AP Exam

I thought the exam was pretty moderate. There were some questions that I knew right off the bat. But there were some that asked you to make certain comparisons or analysises, which required a little more thinking. I thought I was pretty well prepared, especially with the essays. The way we did the essays in class was perfect; the repetition helped me master the essay types and what each required. For next year's review, it may be more beneficial to instead of havi general facts and knowledge questions, having more applied skills questions. For example, questions aski to compare two empires, as many of those appeared on the test. Overall, the exam was more reasonable than I expected,and I was able to manage my time well and finish the essays with time to spare. Oh, and thanks for the snacks!

The Enlightenment (4/2)

In all of the portriats, not one of the subjects are smiling. They all have serious, stern, expressionless faces. Additionally, they all appear to be looking past or to the side of the viewer, but not directly at them. This gives them somewhat of an air of superiority. They are supposed to be "heros", and depicting these leaders with smiles would make them appear weak and laughable. For Marat's, portriat, he appears dead. Most likely, the artist was trying to make him into a martyr, and to give the French something to fight for. As for the others, they are depicted very elegantly, yet all with weapons, showing that they are a force to be reckoned with. For future generations, this makes them seem like valiant leaders who themselves were involved in the battles. Revolutions do need heroes--someone to kick-start the whole process and to unite the people together. I think the artist is celebrating their actions. By painting them with weapons, the artist makes them all out to look like war heroes, thereby celebrating their heroic actions.

The 6 Killer Apps (3/29)

It is no question that Niall Ferguson knows what he's talking about, and I do agree with what he has to say. His 6 killer apps all do make sense for Westernization. And he is right; no matter what other factors you try to average in, it always boils down to those 6. I also agree that, as he said, the Easterners will suprass the west in years to come. And it is because the west has shared these apps that this became possible. All in all, I think his 6 ideas are spot-on, and they are all the reasons why Western culture has been able to make so many large-scale advances in years past. Additionally, all his historical examples made sense and illustrated his point.

Text Book Approach...Good or Bad? (3/23)

1) I actually liked the way the book presented all three Muslim empires together in one chapter. Though they do, like it is in the book, each need their own subsections, presenting them I one chapter is the most logical thing to do. They are all major Muslim empires, and it wouldn't make sense to put them in separate chapters. Plus, compared to other chapters in the book, if each empire had its own chapters, these chapters would be comparably shorter. Grouping them all together makes it easier to draw inferences and make comparisons, skill which is important in history. I agree with the way the book presented the empires.
2) Although there was some violence during this period of global interaction, I think it was a good thing. It is necessary for societies to interact with outside neighbors. To remain completely isolated could remain to decline. Trade, communication, and interaction globally is always a good thing. Overall, it was positive, even though there was some conflict. After all, without global interaction, how would ideas spread?

Fabian Fucan's Attack on Christianity (3/15)

Fucan uses a great deal of sarcasm during his attack on Christianity. He talks of how there is no truth to the Chritian teachings, and by doing this he is attacking the religious aspect of Christianity. He calls it "a cursed faith" and even talks of how much he is ashamed to have once been a part of it. He then attacks the cultural aspect, saying that Japan is far superior to any Chritain nation. As for politics, Fucan criticizes how Christians try to convert Japan, and how foolish they are to try to do so. Lastly, he calls Christianity a horrible religion when attacking the social sphere of the religion because of the fact that they have martyrs. He says that the Christian god must me very careless to let humans throw their lives away, and makes the Christian god out to seem like a horrible monster. The sarcasm used throughout the piece also puts Christianity in a negative light in the piece.

Capitalism Revisited (3/2)

Now, I know that one of the biggest words in capitalism is "banking". The weary rich needed places to keep their ridiculous amounts of money, and thus banks were born. They were shortly followed by joint-stock companies, insurance agencies, and corporations. People tried to, as the term suggest, capitalize of their wealth. But, while they did this, poor working classes just got poorer. They did not have money to invest in companies, and therefore it was impossible for them to capitalize on their wealth. Upper and lower classes became more distinct.

Capitalism? Do tell! (3/1)

In my mind, when I hear the word "capitalism", my mind immediately jumps to money. Capitalism is all about money and filling one's pockets. Corporations, banking, and finances a all words that come to mind when Ai think of capitalism. I tend to picture cartoonish "big-wigs" fat men sitting in office chairs with a fluffy cat on their laps in a luxurious office, while most of the other people are working to try to get by. In short, capitalism is all about the rich getting richer.

Christianity again...and again...and again! (3/1)

A this point in time, Christianity keeps branching off into different sub-sections. This is because as the religion spreads, the message gets altered and changed along the way. Soon, as these "new" versions of Christianity spread, they become new forms entirely. Additionally, different people adapt the reliogion to fit their needs, or combine it with their existing religion. Thus, new sects of Christianity are born. Though they all originate from the same source, these branches all differ from one another in some way.

Chapter 26

http://www.showme.com/sh/?h=jlGPHfs Heena Gandevia (606-700)

http://www.showme.com/sh/?h=iwh3SQi Shannon Murray (701-705)

http://www.showme.com/sh/?h=k4a0MLI Melissa Sahagian (706-710)

http://www.showme.com/sh/?h=JFOqKUi Sam Healey (711-715)

http://www.showme.com/sh/?h=EfIKRiC Nrupa Patel (715-718)

Good Griot Gone Bad?

Learning through the menthods of a griot do have some qualities, but there are more cons than pros. For instance, because griot methods are all oral, a lot of information can get lost in translation. Information could be changed, forgotten, or exaggerated, and the actual information can end up being completely lost. Also becuase of this, there may be several different interpertations of one piece of information, and therefore it is not consistant. On the otherhand, this learning is a lot more enjoyable, and therefore more memorable. Personally, I would remember information better if I heard it in a catchy song rather than written in 12-point Times New Roman font on a piece of paper. So, although griot learning would tend to stick in a person's memory, the information that is being remembered could be warped and could be completely different from the original information.

Mongols on Trial

The debate today was very intense, and I think everyone really got into it (especially Futaba!). Everyone, myself included, was a lot more involved that I expected. In fact, when we were discussing our closing statements, we would find ourselves saying "we did this" and "when we did that", as if we actaully were those witnesses, even though that part of the trial was over. All in all, I think it was a good trial with lots of good points from both sides.

My job was to be one of the direct examiners for the defense. I know I didn't get as into it as others, but I'm not really bothered by that. Honestly, I hate public speaking and I get very nervous talking in front of people, so my goal was just to get up there, say my lines, and be done. I think I did a good job and the points I made were relevant, even though I didn't really get into it as much as others.

Before the trial, I probably would have said that the Mongols were guilty as charged. But after the research my group and I did, I disagree, and I think they are not guilty of these charges. After all, the Mongols were just another army, the only exception being that they were more skilled. They fought the same ways other armies did. They killed those involved in war, as any other army would. They did not target one specific group of people and try to completely exterminate them. They did not hold people against their will and torture them. Therefore, they are innocent of these charges.

Genghis Khan - Crazy Killer?

Killer? Yes. Crazy? Not at all. He was more along the lines of a strategic mastermind. All of his attacks were planned out; they weren't just random attacks on different peoples. In fact, he would often attack an enemy to "psych out", so to speak, nearby peoples. That way, they would instantly surrender and a bloody battle would be avoided. If he really was a "crazy killer", he would just go in and kill everyone. But, like any smart general, he used strategy to plan out his attacks and actually prevent excess bloodshed. Therefore, he should actually be considered a military genius.

Crusade Project 4

Here it is, all neat and spiffy! Unfortunately, Phil could not be present in this installment of the Phil and Arnold Saga, so Arnold made a new friend named Aamir! He's really old! He even lived through the crusades! Wow! Check it out!!!

OMG! CLICK HERE FOR ARNOLD THE INCREDIBLY ADORABLE TALKING PANDA!!!!

Oh, and here are my incredibly helpful sources!

www.albalagh.net/kids/history/crusades.shtml
http://atheism.about.com/od/crusades/a/crusadesviews_2.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crusades (used very little)
I also used some sources to a very small extent that really didn't have anything to do with the crusades (such as my search for common Muslim boy names, which is where Aamir came from.)

Crusades Project 3

I am having a lot of success with Xtranormal. After today's hectic events, I'm glad that I am using a method that is both fun and easy to work with. And after all, who doesn't love talking pandas? Of course, the computer voice doesn't always pronounce everything right, which can be problematic. But, it is easy to work around this. It is coming out to be pretty much what I had in mind, and I'm trying to make it as funny as possible. All in all, I'm confident that my Xtranormal presentation will be totally awesome (Am I listening to Starkid? No, what gives you that idea....)!

Crusades Project 2

I have been experimenting with a variety of different search engines, from Google in different countries to Yahoo! to Bing. But overally, regular Google works the best. I have been putting my searches in quotation marks so it finds websites that has all the words in the order I want. This has proven extremely useful. Additionally, Google Scholar helped me disover many useful websites. One problem I had with foreign Google was that it was very confusing. google.il for Israel was aligned on the right, which made it confusing. Also I can't read Hebrew.

Crusades Project 1

I have been playing around with Xtra Normal for the past few days, and I have decided to do that for my presentation. That's right, Phil and Arnold are coming back! My main focuses are going to be the Second Crusade, the Peace Crusade, and the Eight Crusade. This may change, but I am probably sticking with these three. They seem to have a strong Muslim opinion based on the little blurbs, and I will be doing more research on them shortly, using the different search engines provided.

Holiday Traditions

Well, this picture was taken before we had completely set up, but this is the Armenian table that I hosted with the help of my friends (who were honorary Armenians for the day). As we learned in class, Christianity spread throughout Asia and Europe and became very popular. Armenia is one of the Christian nations, with pretty much it's entire population consisting of Christians. In fact, it was the first nation to accept Christianity, therefore it was the world's first Christian nation. Armenians also belive that Jesus is the son of God.