution' was more like a a war that was just trying to erase history.

Cold War

My mom moved to the states from Canada in the midst of the Cold War. She says that she remembers all of the bomb drills that she had when she got to the states and how stupid they were in hind sight because hiding under a desk is really gonna save you right? Well, she said that it was really nerve racking because unlike a fire drill she didn't know if she was actually taking in her last few breathes or not.

Oil-Mania

A wise man once said that possession is 2/5 of the law. As we can see the Middle East clearly possesses so much oil that it has put itself in a good spot to play a game called monopoly. The oil companies in the Middle East is able to make deals with all of the governments because they have the power and the control of the chip that everyone wants to get their hands on. If you ask me now that they have the oil, we should get our hands on all of the water we can so that when they need that then they will come to us. No, but for real, it is crucial that we can possess oil because the Middle-Eastern oil monopolizers will just drive the price up to show quarterly growth, especially as the supplies run thin.

Post Colonialism Pop-Culture

Movies: Blood Diamond, Jarhead, The Kingdom, 3 Kings, Rendition

Tv: House of Saddam, 24(a lot of Middle-East references in the current season)

Books: The Kite Runner

Kenya

With the life expectance of 51 in Kenya it is apparent that something has gone terribly wrong with the way things are done there. While much of the country is rural, thus making it harder for medical care to be brought in, a life expectancy rate of 51 is lower than most of the other countries in the world, some of which are even less developed than Kenya. With a population of over 31 million it would seem that it would not be overcrowded. the real kicker is that it has more access to WHO resources than the rest of the continent, so why is the life expectancy so low?

The Berlin Wall

How did the falling of the wall change the culture in Germany?

What were the mental effects and the cultural effects of the wall?

My monument is really interesting because over the course of its history as it changes so do the people of Berlin and it is really cool to look from 1961-???? and see how different events have been influenced by the wall like the reopening of a major intersection last month in Berlin that brings Western and Eastern Berlin closer together.

Cold War

As kids, the Cold War made no sense to my parents. My father even said, "I wondered why they called it the cold war." They were both unaware of the true magnitude of what was at stake, but their two shorts stories were quite different. My mother's is simple: the Cold War had no effect upon her. My dad on the other hand said it shook his childhood a bit. My father mentioned that the scariest incident he could remember during the Cold War was the Cuban Missile Crisis. Along with his parents, adults throughout his neighborhood were scared of what could happen, and began building bomb shelters. During school, my father and his classmates went through drills in which they would crawl under their desks, and curl up in balls. Of course this would do nothing against a nuclear attack, but this was the mentality that emerged out of the Cold War. The Russians were the "big bad guys" and were no ally of the Americans.

Insane or Just Evil?

This article delves into the medical state of Adolf Hitler throughout his entire life. It brings up quite a few controversial points, however chief among them is whether Hitler was truly evil or whether he was just so insane and paranoid from his various medical disorders that he could not make any logical decisions. The article explains a large number of the diseases and disabilities that Hitler suffered from including hypertension, headaches, heart problems, vision problems, bladder infections, and much more. The question that this brings up though is, were these the true reasons for Hitler’s evil actions? The author of the article does not extend his specific point of view on the subject, however based on the medical evidence presented and what points he chooses to elaborate on, he seems to believe that these diseases played a part in Hitler’s decision making, however when it came down to it the only person at fault was Hitler himself. I share the author’s point of view on this subject, because based on the wide range of diseases that Hitler was afflicted by, he would obviously make rash decisions. Even in the article it says, “Hitler believes that his father was half-Jewish and had died of syphilis.” This in itself may have affected Hitler’s classification of syphilis as a Jewish disease. However, I do not think that these diseases can in any way be used as an excuse for Hitler’s behavior and decisions that he made during his life. So was he insane or just pure evil? I would have to say both.

The Price of Going to Class

For most students where we live, the thoughts that you have when you get up on a Monday and have to go to school are probably not ones of excitement. However, in Afghanistan girls are eager to go to school, to have the opportunity to be educated. Even after being sprayed in the face with acid by Taliban members, they still want to go back to school as soon as possible so they do not miss out on their education, however the fear of attack still remains. When the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan in 1996, they banned most sources of entertainment including TV and music. Girls were forbidden to go to school and women were forced to wear burkas. When the Taliban regrouped in 2003 they began targetting schools. The question is, can we consider the Taliban fascist? Lets compare the Taliban to Nazi Germany. A certain extremist group rising up and taking power through manipulation of the general population. Having their ideals enforced through constant fear of punishment. The forcing of women to work at home and girls to not go to school is extremely similar to when the Nazi's made Jews wear the Star of David and did not allow them to own businesses. So can we consider what is going on in Swat Valley to be Fascist? Yes, there is no doubt about it.

Healthcare in Kenya

While looking at the fact sheet for Kenya, I noticed that the life expectancy for males is 51 and for females is 50 years old. These numbers may seem low to us in the US, where the life expectancy is roughly 75 years, however on the fact sheet it seems as though these numbers are slightly higher than the average life expectancy in the whole WHO region. Another interesting thing that I noticed was that the probability of dying for adults was significantly lower in Kenya than the WHO African region for males, but also significantly higher for females. Kenya also has double the percent of HIV caused deaths than the average, however its HIV prevelance among adults is lower than the average. This may say something about their health care system compared to other African countries. The TB prevalence and incidence is also almost double in Kenya compared to the other countries. The strange thing is that Kenya has almost a 20% increased access more than the rest of the WHO African region, which makes me think that there may be another reason for the increased prevelance rate of many of the diseases.

Rosie the Riveter

In World War I and World War II, the roles of women stayed pretty much the same, however they were portrayed differently. In both wars they helped contribute to the war effort by working in factories, as nurses, etc. However, all of this was temporary, only to be in effect while the men were off fighting. When they came back, the women resumed their usual routine. In WWII women who took jobs in factories contributing to the war were seen as patriotic. Rosie the Riveter was a good example of this. This poster was propoganda for women, encouraging them to go work in factories and even some new jobs. The poster of Rosie the Riveter is now seen as the beginning of women's rights, while in WWI their rights were very limited.