colonization

In my world history class we just finished our chapter on the Europeans. It was very interesting because we learned many different people and what they did. Most of them were people that discovered new lands. A person that we took notes on was Vasco de Gama and he was a portugues explorer that traveled to east Africa. He found spices, gold ivory, and other trading goods. Not only that but he gave Portugal a direct sea route to India. Another explorer we learned about was Christopher Columbus. He sailed west across the Atlantic Ocean. On his first voyage, he landed on a Carribean Island which he thought was the East Indies and even though these people that we learned about weren't the ones to colonize the different countries, this was how it started. There were a lot more that we learned about and I think this was interesting because for some of the explorers we saw the route that they traveled and it was very cool!

too much pollution?

I read an article online at http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg12617172.500-too-much-life-on-earth-is-the-population-explosionresponsible-for-todays-environmental-ills-some-say-yes-others-are-justassure-that-the-blame-lies-elsewhere-.html and it talks about how the earth is becoming too populated and that is the reason of environmental ills. It says, "The basic logic is simple and apparently convincing: more people consume more of every kind of resource, from energy to land to minerals, and produce more waste" so this is basically saying that the more people the earth has, the more pollution then. I think this is very true but how are we going to fix it? Like we can't build the earth to be bigger and the population just keeps on growing. On the other hand, another company has a different approach to this pollution problem, they say, "They blame, variously, inappropriate technologies; overconsumption by the affluent; inequality and exploitation, which squeeze poor farmers onto 'marginal' land and 'force' ..." and that could be true too because if we didn't have as much technology like cars then maybe the world wouldn't be so contaminated. Personally, I think that they are both right because it depends on the contamination, some is due to technology and some just from people.

Harrison, Paul. "Too much life on Earth?: Is the population explosionresponsible for today's environmental ills? Some say yes. Others are justassure that the blame lies elsewhere ." NewScientist. 19 May 1990. 8 Mar 2009 .

Holidays in Portugal

I read an aritcle about portuguese holidays at this website http://www.californiamall.com/holidaytraditions/traditions-Portugal.htm and it was about what happens on christmas day! This article said that on Christmas Eve Portuguese families gather around the christmas tree and the Creche to celebrate the birth of Jesus. It also says, "Most children write letters to Infant Jesus asking for presents rather than to Santa Claus" and this was interesting because it's very different from the way we do it. Later during the day, most families attend the Midnight Mass called "Missa do Galo" and after they would have supper together. I thought this was very cute because I thought it really seemed like they all were very close to eachother and their families and that church is a big priority to them too. At the end of the article, it said, "During the holiday season towns are decorated with lights. The festivities end on January 6, 'Dia de Reis'" and I thought this also was cool because it seems that portuguese christmas' are very important to them and they celebrate it for a long time and it just seems very fun and alive at that time of the year!!

Holiday Traditions in Portugal "Feliz Natal"." Holiday Traditions in Portual "Feliz Natal". 2008. 4 Mar 2009 .

Bollywood

I read an article on at http://www.bollywoodworld.com/whatisbollywood/ and it was about Bollywood. This article was very interesting to me because it described the dancing in the Bollywood films. It says, " It's fun and very expressive and there's a lot of deep meaning behind music in the films. You can actually express what the music means, through the graceful movements of the body" I thought this was interesting because when we watched Bride and Prejudice in class, I didn't think the dances had any meaning at all and that it was just for fun, but now if I watched it again, I would have payed more attention to the movements. I also read a section where it described why dancing in Bollywood films is importants. It says, " Choreographers are now starting to take the industry by storm because Farah Khan – a famous choreographer recently directed her first movie called Main Hoon Na. This goes to show that people want to see elaborate and funky dance sequences, they don't want pure acting, hence dancing is a crucial" and it shows that Bollywood films are differnent from american movies because are movies don't always have dancing unless you watch musicals but in Bollywood films you'll find it a lot. This article was fun to read because not only do you get a new visual on other countries film making, but it has meaning and depth to it too.

"BollywoodWorld." BollywoodWorld. 2007. 1 Mar 2009 .

Moroccan Wedding Traditions

I read an article at http://www.worldweddingtraditions.com/locations/african_traditions/moroccan_traditions.html
and i thought it was very interesting because the tradition in a moroccan wedding would be that it lasted for about four to seven days. It says, "On her wedding day, it is a Moroccan wedding custom for the bride to have a ceremonial purification milk bath before a ritual henna painting (Beberiska) of her hands and feet" and I thought that was very different compared to other cultures. I also thought it was interesting when the article said, "Once the couples wedding vows have been exchanged, and before the newlywed Moroccan bride becomes the mistress of her new home, she walks around the outside of her house three times" I thought this was cool because its different and it's cool to see what other cultures do for their wedding day. And I liked how their traditions are still going around now.

"World Wedding Traditions.com." Traditions in Morocco. 2002-2004. 25 Feb 2009 .

Megan Meade's Guide to the McGowan Boys

I read this book called Megan Meade's Guide to the McGowan Boys by Kate Brian. This book shows change in the main character's (Megan) life because she chose to live with her parents old friends than move to Korea with her parents. But the big change is that her parents friends have 7 boys!! She writes to her friend Tracy back home, "Observation #7: They have no sense of personal space. I need a lock on my door. STAT." (pg.28). This was the scene when the younger boys were going through her stuff, drawing on her clothes, and hiding in her closet. She had no siblings before and now she has to adjust with 7 boys thats younger and her age too. Another change in her life was her soccer status. Megan says, "Almost everyone looked at Hailey. Clearly the girl had a lock on the captainship. Megan thought of her team back in Texas-the team she was supposed to captain this year," (pg.88). This shows that she had to leave that behind at her old school and now face that Hailey has the upperhand in being captain.

I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You

The book that I read is called I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You by Ally Carter. This book talks about hope from when Cammie Morgan told Josh Abrams (the boy she's been dating) that she lied to him about her life and the school that she goes to because she's not allowed to tell. It says on page 282, "Then, I realized where we were-what he was looking at. JOSH KNOWS! I mentally screamed. There doesn't have to be any more lying. He's inside. He's one of us (kind of). He's..." This quote shows she has hope for her and Josh. She realized that now that Josh knows the secret about her and who she really is that now they can move past it. She hopes that Josh will forgive her and they can still go out. It also shows hope by when things don't end up how she wanted it to, "I don't know if Josh will ever talk to me again. I don't know what he'll remember, or what we'll face in CoveOps,...But I know who will be beside me, and as every good spy knows- sometimes that's enough" (p. 284). This shows she has hope for her future and even though she doens't know if things in her life will go as planned, she knows that she has her friends and hope for the best!