Daily Blog 1 Week 2

Konnor Drewen

1/31/011

Identify the 'Venus of Willendorf'. What does it suggest that the beginnings of art and the domestication of animals happen during the same period in human history?

            The Venus of Willendorf is a statue from about 21,000 to 22,000 BCE. As of 1990, following a revised analysis of the stratigraphy of its site, it has been estimated to have been carved 24,000–22,000 BCE. Very little is known about its origin, method of creation, or cultural significance. It was found in a site near Willendorf, a village in Lower Austria. It was discovered by archaeologist Josef Szombathy in 1908.  The purpose of the carving is subject to much speculation. The statue was not created with feet and does not stand on its own. It is thought to be a fertility statue due to its figure. The Venus comes from the god Venus although the statues pre-date the mythological god by millennia. "Venus of Willendorf" is part of the collection of the Naturhistorisches Museum in Vienna. Catherine McCoid and LeRoy McDermott hypothesize that the figurines may have been created as self-portraits. The only thing that I could find on the domestication of animals in relation to the Venus of Willendorf is that the domestication a animals was gradually getting better and a larger part of the Stone Age society.  

Daily Blog 4

Konnor Drewen

1/27/011

Will a "hypertext" world make us more accepting of cyclic history?

            Well, a hypertext is by definition- a special type of database system, invented by Ted Nelson in the 1960s, in which objects (text, pictures, music, programs, and so on) can be creatively linked to each other. (http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/H/hypertext.html) and cyclic history by definition is- a doctrine that all events occur in cycles that are more or less alike. It has two main forms, one that posits cosmic cycles and one that posits cycles only in human affairs.  (http://frank.mtsu.edu/~nboone/theoryhistory.pdf) So if people applied that to showing a cyclic timeline than yes I think it would make us more accepting of cyclic history. If we had a cyclic timeline in a hypertext world than on the timeline you could select a date the timeline and bring up more information on that event. That information could lead to other graphs and how that event was triggered and when. Then you could go to the next event and see how the first event triggered the second event. Then there could be information shown when selecting it and so on into the next events. This could make us more accepting of cyclic history because it would not just be two to five events circling around each other it would be able to show what caused the events and how they eventually lead back into each other. So if we did have a hypertext world and he used it in this fashion I think that it would make the world more accepting of cyclic history.

Daily Blog 3

Konnor Drewen

1/26/011

Don't our traditional forms of information communication, notably "the book" and especially "the textbook" contribute to our belief in linear history?

            Yes, that is true. In most textbooks they show history in a more linear fashion. Most of the history textbooks I have used through my life had a timeline of some sort. Also when-ever I had to do a project for history that involved either tracking a person through time or just researching the person I would have to make a timeline to show some of my research. In most books it describes history as a straight line that only goes two directions, forward and backward. It seems that because of this linear history is the most widely known for form of history. I would think that most kids around the country would say that they don’t even know what the other three forms of observing history are or even that there were three other forms of observing history. It is not only in books that we use a linear form of history. On television programs they most of the time use a linear form of observing history. When showing history it is worldly seen as a straight line past on the left present/future on the right. To test this I decided to ask my parents to see how they think history is represented and if they knew of other forms. As I thought my hypothesis was correct and both my parents thought of history as a straight line although my father did know of the other forms.

Daily Blog 2

Konnor Drewen

1/25/011

Is modern life "always" better than it was in the past?

            No, modern life is not always better than it was in the past. In some ways modern life is, but in others it is not. The ways it is better is that we have better health and a longer life expectancy. More people now have more money and there is not as large of a poor population as there was. Although these things are true that does not necessarily mean that modern life is always better. For instance we are at the end of the worst recession in history. Now during the recession people would have probably preferred that they lived in a time where there was no recession. Another thing is that in the past if you were thinking of better from an art stand point many people agree that art forms were better in the past. In the past there were artists like Shakespeare writing plays which was a huge turning point in history for drama and theater. For music many people agree that the music from the sixties through the eighties was the music that changed music. The Beatles as an example are to most people the band that changed music entirely. The sound of their music was able to change millions of people’s way of thinking. So to answer the original question: Is modern life "always" better than it was in the past, I would give a definite no because while now we have medical turning points making our physical lives better in the past they had intellectual turning points to make our emotional lives better. 

Daily Blog 1

Konnor Drewen

1/24/011

Does history progress?

           

            That is an interesting question that needs an interesting answer. History does progress there is really no way to deny that, but in what way. History could progress only forward and the way most people see it, but history could progress in a way that not many people think of. Mainly because if you think of history like I do and some others do also it could drive someone insane. I think of history as somewhat if a river. You see the whole river is there, it does not matter at what point you are on the river it is still ahead of you and behind you. I think that people are at all points of this river, to say it in another way all points in history exist at this very moment, but only to the people living in that point can tell. To them that is their point in the river and we are in the future. In the same way the future exists and to them we are in the past and it just goes on and on in the same way in both directions forward in history and backward in history. The reason that this is so hard to comprehend to most people is because this means that they exist now but they also exist in the same way two years ago and two years in the future. If you think of history the way not do you think of it as the river then is means that a person exists in a multitude of parallel universes and histories where, if they are say fifteen in this history, they could be ten in another or thirty in a different one. That is the way I see history and the way it progresses.    

Midterm Question 14

Konnor Drewen-Brenden Hutton

1.       Learn how to use the technology

2.       Teach others what they do not know

3.       Block game cites

4.       Block chat rooms and other im’s

5.       Have better repair system

6.       Give loaners to kids that need them

7.       Have a backup system or unit

8.       Keep extra chargers for borrow if computer dies in class

9.       Make sure to have backups

10.   Flash drives for loan or purchase

Midterm Question 13

The U.K. was the most developed country at that time in history. It passes during the industrial revolution. It drops during the Great Depression. China first enters the chart around 1906. We produce more CO2 because we are dependent on coal which is the dirtiest sorce of energy. That was during the start of WW 2 and Trinidad and Tobago were a place of massive industry for US engineering.

Midterm Question 12

Even though the US spends the most on health care we have the lowest average age of the top twenty-five. That shows that it does not necessarily matter how much you spend on health care if that care is not as good as others.

Midterm Question 11

Midterm Question 10

Strengthening Support for the Most Vulnerable

http://query.nytimes.com/search/sitesearch?query=Supporting+the+poor+in+US&submit.x=11&submit.y=13

Putting Quality Jobs at the Heart of the Recovery

http://query.nytimes.com/search/sitesearch?query=Making+Quality+jobs&srchst=cse

An Open Global Economy

http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/16/where-is-the-global-economy-heading/
I think these are the most important because all of these together could help our economy. By helping the vulnerable they would get better jobs those better jobs that were made would help open the global economy.

Midterm Question 9

The French President feels that they have to fight the terrorists where-ever they are hiding. He feels that France and the U.S. are on the same page and as an ally.

Midterm Question 8

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Midterm Question 7

A regional food hub is a facility where food is processed and distributed. They are important because they tell where the food is going and they expand market jobs for producers. You could go to the Mill of Bel Air or to Wilsons Farm Market. For JC Sustainable food day we could go to the Mill of Bel Air to pick up or ganic food and bring it back here. Then people could teach the important differences between organic and un-organic food.

Midterm Question 5

Midterm Question 6

Climate change is a result of the absorption of green house gases into the atmosphere. We are adding to the climate change by producing a large amount of CO2 and it going into the atmosphere. Yes the climate has increased 0.74 degrees C over the last 100 years. Global warming can cause extremes in both hot and cold.

Midterm Question 4

Because many people from all over the country have passed through or stayed in New Mexico and they could call soda different names and that would cause a varied amount of names for soda.

Midterm Question 3

Los Angeles in the most unfriendly city.
http://www.koreatimes.com/article/639588

Midterm Question 2

Midterm Question 1

The dip is a result of the events on September 11^th. Statistics can help explain the importance of historical events showing if something changed dramatically.  An important statistic that we went over was the sudden drop in number of wealthy Americans during the depression that would be shown in statistics.

Interview with Joachim Hipalito

Konnor Drewen  

1/8/011

Interview – Joachim Hipalito

Q: What was it like to learn how to speak English?

A: It was very hard. It was hard to learn the different things like two, to, and too because they all sound the same but they mean different things.

Q: What did you have trouble with the most while learning English?

A: Well, I came to America when I was seven so it was all hard to adjust to speaking English but the hardest was when I first started school in America and I had English tests. I would never get a good grade because I could not figure out the different parts of speech.

Q: In what ways have you benefited from learning English?

A: Well, since I have learned English I have able to live here. Other than that I can’t think of any other great benefit. Actually, it did help with fitting in at school. If I didn’t know English that well I might have gotten made fun of.  

Q: Do you still speak your primary language at home or with family and friends?

A: Yes and no. I speak Filipino at home with my parents but I don’t have friends from the Philippines that are in America so I speak English to all of my friends.

Q: Why do you still speak Filipino at home with your parents?

A: Well, my parents do speak English and speak it very well but speaking Filipino at home just comes naturally. Also when I visit my grand-parents in the Philippines and since they never lived in America they never had to learn English. So I guess I still speak Filipino at home because if I don’t my parents are afraid I might forget how to speak the language but I don’t think that would happen I think once you learn a language especially if it is your first language you most likely won’t forget it.   

Q: How did you come to go to school in the United States?

A: Well, my parents wanted to move from the Philippines to America so when I got here my parents enrolled me into a school near where I lived and then a catholic middle school.

Q: What are some of the differences between an American school and a school in your home country?

A: There are not too many differences really. I think that school is just school no matter where you go. The only real difference is that in the Philippines the school days were a little longer at the school I went to but that could have just been my school.

Q:  How long did it take for you to be able to speak English fluently?

A: I started to learn English in first grade when I came to America but I did not learn it completely in school I had a special tutor to help me lessen my accent and to learn English fluently it probably took four years.

Q: Do you still have trouble with parts of the English language?

A: No, not so much anymore. I have no problem with speaking the language but if someone gave me a test on the parts of speech I would probably fail it.

Q: Do you think that English is harder to learn then other languages?

A: Oh, yes! It is much harder. There are so many different things you have to learn and after that there are words that sound the same as others but mean something completely different. Then there are words in a sentence that have to go in a certain order like you can’t say me and a name you have to say a name and I. It is really confusing. I am learning Spanish right now and is half as hard as English.

Q: Was there ever a point in time when you were learning English that you just wanted to give up because it was too hard?

 A:  Yes, definitely. Sometimes I would just get so angry because I could not pronounce a word or could not say a sentence or a group of words correctly. Sometimes I would say them in the wrong order and I just didn’t want to do it anymore. But in the beginning when I really didn’t know it well the kids in class would make fun of me but I think that was just because they were young and they had not heard different accents before and they were not use to hearing one.

My Stay in Burma - Journal

Journal 10/11/09

I have arrived in Burma and started my time here. I came here to learn more about the country and see what it looks like. You may know the country by the name Myanmar but it will always be Burma to me. The natives still call this country Burma but in America they call it Myanmar. I must get going to my motel its getting dark and I don’t want to be outside at night.

Journal 11/18/09

It has been a month since I arrived in Burma. The people are friendly and today I went out to the town with some of the locals. They have since showed me where to get the best food for I have run out of rations from America. They is a huge change from here to America. For one Burma has 99.34% less electricity then in America. My motel is almost shack with some reeds on the top. Many of the people have to live in the caves in the cliff face. They make 97.63% less money so they cant afford many things.They have it pretty bad here.

Journal 1/26/010

A new year has come in Burma. Since the last I wrote I have become more acquainted with the land. Burma is mostly thick jungle with many predators. One of my Burmese friends was attacked by a Burmese Python. The days in the jungle are hot but the nights are freezing. There is no way to keep warm other than some blankets. Burma has 98.78% less oil than America so there is no oil to use in heaters or cars or anything it is required. There are a lot of people here in this village because the birth rate in Burma is 40.93% higher than in America. But they are friendly so it is O.K.

Journal 9/24/010

Well my year here is drawing to a close. I have made friends and lost some along the way for you see HIV is a much more common occurrence in Burma about 16.67% higher and infancy death is 7.3 times greater. Coupled with the fact that people in this country die almost 14 years sooner than in the states. But I am coming home tomorrow and this will be my last entry. The last thing I will say is that although I liked my stay here because of the huge difference from here to America I don’t think I could live here.

http://berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2008/06/12_stover.shtml

time.com

http://www.ifitweremyhome.com/compare/US/MM