Calvin

Adora on Ted Talks

2010-04-14T17:07:00.000-07:00

What Adora was telling us was that, most of the time, if not always, adults do not consider things kids say properly. They think that, because they are older, they are wiser, so therefore their ideas are better, while kids' ideas are childish.

I disagree with her, however, when she says only grown-up people do bad things. Teenagers and other kids do bad things too, such as shoplifting, taking drugs, etc...

It is true, however, that adults almost never listen to kids. or take them seriously. Most of the time, it is not even possible to counter their points - they just close the argument immediately, and just declare themselves the winner.

Adora is a very good example of why parents, or just adults, should listen to kids' opinions more. You definitely cannot say her points are childish and she says her lines with confidence. If more adults see this video, they will realize that children are capable of thinking for themselves, and maybe finally change how they act towards us.

Global Mall Questions

2010-03-11T02:33:00.000-08:00

Having less money than the rich people made me feel unimportant and powerless, as I had no control over what I could buy.
I think everybody could afford education once they gave up their leisure item, but we could only afford very crowded schools and probably were not very good.
For me, I really had no choice, since I only had $200, so I could only buy the cheapest things. In the end, I couldn’t eve afford a leisure item, since all my money was spent on the cheapest food, water, fuel, and education.
I could only afford the cheapest health care option, which was being carried to the nearest clinic with a dozen medicines. I have never been sick enough to go to a hospital before, but if I could not afford medical care, then life could be very difficult, since with little water and food, I would probably get sick very easily.
The poorer people had little environmental impacts, since they could not afford many items that could harm the environment, while the richer people can buy vacations to Hawaii or other unnecessary luxuries that will pollute the environment.
The statistics speak for themselves - 20 percent of all the people in the world live on less than $1 per day. They have little or no choice on what they can buy, since they do not have a selection of things they can afford, it’s usually either work for your food, or starve. Their environmental impacts can vary, since some chop wood as their own fuel, so that is a environmental impact. Their societal impacts are generally larger, because of death, disease, and once older, some can become thieves, beggars, and generally people with no education will have a bigger negative impact on the society. The same applies to global security. The more poor people there are, the poorer the global security is.
Since I was so poor, I really did not consider my environmental impacts when I chose what to buy, since I had no selection really and if I didn’t buy anything I would die (in real life of course).

Interview Questions

2010-03-07T17:08:00.000-08:00

This interview is about Eve Ensler’s book, where she heard those stories, how she changed them, and the hardships of women around the world. Also, she talked about how she went to different countries around the world to help women.
Eve Ensler is being a global citizen by helping people around the world. She makes a difference in the world by raising awareness on how girls are treated around the world so the world can help. She shows the whole world how badly some girls are treated and tries her best to help them.
When girls want to look beautiful to please someone, they want to look skinnier so they starve themselves. Or, when a man is angry because of an economic slump, he might be his wife/girlfriend if she bothers him.
The girl was forced into the Production stage of the Materials Economy because she has no choice and she needs the money.

Citizenship Final Exam

2010-02-08T16:56:00.000-08:00

Citizenship is a very important lesson because it teaches us about being a good person, how to take care of others, be responsible, and other things one will need to succeed in life. Without learning citizenship, people will become oblivious to the basic aspects of life and how to act in the public once one is of age. “What is a citizen?” you might ask. Citizens can be either global, national, in communities, or nation-state officeholders in any community. Citizens are parts of democratic governments that make the government work for them. Citizens are producers that have the initiative to work or be in control. It sounds like too much to describe the one term “citizen”, but citizens can certainly play many roles at once!
To define how to be a “good” citizen, we have to choose one community first. For this, I will use the school as an example community. They have to follow the rules, as in any other community. A good citizen of a school respects others in the community, including teachers, other students, and other staff. They have to follow the rules, as in any other community, such as doing homework, respectfulness, talking only when you are supposed to, and concentrating on work. Of course, these are only basic rules for school, but if I could list all of them, I might as well start another essay. In any community, you have to do your job. In school, my job is to do my homework, learn, and prepare for for life once I grow up. Of course, there are often issues in school, such as stereotyping and social barriers.
Stereotyping happens everywhere, and is common in schools. A stereotype is an exaggerated belief or a twisted truth about a person or a group. It is a generalization that gives some people almost no social variation. Stereotypes also create social barriers that prevent people of different stereotypes to communicate, for example, “he’s a nerd, I can’t talk to him”, or “girls are disgusting, I can’t get close to her”. Often, stereotypes, gather in cliques or groups of people who have similar interests/hobbies, and sometimes age.

Of course we could consider the word "citizen" in a broader, more general sense such as a citizen of one's nation. A good citizen of one's nation helps it, supports it, and does what is best for it. Volunteering is a good example of this. By volunteering, one helps his/her nation and demonstrates to others what they can do for their nation as well. Something as simple as picking up trash or donating money to a cause for orphaned children encourages other citizens to help as well. Citizens can also uphold their society by performing their responsibilities for the government, such as obeying laws, paying taxes, or serving in jury. Citizens can also help uphold and reinforce laws by working in politics. Remember, citizens are part of the government, so if you really want to help your nation, you can choose a career in politics and use your sense of justice within you to help your nation.(By the way, you do have a sense of justice, right? Right?)

Now to extend the term "citizen" to its broadest extent, and discuss ho to be a good citizen of one's world. As you think of yourself as a citizen of the world, what do you think you could do? Well, a good citizen of one's world gets involved. Help people in need, for example orphans, refugees, and homeless people. You have to care about what goes on in the world. What the news for any notices about natural disasters that happened somewhere else. Then think about what you can do to help! Good citizens always think of how to benefit their community. Even if there are social barriers, a good citizen will do anything to help. Examples of this in history are plentiful. For example, Harriet Tubman helped blacks escape from slavery; or Amelia Earhart, to be one of the first female pilots. Examples that happened recently are there too; for example, Obama becoming the first Arican America president, and the Climate Change Summit in Copenhagen.

At this point, I would like to elaborate on The Climate Change Summit. Basically, citizens and world leaders from across the globe spoke up and said that global warming had to stop. Global warming, or the increase of temperatures around the globe, is getting worse. Citizens finally spokr up and by doing this, encouraged world leaders to form the Climate Change Summit. This is an incredible example of a group of good citizens speaking up, and in doing so, benefit the whole world.

Young people always think that they will not be able to do any good for their community until they are old and wise and boring. In fact, anybody can benefit the world by being a good citizen. Obeying laws and respecting people; these are simple ways of being a good citizen, and afterward you can think, "Well wasn't I just a wonderful citizen!"

Letter to Mr. Bernard Murdoch

2010-02-06T22:00:00.001-08:00

Dear Mr. Murdoch,
thank you for your presentation on Friday. I learned a lot about your country of Kiribati. What I learned was that your country is a very low-lying group of islands. Because of climate change, sea levels are rising, and the sea water is covering more and more of the land of Kiribati. The sea water is seeping into the soil, contaminating your underground water. The warming sea water also forces the fish to escape to deeper waters, where poorer farmers do not have the equipment to catch them. The palm trees are dying because the sea water has poisoned them.
The part I remembered most about your presentation was when you became very emotional about the tsunami that almost hit Kiribati.
When I listened to your presentation, I felt sad because Kiribati would disappear very soon. And I could help people suffering from global warming by slowing down global warming, even if I do not have the power to do it myself.

Ceramics Field Trip

2010-01-31T03:31:00.000-08:00

On Thursday, we went to visit the Snake Kiln in Miaoli County. It is not the biggest snake kiln in Taiwan, but it is still very big. When we went there, they first introduced us to a small kiln, which was not a snake kiln, which they used to make ceramic tiles. They said that when the fire was out in the kiln, they would pour water on the fire and brick the kiln up. Then the inside of the kiln would be covered with black smoke which would turn the tiles black. Then they showed us how their snake kiln usually baked vases, and how those vases made wines taste better because of good clay. Then they showed us how there were stamps or seals on the vases that told what company made the wine and what kind of wine was in it. They also showed us a kiln that was called a bottle kiln or something, and it was used to bake clay bottles. It was also shaped like a large bottle. The guide took us into a room and showed us the snake kiln. It looked like a gigantic leech/slug thing. There was a small hole in the front for putting in wood, and a long tunnel. At the end was the chimney.
We were given a small block of clay to make whatever we wanted. Because my hands were wet to the extent that made my block of clay equal to a slab of mud, they gave me a new piece. I made a bowl, but decided it was boring, so I stacked pieces of clay randomly on my bowl and called it an abstract sculpture. After I finished my sculpture, I went to play with the dog, who kept following Patrick around. It was fun.

Avatar

2010-01-22T21:34:00.000-08:00

Avatar

The tree of souls is the center of the Na’vi religion and culture, and destroying it will cause the Na’vis to become discouraged and they would not want to fight anymore. They do not seem to realize the fact that destroying the tree will eventually result in the extinction of the Na’vis, because they were concentrating on how to destroy them and to mine the mineral unobtanium.
The Vietnam War is a good example of an instance like this. The U.S. just wanted to help South Vietnam, but in the process destroyed both North Vietnam and South Vietnam’s economy.
An example happening now is the Iraq War. America says that Saddam Hussein had Weapons of Mass Destruction, and attacked Iraq to stop them. Bush said Hussein did not follow the policies of human rights, and used that as an excuse to attack Iraq. Some people say that Bush just wanted oil and power, but Bush still attacked Iraq. The United States has been criticized for not being able to find the Weapons of Mass Destruction and high death tolls in the war, including civilian injuries.

The Na’vis lived in harmony with nature, and only killed when absolutely necessary. Our modern society uses nature to fulfill our own needs. If our modern society adapted some of the attitudes toward nature that the natives had, it could be possible to save nature. For example, if we imitated the Na’vis, then it would be easy to save our environment. Actually, it should be easy to preserve the environment if we imitated any native culture, because almost all native did not destroy nature. Only the later settlers that arrived in a land would begin clearing land.

Renaissance Quiz

2010-01-21T17:15:00.000-08:00

1. What historical event (the fall of a civilization) took place in 395 AD to usher in the middle ages? Fall of Rome

2. What was society and culture generally like in the middle ages? No middle class, church controls everything, not many people knew how to read and write, people very poor (except for royalty)

3. Renaissance means _______________. Rebirth

4. What was being brought back during this time? Greek and Roman ideals

Define:
5. Contraposto : Counter-posed

6. Chiaroscuro : light and dark

7. The painter of the Mona Lisa was ________________ Leonardo da Vinci

8. The man who sculpted the Pieta and the Sistine Chapel was _________ Michelangelo

9. What is different about Renaissance painting compared to painting during the Dark Ages? In Renaissance there is contraposto and chiaroscuro. Art is not as religious.

10. What is meant by the concept of "Humanism?"Art of humans are perfect (ie)perfect musculature, curves, etc.)

Haiti

2010-01-18T17:28:00.001-08:00

1. The story I chose is called Resolve. It is about a physician who spent a year in Haiti. He entered the hospital when he got tuberculosis, and left two months later with the tuberculosis under control and 30 pounds fatter. He was confident he could live in Haiti even though he had no place to live. However, two days later, he returned, with his clothes tattered and torn. He said he had no family, no friends, no place to sleep, and nothing to eat.
2. I picked this story because it told me clearly about how life in Haiti is. This man nearly died after two days on the streets of Haiti, and some people live there. This shows me how poor people are in Haiti. Poor people in Haiti have no proper home, and it is difficult for them to find food and water, and they do not have the money to afford medication if they get sick.
3. It is similar to what is happening to people in Haiti now because people are also starving and dying in Haiti, except this time, thousands of people are dying instead of just the physician.
4. We should care about what is happening in Haiti because they do not have the resources to survive properly by themselves and they do not have a government to organize relief efforts for them. If we do not help them then they will probably all die.
5. Helping Haiti is related to global citizenship because right now Haiti needs all the help it can get. Part of being a good citizen is helping people, so helping people that are not in your nation is global citizenship.

Music Niccoloa Paganini

2009-12-07T03:28:00.000-08:00

Romanticism
a complex artistic, literary, and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Western Europe
Paganini composed during the period of Romanticism (late 18th century).
Paganini was not considered a romantic composer because his music is not romantic, but rather designed to show off his skills.

Paganini
Niccolo Paganini was an Italian violinist, guitarist, and composer. He lived from 1782 to 1840. He is one of the most well known violin masters of all time.
Paginini’s major contribution to music is his his ability to manipulate existing techniques in his time to their highest potential. Among them was the technique of mistuning the violin to play other notes. Paganini was one of the first to change the violin to a solo instrument, instead of the ensemble instrument it was before.
Paginini legend is his violin, called Cannon. Now, every two years in Paginini’s hometown, Genoa, there is a contest Musical Festival for violin musicians. It is a contest, whoever wins the contest can play Paginini’s Cannon for the last day.

Paginini contributed several very special techniques to the world of violin. Among them included:

A) Ricochet bowing - "an unorthodox technique of bouncing the bow against the strings."
B) Scordatura - mis-tuning the violin strings so the performer can play in various keys without shifting hand positions.
C) Pizzicato - plucking the violin strings instead of bowing them to create a staccato effect; he used both right and left hands for this.
D) Harmonics - Paganini used many types of harmonics to create unusual sounds.
E) Unorthodox fingering techniques - "this was possible because of his various physical ailments." Ehlers-Danlos is a genetic disorder that causes hyper-mobility in the joints because of a collagen synthesis defect. This is said to have allowed Paganini's joints to be so flexible that he could play up to three octaves across the board without ever shifting the position of his hand. He also had very long limbs and fingers, which is a condition thought to be due to Marfan syndrome, a disorder of the connective tissue.
F) Playing an entire composition using only the G-string.

Paganini’s most famous composition was the Caprice No. 24.

Another famous one is la Campenella Op.7 No.2

Music Elliot Carter

2009-11-25T01:44:00.000-08:00

Elliott Carter
How deeply rooted into society was he?
-Elliott Carter’s music is rhythmically complex, but never hard to listen to.
How relevant is this music now in 2009?
-Although most people like to listen to pop music now in 2009, older people who appreciate classical music more still like to listen to Elliott Carter’s symphonies and pieces.
Is this music relevant to a specific area or time?
-Elliott Carter’s music is listened mostly in the West. There are not many people who listen to him anymore, but he won a prize recently.
Is this music based on anything?
-Elliott Carter’s music was not based on anything (not program music), but rather, he just developed and and catalogued all the possible pitches he could and put as many as he could into a piece.
His most important contribution?
-Edward Carter’s most important contribution to music is the complex melody present in every composition of his. He once said that he wanted his music to “portray a different type of motion”, in which players are not locked in step with the downbeat of every measure.
Special Approach?
-Elliott Carter’s music is different from most other types of music, because he wanted his music to have the continuous acceleration and deceleration in his music.
Influence?
-Elliott Carter had students, and there are nine especially notable ones. They are
Ronald Caltabiano
Joel Chadabe
Tod Machover
Jeffrey Mumford
Tobias Picker
David Schiff
William Schimmel
Ellen Taafe Zwilich

Video
Elliot Carter: Sonata for Cello and Piano
The clicking noise is a problem with the camera.

Question:
How is Elliott Carter's compositions different from most other composers' compositions?

Citizenship 8 17 November, 2009

2009-11-16T17:33:00.000-08:00

Today in Citizenship, we learned more about how clique's are hurtful. We learned about stereotypes and why it is sometimes harder to make new friends in a small school like ours. We learned about different types of stereotypes, including jocks and nerds. Today, what we really focused on is how stereotyping cliques can be hurtful. Example: if one school had a big clique of jocks and a small clique of nerds, if most of the nerds leave, leaving one or two behind, because of the nerds' stereotypes, they will not be able to make new friends.

Art 8 10 November, 2009

2009-11-09T23:11:00.000-08:00

1. Describe 2 people and their facial descriptions, clothing, and what they were doing.
For this first part, I decided to describe two workers: one that was blowing glass (1) and the worker who was shaping glass into animals (2).
(1) This worker was wearing a blue T-shirt and he was sweating because of the furnace nearby. He was shaping blowing glass into a cup. I couldn't see his face properly, but I could see his face wasn't scrunched up like Mr Marchione's from blowing too hard.
(2) This worker was shaping glass into animals.He made a penguin, a snail, and something I didn't know. He was also making a blue T-shirt. I didn't see his face because I was looking at the glass.

2. Give 2 reasons why Hsinchu is famous for glass making.
Hsinchu has a lot of silicon and glass. Hsinchu has so much glass it is called the silicon valley of Taiwan. However, Hsinchu glass is still not as good as Italian glass or Venician glass or whatever.

Citizenship 8 10 November, 2009

2009-11-09T17:16:00.000-08:00

Today in Citizenship, I learned the rules, duties, and responsibilities of citizens in neighborhoods, cities, countries, and the world. I learned that taxes are meant for the government to help us, but we need to prevent corruption. The rules in our class are:

No talking out of turn
Sit up, pay attention
Respect, and
Cooperation

And our new rule is that we are not supposed to eat in our class because Stephanie freaked out a cockroach yesterday.