Rotunda Response

One project that stood out to me the most was Anthony DeFeo's video on Health care. I would say that it shocked me how little teenagers seem to know about health care, however I feel like I learned more through his five minute video than i did in my four years of high school.

Through out my high school career i have learned tons of things from the quadratic formula to the purpose of a zeugma.  But never have I learned about health care, health insurance (or any type of insurance for that matter), or even how to pay taxes. We would think that in a place where they claim to be preparing us for the real world they would be teaching us at least some of these things. It boggles my mind how little we actually know about the world around us and how to survive.

Something i would suggest doing to improve our knowledge on these things is to implement a higher level home economics class. I understand that we take home ec in both seventh and eighth grade, however i personally remember very little of what we actually did. It may be of some immense assistance to all of us if the school was to at least offer a higher level of education n this subject matter.

Rotunda Response

One rotunda project (among the many other wonderful ones) that really stood out to me was Laura Kesnig's "Get the Facts". This board showed what many honors students that you and I roam the halls with knew, or perhaps didn't know, about issues that relate to the country we live in. I was surprised by some of the results. It's a bit unsettling that a percent of the so called brain trust of ESM doesn't know who the vice president is. 

This board made me think about how many people today make assumptions or form opinions when they are not even apprised of the situation at hand. I saw this video once (linked below) that really reminded me of her project. It featured an Australian news person going to America and asking Americans questions. Some of the questions are silly and just to make you laugh, but a lot of them are things that have to do with politics and foreign affairs. At one point he tells people that he is the prime minister of Australia and people go with it. Though the video humors the "Dumb American Stereotype" that other countries perceive, it does make you reconsider how much you think you know, or it at least sparks a sudden interest in who the prime minister of Australia is. (It's Tony Abbott.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5I4oY7zj-w

Response to Rotunda Project-GET THE FACTS

While I could respond to many of the  wonderful projects put up in the rotunda, one really caught my eye. This was "GET THE FACTS-Common Misconceptions Among ESM High School Honor Students" which was made by Laura Kesnig.


In her project, she exposed how many honors students failed to correctly answer simple questions concerning popular issues. These questions ranged from "Why did the United States go to War with Iraq in 2003?" all the way to "Is Global Warming really happening?".


The main reason that this project caught my attention is that it made me laugh. I mean, its hard not to think that "Honors" students get these questions wrong is a bit funny. Malicious, maybe. Funny, yes. Regardless, I believe this brought up a major problem. Despite normal students not being educated about popular issues, the students ESM deems as "special" and in a way "smarter" still don't have the right answers to questions that are, or at least in my opinion, common knowledge.


It supports the idea that the labels given to certain students like "Honors" are completely meaningless. These labels also help create a divide in the student body of all grades. For example, the National Honor Society is talked up to be some prestigious organization when in reality, it's only purpose is to use its student members to further their own agenda. But that's a completely different conversation to have.


Regardless, I tip my hat to Laura for her work and research concerning our "Honors" students.

Rotunda project response #11

     I found the rotunda project videos to be the most appealing. They caught my intrest quick. The first one I saw was Anthony Defeo's piece on healthcare. It was interesting to see what some of our fellow students knew about the current healthcare system. I thought it was really smart to get such a wide view of subjects not just seniors or juniors. It was really professionally done and was very interesting . I was surprised to see how little I knew about such a  broad topic. This is a very important subject and must be treated as such.
   
      It's great to finally make younger people aware of struggles they must face. I agree that such important information should be taught in high school. We are mature enough to learn information that will one day soon greatly affect us all. Adults need to teach this in the ciriculum whether it's a social studies class or health class it shouldn't matter. There are many useful things that students will need to learn to survive in the real world that we are never taught. No teacher teaches us how to invest our money or balance our checkbooks,but that's important stuff. I think this video clearly demonstrated this and is eye opening. Teachers should make a stronger push for this type of information. Anthony did a great job in that aspect of his rotunda project.

   This video just stood out to me, but the others were great. I thought the milk alternatives video was also very interesting. It really made people rethink such simple things as milk. All we hear about is that milk is really good for you, but this seems to disprove it. There were many interesting facts they presented I never knew.

 The last video was also good. It seemed to coincide with what I thought about Anthony's video about what should be taught in schools. They got real students and teachers prospectives that I thought was nice. All the projects there were very informative and interesting. I was just so immersed in the videos.

Rotunda Project (blog 10 or 11 ????????)

For my rotunda project I worked with Christi Raia. We did gender rolls. When Christi was like "lets do gender rolls i was like what even is that? (which is probably the question youre asking yourself). But gender rolls are a set of social and behavioral norms, that basically say what is/ isn't appropriate for certain genders in different cultures to say and do. Basically its stereotypes. We collected info from the websites below and put it all together. I think it was cool to see all the different topics, it was like blog posts but in real life

https://www.boundless.com/psychology/textbooks/boundless-psychology-textbook/gender-and-sexuality-15/introduction-to-gender-and-sexuality-75/gender-roles-and-differences-296-12831/

1. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/gender-roles/
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_role
3. http://www.cliffsnotes.com/sciences/sociology/sex-and-gender/gender-roles

Rotunda Project response

    Reading and looking at mostly all of the projects a lot perked my interest but the project explaining school lunches really got me interested. I have always questioned school lunches, there are posters that show a plate broken into the quantity of the food groups you're supposed to eat but we don't get some of those options.

    I understand that getting quality food is expensive but maybe we use the food in different ways. The chicken doesn't even look like chicken and the chicken that somewhat looks like chicken tastes worse than the "chicken" that doesn't look like chicken. We don't get offered fruits and vegetables everyday, what grains and protein do we get? The only thing we get is the dairy, and  I am lactose intolerant so I can't even drink that milk. 

    I bring lunch to school and it is great. I don't have to spend $1 on a snack or a water. I can actually eat a sandwich instead of "chicken", I bring fruit everyday and sometimes vegetables but I have a vegetable everyday at dinner so i am not missing out and I bring almonds, or a yogurt with granola.

    I hope I am not the only one who thinks about this....

Rotunda Project Response

I really enjoyed the project of media consolidation.  Demonstrating the change in network ownership and who really owns the channels was pretty unsettling.  In a market where only 5 or 6 massive corporations own tens to hundreds of channels, there is no other viewpoints besides those of the owners.  It also gets way too commercially driven, but the interest of their sponsors before that of the public.  When all of the T.V providers offer hundreds of channels, for all we know we could only be getting a couple hundred.  If one company owns 1/5 of those channels, we only receive what the company wants us to, so the themes and shows may be very identical.  Consolidation of media is an issue all must be aware about, and I feel like most don't take the issue as seriously as it should be taken.  Thank you to whoever did this to spread awareness of the issue

What triggers Conspiracies to Arise?

That is something that always caught my attention.  Sometimes the theories are arguable, such as the J.F.K magic bullet theory. While some are just plain stupid and very oddly specific, like how some believe that no planes were used in 9-11.  To the oddly specific, how lizard people rule the world and are in disguise.  Why lizard people?  Why not ducks or ants or birds?  So now, instead of me writing a page on speclation on what we discussed in class and what Professor Harris has said, here is an interesting article I found on why conspiracies exist and how they arise.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-do-people-believe-in-conspiracy-theories/

Personally, i think the theories arise from a lack of believe, something that we don't want to happen has happened.  The death of J.F.K was so tragic, people did not want to except the fact that he is dead and tried to find other explanations.  But with the lizard people, i have still have no idea

#9 Pixar Theory

     So Sam Quinn Showed me this video that explains the Pixar Theory. This theory explains that all pixar movies from the movie Toy Story to the movie Brave are all connected. Some characters are in other movies but we never find out their names. Like the witch in Brave is really Boo from Monsters Inc. like what?! I am a huge Disney fan because well I grew up with it and i just love those kinds of movies! But hearing how all these different movies are related is crazy. There is apparently a Human, Animal, and Machine struggle where they try to invade each others way of life. It explains it better than i can in the video. I highly recommended you watch it!





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SQcrVoAsVQ

Link to the Video

Rotunda Project: Walking into Adulthood Blinded #10

      I analyzed Anthony DeFeo's project on healthcare and Gabby Calise's group project on addicting junk food, both to be found very interesting. but I'm going to talk about Anthony's project.
      Even though I was in Anthony's video it's weird to see that other people don't know the same stuff I don't know. I find it kind of ridiculous that the school doesn't provide a class that is mandatory in order to learn about the future. Things like insurance healthcare taxes mortgages, people our age know nothing about and are going blind into to as we become adults.
        I learned so much from just an interview with Anthony. Like I didn't know that when you turn 26 that you are dropped from your parent's healthcare plan. LIKE WHAT! What if that age was 18? Then in a year I would be without healthcare and have no idea what to do and what to consider. Anthony also mentioned a Healthcare Marketplace, where you can go and speak to other healthcare providers.
         The point of his project was to show how little adolescence know about healthcare and probably about a lot of other things that we don't think or hear about. I think it was a very well put together project and has a very clear point that happens to be true.

Project Review: Misconception of food

The McDonalds Sugar Misconception Project was totally up my alley. As of lately I have been paying some serious attention to the foods that I consume simply because i want to be in the best shape possible, so I thought that is why this project peeked my interest. Seeing studies that revealed McDonald's Big Mack had less sugar in it than their SouthWest Chicken Salad wasn't all that surprising. In no way am i saying a Big Mac is healthy, but you would automatically think that a salad is the smarter choice right from the start. In truth the amount of dressing, cheese, croutons, ext., compromises the "healthiness" of the salad itself. On the poster board there was a comment about how it is such a common misconception that people hear the word salad and they automatically think that its healthy and i can totally agree with that statement. A salad is as healthy as you make it. I did some research on the matter for myself and discovered that a Chicken Bacon Ranch Salad from Mcdonald's with grilled chicken and absolutely no dressing is around 230 calories. On the same website it showed the amount of physical fitness that you would have to participate in in order to burn the salad off and a variety of activities were given; 60 minutes of walking, 26 minutes of jogging, 31 minutes of cycling or 19 minutes of cycling. Now keep in mind that is still without the dressing, croutons, and all the extra goodies that make salads taste good. Although the calories may look like a decent number, you must also take into consideration that there is 700 mg of sugar in the salad as well. Now for McDonald's Premium Southwest Salad with grilled chicken. There are about 110 more calories in this particular salad and about 200 mg more sodium as well. So in total that comes to 340 calories and 910 mg of sodium. Now given the fact that most people don't eat their salads without dressing, these estimated numbers truly mean nothing. As i said before all the extra additions to the salad jack up the calories big time. Just by adding ranch dressing to the Southwest Salad with grilled chicken makes the calorie count shoot up to 530 calories and the sodium to 1440 mg! The calorie count is the exact amount of McDonald's Big Mac, and the sodium level exceeds the Big Mac's by approximately 200+ mg! If you are serious about turning around your diet, you should cut out all fast food as a whole. Perseverance is what separates the strong from the weak and when you are on a diet  self discipline is whats going to get you to where you want to be. 

Rotunda Project Response

Gender Roles:

The "Gender Roles" poster really stood out to me the other day because the subject ties into a recent unit that we covered in my english class. I found the poster to be very informative. 

It's crazy to me that gender stereotypes are so common in our society, but what's even more unbelievable is that women are still treated as if they are inferior to men in certain ways. Inequality between males and females is something that still largely exists in our society today. One example that the poster gave is that most men still earn a higher salary than women. If the reason for this was that men on average had higher paying jobs then it would not be a problem, but the truth is wage discrimination favors men over equally qualified women. 

Certain other gender standards are just not acceptable in our society anymore. For example, females being considered "home makers" and being expected to do all of the housework is a role that no longer fits into our society. Sure, there are plenty of women who still stay home and take care of chores around the house, but many women today have jobs which leave them less time for these things. In the past, it was not common for women to work, so they were left with the responsibility of cooking and cleaning, which was acceptable back then. Now, women make up almost half of the U.S. Labor Force, which means that this role should no longer be accepted in our society. 

There are so many unfair stereotypes and gender roles in our society that need to be changed, which is why I thought that this poster was very interesting. 

GMO Foods - Rotunda Project

   I took to looking at the rotunda project on GMOs and their effects on human health. While this study took a neutral standpoint in stating both the purported positive and negative aspects of genetically modifying organisms, I wanted to do my own research.
   I had heard that very little proof had come to light that GMOs negatively effect the health of consumers, but proof that they were positive didn't exist either. What I found was instead quite different:
   The project said that, in defense of the argument that they are detrimental to one's health, that GMOs could cause allergic reactions. I read that, over the past 15 years, studies have been done to prove this untrue and that any allergens associated with genetically modified foods come from the foods themselves; i.e., if I have a peanut allergy, I am just as likely to have a reaction to a GMO peanut as I am to a non-GMO peanut. And the same goes for if I didn't have an allergy; the GMO peanut wouldn't induce a reaction either. It just comes from the food.
   One of the main arguments of those against genetically modified foods is that the studies and tests on them are conducted by the companies responsible for their sale, which produces bias. This may be true, but evidence further pointed elsewhere:
    It was stated in the project that microscopic bacteria growing on GMO foods may cause decreased antibiotic efficiency. The bacteria would transfer DNA that caused antibiotic resistance into bacteria in one's own body, which would prevent such medications from treating infection. As it turns out, the chance of this occurring is as microscopic as the bacteria themselves, as we consume such organisms whenever we eat fruits and vegetables, yet this does not occur.
   However, I did find two very compelling arguments against GMOs:
   Firstly, the fact that, since their introduction, the increased use of herbicides has produced "super-weeds." While the GMO plants can survive the poisoning, weeds cannot, forcing natural selection. Weeds that have a certain resistance to the herbicide reproduce, requiring a stronger deterrent to be used. Presently, one that has been utilized as a result is 4,2-D. This is a major ingredient in agent orange, the chemical responsible for causing various illnesses and medical conditions in our Vietnam veterans.
   Secondly, as GMO seeds are planted just like regular ones, they have a tendency to be swept up by the wind onto the farms of cultivators who do not grow GMO plants. If the company producing them finds their seeds on another farmer's field, they are free to sue - and they have. As a result, smaller farms are getting eaten up by larger ones (such as those run by Monsanto) and big corporations are monopolizing agriculture.
  I believe that, in this argument, there are some very vague points in regards to the actual harm that GMO plants themselves can cause. However, their growth has definitely caused some issues that need to be ironed out, and I believe anyone weighing in on this debate needs to view those more carefully than those shrouded in superstition.

Rotunda Project Response

After browsing all the rotunda projects (all of which were insightful and thought-provoking) I noticed the one that struck the most refulgent chord within me was the photojournalism introspective. "We Are All Human" is a project that not only reflects on what I sometimes look past when making a first impression, but it shows the depth to every human who has ever lived. I am familiar with Humans of New York which is a catalogue of photographs which gives daily glimpses to the world of NY's citizens, and enjoyed that this concept was applied to a realm that is closer to home for me. This part of Long Island seems very slow and calm to me which is weird considering we live less than an hour away from the place with the fastest pace on Earth. Even with the slowness of our community, I still walk past people like I have somewhere important to be, or am on my phone rather than trying to connect with people by having deep conversations. Gossip is so easy. It is simple to talk about people, but I think it's a special quality to share with a person if you can sit down and discuss your thoughts about your philosophies, the universe, or what happens after life ceases to exist. These may seem like the hard hitting questions, but we look past these and settle for shallowness. Sometimes to get the true essence of a person, you have to get to their core and realize what keep them up at night to understand where they are coming from. Judging a book by its cover could be a dangerous thing. Asking a person to just let go and talk about what keeps them going can make them incredibly comfortable and a lending ear could give them worth. There is more to a person than just their look and material possessions, and sometimes the human race forgets that. If even just I make the effort to take a moment to have a conversation with a stranger, maybe I'll be adding joy to their lives that they needed.

Rotunda Project Blog

Media has always had negative impact on people since it was created. Violence,
vulgar wordson tv and video games was always a factor in adolescent behavior. I
believe media has the most impact on young teenage girls.

The project that showed negative impacts on girls in the rotunda had some great points. Even when we were little we were exposed to Barbie dolls that had the perfect figure. We always
wanted to look like them and as time proceeded models on tv are what we
perceived as the ideal look. 42% of Girls that are between ages 6-10 wish they
were skinner. Anorexia used to fall under ages 13-17 but now it's gotten to ages
9-12. As technology increased the ages of anorexia decreased.

Also, media has portrayed a disturbing way of life for young girls. 16 and pregnant is a show
about irresponsible 16 year olds who are having kids and living the life as a
reality star. Back in 2009 when the show was created an astonishing 410,000
girls were having kids at the age of 16 which was the highest rate ever.

This project really affected me being that I've experience life as a teenager
clearly. The pressure it is to be pretty and to impress other is agonizing. All
tv shows have pretty skinny girls and after awhile it gets in your head.


Though I've never watched 16 and pregnant I always knew that is was a bad
show because it glorified teen pregnancy. That is a very difficult life to live
and no teenagers show have to go through it. But, the media keeps showing it
even though they know the negative impacts it has.

Rotunda Project Response

There were a lot of really great projects on display at the rotunda, many of which I would have liked to have been able to spend more time looking at, but one project really caught my attention.

I found "Sugar Misconception" particularly interesting because it challenges the idea that just because something is marketed as a "salad" doesn't necessarily mean that it's healthy. Seeing that the McDonald's salad contains 12 grams of sugar, 3 grams more than a Big Mac, came as a shock to me because like many others, I always assumed that getting a salad from McDonald's was a healthy alternative to typical fast food, however that is clearly not true. Not only does he salad have more sugar than a Big Mac (often considered the most unhealthy item on McDonald's menu), it also posses almost as many calories, just as many carbs, and 19 grams of fat! That's insane!

Another thing I really liked about their project was how they made it easy to get a grasp around just how bad these items really are for you. 12 grams may not sound like a lot to unknowing patron, but when it's presented right in front of you like so it's impossible to dispute. Just thinking about eating that ziplock  bag full of sugar makes me sick to my stomach and yet people actually eat that every day unknowingly whilst believing that they are eating something healthy for them. Additionally the fact that they included regarding how much exercise it would take to burn off the calories gained by eating the salad blow my mind. 3 miles. It takes running 3 miles to actually burn off one of these salads. I don't know about you, but if I'm going to have to run 5280 yards ( the length of over 52 football fields) to justify eating my meal, I wouldn't exactly consider it healthy.

11. Domestic Violence

For some odd reason no matter how I try to images will not post correctly so I guess I'll just have to deal with it. 

I was incredibly drawn to the Domestic Violence visual representation, as well as moved by their factual presentation. Even when incorporating the silly dress meme that went around to convey a very important message. "Why is it so hard to see black and blue?" Well the answer might be that violence isn't always obvious. Domestic violence does incorporate physical signs, but not always is it taken to that extreme. In some cases those who cause physical abuse don't always mean to take it to that extreme. Substance abuse such as alcohol, inhalants, and prescription drug abuse can egg-on these behaviors to the point they get too. 

This group did a wonderful job in there presentation of social issues, the use of flowers in the artwork to symbolize the bruising and the pain inflicted on her is just a creative take on it. Especially in the sense that flowers are usually used to symbolize beauty and fragility, something that most individuals are, no matter how much physical pain they may have inflicted on them, they still are as precious as a flower.

rotunda project blog post

Same Sex Marriage
As soon as I saw this post in the rotunda it immediately caught my eye. Maybe this is too personal, but my sister is gay and I recently got into a big fight with my extended family over it defending my sister. They shoved religion into her face, saying the Bible is against homosexuals, but then again it's also against divorce and cursing and other things that happen in everyday life, yet there's no law against them. Legalizing gay marriage should be more secular, and religious views shouldn't determine the law. On the poster I saw in the rotunda, the 'cons' of same sex marriage included that to some people it is immoral and unnatural and that it goes against religious tradition. But law making should not be influenced by one particular religion, or some people's views on how they don't think it's right. The 'pros' included that denying people love and happiness is wrong, tradition has changed, and secular v. religious issues. I agree with all of these. All marriage should be legal, and it already is in 37 states. But there's 50 states in the US, and I'd liked to see the rest of them legalize what shouldn't of even been a problem in the first place. Everyone deserves to be happy and live the life they want to. So thanks to whoever made that poster, I agree 100%.

Sugar Misconception

People believe if they go to mcdonalds and get a salad they are eating healthier. In reality they are eating much healthier than if they had gotten a Big Mac. The southwest salad has 320 calories, 29 g of protein, 19 g of fat, 40 g of carbs, and 1040 g of sodium. If a McDonald's salad would take 3 miles of running for the average person to burn off... are you really eating healthy? You would be better off making a salad at home that would be much healthier and better for your body. 

Get The Facts

While there were many interesting presentations in the rotunda this past week, Laura Kesnig's poll of ESM honor students stuck out to me because it reflected how people, especially young people, can start regurgitating other people's opinions and believe them to be facts. She asked news-related questions, and the responses were tinged by bias. For example: of the students asked "Is global warming really happening," 50% responded that global warming does not exist.
The uncomfortable truth that Laura's survey brings close to home is that people do not look for differing perspectives before synthesizing their own. They simply accept what opinions their parents, or the major news outlets offer, and regurgitate these.

In AP English Language and Composition, one of the types of essays students are required to write is called a synthesis essay. The test offers a concise statement about some news issue, such as global warming, and provides the arguments of people who either agree or disagree with the statement. The student must absorb all of this information, and use the provided arguments to form their own opinion, which they must then argue for. This skill is essential, especially in this age of hyperpartisan news, and AP students can thank Mrs. Wilcken.

Students polled by Laura might not have had Mrs. Wilcken, or the sentiments they expressed may have been the result of their careful synthesis. However, issues such as global warming simply cannot be contested, as it has been scientifically proven to exist and to be a product of human activity. The fact that people still consider this information to be a matter of personal opinion is disconcerting. Their is so much information in the world in 2015 that to ignore that which conflicts with your opinion is a disservice to the society in which we all live.

The Entwives #11

All of the projects in the rotunda were interesting so it was hard to pick a single one to reflect/respond to in a blog post. Yet here I am and the project that spoke to m the loudest was Genevieve’s about the Entwives. The illustration was detailed and lovely and the paragraph that accompanied it was short and sweet. The Entwive comes to life with the expression and posture he takes on the page. His face is solemn as he strides across the page while he seemingly contemplates his situation. As discussed in The Lord of The Rings the Entwives were once creatures that roamed Middle Earth in abundance. But then they disappeared, seemingly without reason. However their vanishing is attributed to the industrial destruction of the forest. This situation shares many parallels with our own reality. Sadly in our current era the Earth’s forest depletion and loss of species of both flora and fauna.

In Tolkein’s world the blurred knowledge of the Entwives is discussed with a sense of regret, because they won’t come back into existence. This is something that today many people don’t take seriously or at least as seriously and they need to be. Deforestation across the planet is occurring at an alarming rate. This piece and not only shows the lore from a great piece of writing but it also can be applied to today. The use of trees to serve the developing world is increasing everyday. I hope that if have not read the Lord of The Rings then I highly recommend you do and while you are reading why not give an article about forest preservation? Thanks for listening.

Love and Revolution

   This weekend I watched Steven Soderbergh's two-part film, Che, based on the participation of Ernesto "Che" Guevara in Fidel Castro's 26th of July movement and the Ñancahuazù Guerrilla group in Bolivia. The revolutionary was portrayed by Academy Award-winning actor Benicio del Toro.

   The first part of the film followed Fidel Castro's overthrow of Cuban President Fulgencio Batista in 1959 with the assistance of Che. It alternated between Guevara's December of 1964 addresses to the UN and his assistance in the guerrilla warfare that eventually took down Batista's regime.

   The second part covered his actions in Bolivia from 1965 to 1967, where the democratic government, assisted by the United States, attempted to capture him in an effort to prevent a revolution similar to that in Cuba. This half had a more somber tone, as he was eventually caught and executed by the Bolivian army.

   What I found to be most interesting about the film was the overall portrayal of Che. He was, by most standards, a communist, which, especially in his day, carried a heavy connotation. Marxist/Leninist ideals are often regarded as "only good on paper" and utopian rather than practical and realistic, and its proponents commonly have self-interest in mind, rather than that of the people.

   But Guevara seemed to have a radically different view that was, if anything, more truly communist than most. I began to see this when, in Part One, Castro and Guevara are leading troops through the Cuban jungle in order to reach target cities. Along the way they passed through many villages and farms, often while in dire need of food and supplies. Yet they never stole or harassed the peasants; instead they paid for everything and, if nothing was for sale, went on their way. Thievery within their army was punishable by death.

   At first I believed this to simply be good public relations; any attempt to oust an oppressive regime would be pointless if those posing as the "good guys" blindly berated the peasants who they would soon govern. Instead, they treated them fairly, even offering medical attention when needed.

   Che, however, seems to view this as more than the necessary custom. This becomes apparent in a statement he made during the 1964 Afro-Asian Conference in Algeria:

   "Socialism cannot exist without a change in consciousness resulting in a new fraternal attitude toward humanity, both at an individual level, within the societies where socialism is being built or has been built, and on a world scale, with regard to all peoples suffering from imperialist oppression."

   Guevara believed in the brotherhood of mankind above all else, not just the communist platform of government. Perhaps this ideal was the most utopian of all, but it showed a tremendous amount of dedication to the people that other regimes across the Atlantic Ocean lacked. As the "architect" of the 26th of July movement, this belief was a strong driving force in Castro's assertion of power, which stressed Cuba's independence from all other sovereignties, their only similarity with other communist governments being their framework.

   Whether or not Cuba maintained or ever held the faith of Ernesto Guevara, he did try and spread it elsewhere. And, all along, he carried a simple and ringing message.

   In the film, he is asked by interviewer Lisa Howard, "What is the most important quality for a revolutionary to possess?" His answer:

   "Love."

#10 Reality Check!

On the topic of conspiracy theories this week, one my favorites has been the Hollow Earth Theory. I'm not 100% sure why this idea is so fascinating to me but it is. However like most good things there is another side. In this case reality has come to wreak havoc on my hopes of ever petting a woolly mammoth. Lets start with the outer crust. According to most of the diagrams I've run across, they leave the outer crust completely unsupported with a giant void in the center. This is undoubtedly a major problem. The gravitational force would make this outer shell of the Earth to collapse on itself. But what about the second sun? The fact that a secondary sun within our planet means nothing more than a brightly burning star is lurking beneath the surface.

Problem number one with having a star in the center of the planet would be the outward and inward thrusts. As the fuel on the surface of the star burns there would be releases of large amounts of energy. This energy is likely to be light and heat energy both of which would cause problems to the small oasis. First off the light would be too strong and condensed to allow for any life(let alone plants and animals). The distance from the star (no matter how small) would be too short to be habitable. Next the amount of heat as output is most likely to cause temperatures close to that on the surface of Mercury or Mars. And if you passed 5th grade science you would know that these are not habitable places. At least not in term of lush greenery and flowing bodies of water. And as if this wasn't bad enough the outward thrust exerted by the star would be great. Such a force could cause a number of outcomes such as: the outer crust being ripped apart, the Earth's rotation and gravitational axis being altered or entirely thrown off or even causing the eventual slipping of the outer layer falling into the pull caused by the star's own gravity.

With these reasons and countless others I say with a heavy heart that a hollow Earth is not physically possible. Physics has a twisted way of making things dull some times huh? But don't throw out all of the hollow earth memorabilia you've bought just yet. You can make a cool indie band and use the diagram of the supposed hollow Earth as your logo or even use it as album art! Or on the flip side you can continue to follow the threads and envelop yourself in the idea of such a cool hidden place. Whatever you choose stay curious my friends.

The Irresponsible Poor

We often hear the excuse of those against programs like welfare that those receiving assistance "are not responsible enough" and "put themselves in that position". They complain that they see poor people with iPhones and designer bags and are still struggling to sustain their children or themselves. What most overlook, however, is that these people are not spending their welfare checks on these frivolous things. More times than not, that designer bag is a knock-off bought on the street. The iPhone they are using is old or was a gift. Just because certain facets of these people's lives don't appear to fit their stereotype, assumptions are made immediately.

The assumptions don't stop there though. Because this person is spending their government-handout money frivolously, that means that they are not trying to better themselves by getting a better job, making them lazy. That person is bad at decision making, which is what got them in their position. The minds of those who believe this simply don't stop. We've all seen the lengthy copy-paste posts on Facebook about this, but it's something to consider. Next time you see someone clearly at a low in their life on an iPhone, catch yourself, because you might be making assumptions without even knowing.

Conspiracy Theories Affect on History

Conspiracy theories have played an important role in human history. During times of international war politicians and military leaders on both sides of a conflict will suspect that their opponents are engaged in several conspiracies. They will thus scrutinize their enemies’ actions and rhetoric carefully. Conspiracy theories are in fact an essential tool in warfare and are required for effective anticipation and countering of enemy strategy. On the other hand conspiracy theories can contribute to the creation of corrupt establishments. A classic example was the Nazi dissemination of conspiracy theories about Jewish / Zionist covert influence over world affairs. And more recently conspiracy theories about Al Queda terrorist networks were used by western governments to justify the introduction of fascist policies both domestically and in foreign affairs.

http://youtu.be/2tN4Zulagb8
Recently I saw this video while scrolling through facebook and immediately thought of humanities. This has been such a relevant topic within society and culture today. Personally I love slam poetry and think it's amazing form of art and expression, especially when completed in ways such as this. The message she is presenting is so powerful and needs to be discussed. It can even go along with "diet racism."
Sometimes we don't realize what we are saying and how it may offend someone. We all need to be more aware of the things we say and the things we do. This video is a perfect representation of why we need to be actively aware of out words.

Pareidola; the science of conspiracy theories

http://www.theguardian.com/science/brain-flapping/2013/sep/05/conspiracy-theories-science-belief-secret-plots

This is a really interesting article on something Professor Harris touched on the other day, which is the tendency for your average human to be susceptible to conspiracy theories. This susceptibility comes from the brains desire to seek patterns. This pattern seeking component was extremely helpful in early human evolution because it helped us detect enemies and defend ourselves. It is known formally as Pareidola. 

Conspiracy theory believers often already have anxiety and worry about trusting the government, therefore when a pattern is detected that suggests a conspiracy, they are more inclined to believe it.

I think it's important for humans to keep our Pareidola in check in order to avoid jumping to rash conclusions about situations. However our brains tendency to be skeptical is also very important in modern times.

My Definition of Love #10

        My definition of love is when yoh care deeply for someone who means a great to you and your life. Love can come in all ways whether it is personal connection, visual connection, or trusting home your heart feels. How do other people feel when they care deeply? For me I physically feel it in my heart like with any emotion. It sounds strange but I think everyone feels that way sometimes.
         I think love can be immediately thrown away if the ither person does something powerful enough to make their devastation and hurt become more then their love. Have you ever felt stabbed in the back enough to make you not care for someone anymore? I definitely have! Probably still will in the future because human nature is inevitable.
         Personally I believe that everyone is destined to find someone that will become apart of their life forever. If someone doesn't have feelings for me or someone breaks up with me, personally I will be upset at first but if I am not the person that they will love forever then that is okay with me.

Maoi of Easter Island

Easter Island (Rapa Nui) in Polynesia is famous for the iconic Easter Island Heads or Maoi. These Maoi are said top be built in honor and memory of former high priests. They would be built and transported across most of the island to be put on hills facing the sun. But weighing up to 14 tons and being up to 13 feet tall, it is a mystery to modern historians how they moved these megaliths with the technology available back then. Some ancient alien historians have speculated that these Maoi could only have been brought by ancient aliens. Another interesting fact about Easter Island is that this island is the only Pacific Island to hold historical evidence of a written language (similar to the Egyptian hieroglyphics).  This causes many Ancient Alien theorists to believe that ancient aliens helped this 

civilization in many aspects including written language. Though people will tell you creativity and regular technological advancements can account for the great Moai, the sudden disappearance of the population and their forests, as well as the only account of a written language in the Pacific Islands, the mystery of it all does make you wonder. 

9/11 -Pat Minogue

After going over all the 9/11 conspiracy theories in class I decided to google 9/11 political cartoons and this was one of the top images. In this drawing, it shows the short term memory that U.S. citizens have. This image was released only 6 years after the tragedy and many americans already forgot about it.  It is now almost 14 years since the terrorist attack and the children and young adults of today barely even remember the attack if they were alive; which many young americans were not. It is important to remember this day not only to mourn those who risked their lives to save innocent americans, but also to remember the reason troops are still in the middle east today.

blog -trist

September 11 at 6:00 am, the President, a reporter friend, and his Secret Service crew went on a four-mile jog. As Bush was getting ready for the jog a van carrying several Middle Eastern men in the vehicle pulled up to the Colony’s guard station, they said they had a scheduled interview with the President. Secret Service me told the Middle Eastern men to contact the President’s public relations office in Washington, DC, after the van turned away. Some say the Secret Service protected Bush from an assassination attempt.

   I have never heard of this event until now. I thought this would be a big thing. Right after 9/11 our President might have almost got assassinated.

BLOG #10

So, after thorough discussion in class i made up my mind about love; I came to the conclusion that it does exist. We all came up with similar definitions of what love is to us, which was along the line of an extreme infatuation with someone who you feel romantic towards. I feel as if you can find true love without searching, and that is the beauty of it. When people go out of their way to find "the love of their life" they might be missing what could possibly be right in front of them. Another thing about love that we discussed is the fact that it might fade. I also do believe that love does fade. If something goes wrong in a relationship, sometimes you can't look at the person the same way, and the love beings to fade. For instance if someone cheats in a relationship, how are you supposed to forgive them, let alone promise to love them still? Over time feelings change, they either grow stronger or they fade. I believe if you find "the one" deep down, you will know. If the flame dies down then you know it wasn't meant to be. I am a believer in the flame of love, but i also believe that the flame can die.

"The War on Science"

   Running along the lines of the discussion we had with Professor Harris on Friday on the topic of the human search for patterns and acceptance, this month's issue of National Geographic contained an article entitled "The War on Science." It centered on why, in this day and age, human beings find a desire to question everything from the truth behind the moon landing to the side effects of vaccines (especially the claims that they can cause autism) despite loads of scientific evidence that proves otherwise.

   Science and facts have always been available to some human beings, but not all. The truths behind evidence and experimentation were usually left to those in their respective fields, but these days, everything is available through the Internet. This is by no means a bad thing; however, the issue with statistics is that they can be manipulated to appear as though they defend a certain thought or ideal and can therefore be misrepresented.

   With access to facts and numbers at everyone's fingertips, they are often used to defend whatever people feel most strongly about; not what is right, per se. Someone will seek out and latch onto the information that defends their core values and consider it a new foundation for their beliefs without considering the opposing viewpoint - which still leaves them a believer, not a scientist.

   Take, for example, the theory that the Earth is a globe. In this day and age, it is an irrefutable fact. It was proven in ancient times to be true. Yet still, in the nineteenth century, beliefs that the world was square or flat pervaded, making their way past fringe ideas into mainstream society. While this was considerably difficult to do by pony express, with the advancements of social media, it is far easier for this to happen in 2015.

   This is part of the reason why we hear theories such as those that 9/11 was an inside operation or that the moon landing was faked. The other portion would be because we search for patterns - as Professor Harris pointed out. "If subject A reacts to subject B, the same must be the case everywhere." This simple yet practically baseless argument is what drives a huge portion of modern dogma, which leaves everyone generally misinformed and undereducated. 

   There's also the thought that everyone simply wants to be accepted. The article discussed how people will not alter their ideas if those adjustments will insult the others in their "tribe" of believers, risking their expulsion.

   That being said, for the full, "scientific" explanation in the article, here it is:

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2015/03/science-doubters/achenbach-text

   If anything, this article should be an encouragement to see both sides of a story and attempt to put aside one's previous contentions lest one be wrong.