Week 4b: Daily Blog Day 5 – Monday, February 28, 2011

Daily Blog Day 5 – Monday, February 28, 2011

Question: How did Alexander create his own myth?

            Alexander the Great actually, in a way, created his own myth. I believe that all of his actions well thought out or not were done for a purpose that is likely, in part, his way of making his myth. He purposefully took on difficult challenges and took the hard way. It is fair to believe it is possible, and in fact probably, that he did this because he wanted to be remembered as that great hero who did all these amazing and seemingly impossible things. Also, he incorporated religion a lot and participated in a lot of ceremonial acts.  Great examples of how he created his own myth are extremely common and are the Oracle of Didyma, Halicarnassus, and the Gordian knot. For starters, the oracle of Didyma was a huge step in Alexander creating his own myth. Alexander visited this oracle in Didyma and while he was there he was greeted and told he was the son of the god Zeus. If this doesn’t start a myth about someone, I am not sure what will. Plus, in Halicarnassus, Alexander defeated a Persian stronghold that was defended by the Greek mercenary.  Alexander conquering this place was a momentous occasion. It was probably a big turning point for him political and for his myth. It established a winner kind of aura around Alexander that maybe made him feel and seem godlike. Finally, Alexander untied the Gordian knot. The Gordian knot was famous knot on a cart that people could not untie. Well, Alexander can along, what exactly he did is unknown, but it is said he took his sword and simply cut it.  You may argue that this was cheating, but to the people of that day it was more than likely heroic and bold. Through these things and others, it is extremely likely that Alexander intentional created a myth for himself that could be told on for generations.

Week 4b: Daily Blog Day 4 – Thursday, February 24, 2011

Daily Blog Day 4 – Thursday, February 24, 2011

Question: Based on what you know about Aristotle, do you think Alexander had listened carefully to his tutor?

            I believed that Alexander the Great listened to his tutor very much so during his life. This may have partially been because of his loss of his father at a young age. Alexander would have needed to have found some sort of role model or influential leader to guide him in his young reign, although, I can only speculate about as we really do not know.  Aristotle himself was appointed as head of the royal academy of Macedon, and not only did he teach Alexander the Great, but also the kings Ptolemp and Cassander. One quote on Aristotle’s political views on Wikipedia, I found extremely interesting and helpful in expressing how Aristotle may have influenced Alexander the Great. It says, “Aristotle states that only one thing could justify monarchy, and that was if the virtue of the king and his family were greater than the virtue of the rest of the citizens put together.” Also, he cunningly mentioned Alexander in his father placing them in that group of people. Plus, it has been said that Aristotle went as far as encourage this behavior in Alexander, and pushed him towards eastern conquest. Aristotle’s own views on Persia are racist and disrespectful. He feels even once told young Alexander the Great “to be leader to the Greeks and a despot to the barbarians.” If that does not prove Aristotle’s views, I am not sure what will. Therefore, I strongly believe that Alexander listened to his tutor as any young child looks up and listen to a role model.

Week 4b: Daily Blog Day 3 – Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Daily Blog Day 3 – Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Question: Could a force like Alexander the Great exist today? Why or why not?

            Alexander the Great was the conquer of the entire known world. He controlled literally everything. I personally believe in the possibility of anything unless it is completely proven to be wrong. I think it is possible that some great force like Alexander could exist today, but I highly doubt it. The world today is so advanced and modernized with a lot of different big powerhouse countries. Also, in this time, we have all sorts of ways to communicate instantly. These big countries with unlimited communicated would ally together and crush any sort of large threat like this. On the other hand, it is possible that one person could conquer most of the Middle East and parts of Europe and Asia. This would not be easily conquered though, especially not without stirring up some commotion. In my opinion, if someone were to rise up and try to conquer the world he would be laughed at and made fun of, but as soon as he would take any action towards this he would begin a world war. Think about World War II. It was begun by Hitler who attempted to conquer at least all of Europe and would have likely continued on to conquer the world if presented the opportunity. Before you say I am denying all possibility of a power like Alexander the Great existing today, do not forget, anything is possible. This person or force would need to be a new, great thinker with a unique mind and excellent performance in battle.  It is extremely important that we do not become so confident and cocky that we are amazing and nothing can defeat us. There is always that tiny possibility we must always be aware of.

Week 4b: Daily Blog Day 2 – Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Daily Blog Day 2 – Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Question: Do you think Alexander honestly felt like he was avenging Persian wrongs? Or was that just propaganda to mask his goal of conquest?

            Alexander claimed that he conquered to avenge the Persian wrongs. The question is whether or not this was truly his intentions. The fact is it is impossible to know the truth. We can only now guess at what this truth may have been based on what we know from the facts and even a bit from the legends. I would like to believe that Alexander set out to conquer the Persian wrongs for a few reasons. The first thing is it is one of the only reasons that would make sense to me. It would be ludicrous for a small city king to go conquering the Persian Empire without a good and important reason. Also, my friends may call me naïve, but I like to believe in the good in people. I want to believe that Alexander the Great did honestly feel like he was avenging Persian wrongs, and unless I am given reason to believe otherwise I think that that is true. Another thing is, I think if anything Alexander probably began believing in avenging Persian wrongs and as his new power and greatness overwhelmed him it became more about things like that power and fame. This is very likely and possible as it is will all people who find themselves with an overwhelming amount of power even today. Although, I do not think it was just propaganda to mask his goal of conquest. At least, that is unless I am given a reason to believe otherwise like I said before. Therefore, in my opinion Alexander the Great is a good and true ruler avenging Persian wrongs, but whether he always remained constant to that I do not know.

Week 4b: Daily Blog Day 1 – Monday, February 21, 2011

Daily Blog Day 1 – Monday, February 21, 2011

Question: What compels someone to lead others?

            Leading people and being a good leader is an extremely hard thing to do, especially if you want it done correctly and effectively. There is a very fine line between just plain leading and being a good leader. Then again, what exactly can we say makes you a good leader? Part of what determines how good of a leader a person is, is what compels the leader to lead. In some cases, people lead because they feel it is necessary of them and that it is their duty to step up and lead because no one else is. I personally have been in this situation in which I felt someone needed to take charge, so therefore, I did. On the other hand, people can also lead because they are a person who likes to be in charge. Also, some lead because they feel so passionate about the thing that they are leading. For example, I would most certainly not be a leader of a Pro-choice movement if I strongly supported Pro-life movements throughout the country. This example is one of the many instances in which our personal opinions and views influence and can even compel us to lead. Alexander the Great was a real life example of this. His compelling reason falls under this category of what compels people to lead. In its main part, Alexander the Great lead mostly because he wanted revenge, although this still falls under the category of leading out of passion. Finally, I must say there are two other reasons people lead. Part of leading can be whether or not you are born into it. This could be in the sense of how a person becomes a king or queen, but also can just be the type of personality you have.  Plus, some selfish people lead because they want not honor, but in a way bragging rights and the thrill of winning. I feel that a huge part of being a good leader is doing it for the right and just reasons, because being a leader is a very important and difficult job.

Weekly Question, Play on Peloponnesian War: Week 4

Act 1, Scene 1

Set 1: The stage should be set up as if it was a small time village in Athens. It should be pictured as neither a wealthy nor poor area. It probably would be located on the outskirts of where the nobles live, but not quite were the poor people were. On middle stage far left there should be a small Athenian house. In the middle back right you should see the front steps and a little bit of the interior of what will be known as Artemis temple. Also, far right there should be a tiny market place.

Setting: The sun would be slowly setting in the night sky. (Set 1)

Narrator:

(Lights completely down. One light should be on center stage. Speaking is Off stage and not seen) In Athens during the time of the Peloponnesian war, there was great conflict all throughout the region both at home and on the battlefield. Men went off to war maybe never to return. On the off chance they would survive the months if not years of being separated from their families would take its toll. Even conditions while they were living with the army its self when it was not in battle was horrible and disturbing. Women stayed home to tend the children in an area full of plaque alone in their suffering. To whom would these people turn? Would it be to the Gods and Goddesses? Their leaders? Each other?

(Lights dimly revealing only the top most part and roof area of Artemis temple)

Artemis: (Ends Singing an Ancient Song- Happy) I am the Goddess Artemis in charge of hunting, wild animals, and foremost importantly I am the protectress of all girls and women. (Appears a young woman with her hair tied back with a bow and arrow. If possible, have a hunting dog at her side. She should have god like beauty but be in semi-simple garments) What is this I see in my temple tonight?

(Lights rise with Alethea seated in front of Artemis’s Temple, Artemis cannot be seen but a light still dim above the temple reminds us she is watching)

Alethea: (Praying, mutter incomprehensible words) Amen.

Alexis: (ENTERS and slowly approach) Alethea, we need to talk about somethings my love.

Alethea: (Getting up) Yes, we do, but me first.

Alexis: Go ahead my love.

Alethea: I am pregnant.

Alexis: (Shocked) How can this be, with me going away to fight in the war? What will we do?

Alethea: I just do not know.

Alexis: Marry me?

Alethea: I do not know. I love you, but when and how? (Pauses looks at Artemis Temple) I changed my mind. I do!

Alexis: My love, we shall marry now in front of Artemis and all the Gods. But, upon my return we shall gat married again in front of all our families and friends.

Alethea: May Artemis bless us tonight and as you go on your war to war…

Alexis: That you and I will remain safe until we are reunited.

Alethea: And when this happens that we shall have a son or daughter to call our own.

Alexis: Yes, my love but let us go. We must hurry. There is no time to waste.

(BOTH EXIT hurriedly chatting into Artemis’s temple)

(Artemis light brightens revealing her)

Artemis: Those poor love struck children. I shall give them my blessing and adopt them as my own. Alethea, the woman who has lived a spiritual and noble life, will now be one of my daughters. Her genuine heart and kindness should and will be given mercy, and let her share it will the world through herself and her child. I shall bless her tonight with fertility in having a beautiful child, and baby girl, and entrust her with a task more important than she shall now. Alexis, the military boy that is going away to war, shall be my son and protected in the way his name says he should protect others. His name meaning protector and helper of mankind fits him very well, and shall be his defining quality. Now let me go to bless them and marry them in a nuptial fashion for they shall be wedded tonight in marriage and in their new purpose.

(Light dims)

(End of Scene)

Act 1, Scene 2

(Alethea and Alexis run out of the temple happily married)

Alethea: We are married my love.

Alexis: It feels so much bigger than that.

Alethea: I know, but in a good way.

Alexis: In the morning I must go off to war.

Alethea: Well, let us enjoy one another’s company until tomorrow.

Alexis: Yes, we shall sit here and stare at the stars until the sun rises.

Alethea: Goodnight, my husband. (Kisses him on cheek, lays her head on him, and drifts off to sleep)

Alexis: And goodnight to you, my wife. (Stares for a little longer and then too falls asleep)

(Lights dim and turn off)

(End Scene One)

(End Act One)

Act 2, Scene 1

(Lights up)

Setting: It is now day. People are running around busy. Many people are running to wish loved ones goodbye or do morning errands. Alethea is outside doing laundry on her front step. People are chatting everywhere semi-nosily in the background. Children are running around playing games like tag, etc.

Alethea: Good morning, Midas. Who is your friend?

Midas: Good morning, Alethea. This is Narcissa. Narcissa,this is Alethea. She is my mother’s friend’s daughter.

Narcissa(girl): Nice to meet you.

Midas(boy): Will you tell us a story?

Alethea: Oh, I am sorry, but I have so much to do, and I am still thinking about a dream I had last night. Maybe tommorw?

Midas: Well then, tell us about your dream please?

Alethea: I don’t know.

Midas: Pretty Please. I know Narcissa loves stories.

Narcissa: Oh, yes. I do.

Midas: And if we go back to our houses now we will have to do our chores.

Narcissa: We don’t like chores.

Alethea: Well, I suppose it couldn’t hurt.

Narcissa and Midas: (cheer happily)

Alethea: But you must sit down and be quiet.

Midas: We will, we will.

Narcissa: We promise.

Alethea: Well, I had a dream that the Goddess Artemis came to me last night.

Midas: No way. How cool.

Narcissa: What did she say?

Midas: Do you think it was real?

Alethea: (Giving a warning glance) I don’t know. But anyway, …. She told me she had a special job for me and for my daughter, and that she has blesses me so that we will both have a special life.

Midas: How does she know you are going to have a girl?

Alethea: I don’t know. And she told me she would visit again every night until the time came. I am thinking I will know if it is real when I have my baby and see if it is a boy or a girl, also, if I keep having these dreams.

Midas: Wow.

Midas’s Mother: Midas where are you?

Midas and Narcissa: Got to go, Bye.

(Midas and Narcissa EXIT Awestruck)

(Set goes dark, one light on Alethea)

Narrator: Night after night, Alethea would have a new dream. In each dream she would see the war, and what she was going to have to do. Alethea saw herself soon as what she truly was, the adopted daughter of Artemis. She began also to realize her destiny. When the time came, she was going to have to escape with as many women and children as she could from the city. Alethea realized this war would not end happily. By the time she had her daughter, she had already come to see what her destiny was going to be. Now, she only could wonder what would happen to her husband, her city, her daughter, herself, and her precious world.

(End of Act 2)

TO BE CONTINUED…….

Week 4: Daily Blog Day 4 – Thursday, February 17, 2011

Daily Blog Day 4 – Thursday, February 17, 2011

Question: Why do people write a record of their past? How does what happened yesterday in your life affect what you choose to do today?...or does it? Do we all see yesterday the same way. Choose a material object--get your digital camera... take at least 25 photos of it all from different angles or vantage points. Team up with a class member and have them photograph the same object -- compare and contrast your photos on a blog post. How do different human beings view the same object? - from Norman Constantine

            People are an interesting topic to talk about. I mean who knows what we do better than we do, but at the same time I think we barely know anything.  To answer the question above, I feel that we record our past so that we can look back on it and remember it in the future. We do this through things like photographs or diaries in hopes that when we are older we can look back and feel the happiness we did in that moment or maybe sometimes even the sadness and heartbreak. Also, I feel we record our past so that other people can see it and feel our happiness. Sometimes I even believe that we do it to make others jealous, but we can do it to reminisce with a friend too.  The truth is what happens every day affects you in so many ways. These can be big or small and most of the time we do not recognize them. The way we look at something affects us too, because we all see everything differently. What you see when you look at a picture can be completely different for the person sitting next to you. I did the project indicated above and learned a lot about people. We chose to do a friend of mine for three reasons. One, we could see how many emotions we go through in a span of a few minutes. Also, we could see based on Megan and my pictures. What we, as humans, tend to do similar and different in a task as simple of snapping a few photos of a friend. Finally, we did it because we wanted to see how we saw this person different and how we saw them the same. Although, the material object we took a picture of is her body, we learned a ton about ourselves and her. One thing we found was we took pictures commonly of the same parts of her, but we differed in the angles, vantage point, and distance when we were taking the pictures. It was a great learning experience. Look below at a few of the pictures we selected form the total fifty we took.

Week 4:Daily Blog Day 3 – Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Daily Blog Day 3 – Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Question: Was Athens really a 'democracy'?

            Many people debate over the topic of whether or not Athens was really a democracy. According to dictionary.com, a democracy is government by the people, and that it is a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by themen or by their elected agents under a  electoral system." This is of course the present day view on the subject, and we take things very literally. Therefore, because of this, we may not necessarily say now-a-days that Athens was a true democracy like what we have today. This is especially looking at the fact that women did not have any rights. This takes away part of the whole effect. In current times, women are free to vote and therefore free to participate in the democracy that men have experienced for years. Although, do we really have the ability to tell the inventors of democracy that they did not really have an actual and true democracy. The Athenians themselves invented the idea of democracy. How can the very people that create it have gotten it wrong when they made the principle idea our society now stands on. Therefore, I believe Athens was a democracy. What we have to ask is whether or not we have a democracy. Although in saying that, I may have taken it too far. I believe we are a democracy just in a more intense form. Therefore, Athens was a democracy, and in fact the true, original democracy. free

Week 4:Daily Blog Day 2 – Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Daily Blog Day 2 – Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Question: Explain how the origins of theatre in Athens are tied to both religion and politics. Check out this resource.

            The origins of the Athenian theatre are tied to both religion and politics. This is showed not only symbolically in the plays but also the characters themselves in the words they say and the things that they did. Also, the plays took somewhat of a political stance on things like the current views of the time. We can learn a lot about history just by reading the plays put on for audiences of Athenians in Athens. One way we definitely come to realize how much religion was involved in the plays and theatre is in the facts. Apparently, the theatres in Athens were not for business purposes or even created for financial reasons. The Athenian theatres were paid for and taken care of by the Athenian government. These theatre productions were an integral part of an Athenian religious festival. This festival was called the City Dionysia. It is said that three tragic poets were chosen to preform or present their plays by a magistrate. This magistrate is called and archon. Supposedly, Archon was in charge of the City Dionysia. These three poets all presented a tetralogy. A tetralogy is a fancy word for a group of four plays. This is kind of like how we call two people singing together a duet in some cases. They also presented a satyr which occurred with the tetralogy one morning during the festival. Therefore, there was definitely major religious meaning and this was only one very minor example. Also, politics plays an important role in this too as it does everything else like I said above. There are so many ways religion and politics is included in the theater.

Week 4:Daily Blog Day 1 – Monday, February 14, 2011

Daily Blog Day 1 – Monday, February 14, 2011

Question: Please read http://ow.ly/156BA and write a blog post comparing the Ancient Greek Olympics to the Games this coming weekend!

            The Ancient Greek Olympics were an extremely big deal at that point or time period in history! These Olympic Games were created as a way to honor the God Zeus. Although, Zeus was not honored by athletics up till that point in history. Until this time, he had been honored only through worship and dedicatory offerings.  The Ancient Greek Olympics greatly changed this time period or part in history in this way. The way people went about religion and honoring Gods was revolutionized. This is one way current day Olympics are different then the Ancient Greek Olympics. Currently we use the modern Olympics as a way to compete for fun and represent our country.  While the Ancient Greek Olympics share the same quality that there main objective is fame, they also had their differences. The modern or current day Olympic Games are not related to religious view, but are mainly focused on political ideas. Also, one difference is that the modern or current Olympic Games we participate in are on a global or world wide scale. In the Ancient Greek Olympics, the games were open only to the Greek Empire. Finally, the Ancient Greek Olympics was a way that people stayed in shape and prepare for the military. This in my opinion was a very ingenious idea. It was a great way to motivate your people to stay fit and to be in the military. Although, this is again is unlike today’s modern or current day Olympics. The Ancient Greek Olympics and modern day Olympics have their similarities and their differences.

INCOMPLETE: Megalith Ruft Draft

Week 3:Daily Blog Day 4 – Thursday, February 10, 2011

Daily Blog Day 4 – Thursday, February 10, 2011

Question: What is the oldest human-created artifact that has mattered to you? Why/how does it matter? (from @butwait on Twitter) 

            The oldest human artifact that matters to me is the invention of the brush. I use it every day over and over again. It is what I use every morning when I get up to do my hair, but also what I use every night before bed. Plus, often times I will use it at multiple other times throughout my day. It is so important because it plays such an important role in my life. It is a part of my daily schedule and a natural habit. This is why I say that the brush is the oldest human artifact that has mattered personally to me. Although, if you take this on a less personal scale and broaden the question like what is the oldest human-created artifact that is still important to the world, you would probably get a surprising answer. For example, in my opinion, I think that the most important human-created artifact to our world is art. Art is very inspiring and full of passion. It gives us clues about the past and lets us tell our story. We know that art had to have been created and too me is an artifact of some sort. Individual pieces of art can in themselves inspire new ages in time to work hard. They can change civilizations. Just think of the Renaissance period in Europe, changed by art and literature. This is what I think of when I look back and try to see what human-created artifacts matter to me on a personal and impersonal basis.

Week3:Daily Blog Day 3 – Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Daily Blog Day 3 – Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Question: Why do you think so many conspiracy theories surround the pyramids and the megaliths? Give examples of a few and explain where you think they come from.

            At this point in time in history, there are a lot of conspiracy theories about the pyramids and the megaliths. The reason why I think there are so many is because we do not honestly know very much about them. Therefore, everyone takes their chance at guessing and speculating about them. People are able to say their own opinions and theories. Also, we are human and we like to spread rumors and start crazy and sometimes illogical superstitions. One example of a theory about some of the megaliths is they were ancient burial grounds. I believe this is a fairly logical assumption based on the structures of theses megaliths and the remains found near some of them. Also, some are thought to be religious temples or sacrificial alters. This may or may not be true. The only thing we have to go by is animal remains found in some of the locations and again the structures of some of these megaliths. Although on the other hand, these megaliths might have been nothing but art. Plus, some people say that the pyramids have all sorts of traps and secret passages. Just think of all the sci-fi movies you have seen about ancient Egypt. Most if not all of that information is made up or only a theory. In this world, it is hard to know what exactly is real compared to what is only a theory or not even really at all. I believe the megaliths are not one type of thing, but different and unique. Each different one expresses the culture of the people who created them. This is what I believe.

Week 3:Daily Blog Day 2 – Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Daily Blog Day 2 – Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Question: "Structures, both social and physical are continually improving." agree or disagree (from @thecorcoran)

            Structures exist in all aspects of our ever day lives. These structures are both social and physical. In my opinion, these two things are constantly changing. Socially, we experience change every day on a personal level as we meet new people and continue our relationships with others. When you look at the idea of human’s socialness as a whole, you also find it is constantly changing. Humanity’s view on what is good and bad is constantly changing. What is good one day could be horrible wrong the next day, and vice versa. We our as people constantly edit, backspace, and advance our civilization in some ways.  These social results are resulting from physical changes. I do not mean how we literally physical change as we grow older. I am talking about the earth and our environments and how they are constantly changing as a result of us and our sociality. As you can see, these two things are extremely interconnected and are at play every day in our lives whether we care to see it or not. For example, as we get older these big physical and social changes in humanity or society or even the world will become much more evident to us. This is because ewe will have been around long enough to see the different changes humanity and society went through during our life time. By the time we will die in fact, we will more than likely have a completely different view in society, which is a social change, and we will be living in a physically different world than in which we started. Therefore, I agree that structures both social and physical are constantly changing in our everyday lives.

Week 3:Daily Blog Day 1 – Monday, February 7, 2011

Daily Blog Day 1 – Monday, February 7, 2011

Question: "War is a form of technology". Agree or Disagree.

            War is a complex and interesting topic. It is full of goods and bads, ups and downs. The truth is war is actually much more complicated then it may seem at first. War is result of so many intertwined relationships, and has so many outcomes that in the end affect the entire world. Whether or not war is a form of technology plays on the complicated aspects of war, I discussed above. In my opinion, it all depends on how you look at it. If you take the definitions of war and technology literally, you would probably come to the conclusion that war is not a form of technology. Although, if you look at the two definitions of war and technology on a broader scale, and you continue to take into consideration what war actually is in itself, you may find a different result. First, you have to truly look at what war really is. Ask yourself if it is simply a long battle between opposing parties. On the other hand, could it be that war is a way we communicate and work out our differences in an aggressive and somewhat barbarian method. This second way of looking at war causes some people to find the proof they need to declare war a form of technology. Also, one thing people can definitely say is technology as a result is the methods of warfare we have created. For example, nuclear weapons are a method of warfare. This is another thing that person may have meant when they said war is a form of technology. Taking this information into account, I agree that if you stretch the meaning and do not take it literally, war is a form of technology. Whether or not you agree with me is up to you.

Weekly Question on Change - Week 2

Weekly Question: Is 'Change' a Good Thing or a Bad Thing? (Relate to the origins of art, the agricultural revolution, architecture and urban planning in Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley.)

            Life takes place in a world where everything is continually changing and growing, but people have to take a step back and ask if society is moving toward a better or worse place then they currently are. In the beginning, we were inspired to grow to survive to be better. Change meant progress. Art meant a new way to express ourselves to others. The agricultural revolution meant a whole new way of life. Even architecture and urban planning in Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley showed progress. These were all things where change occurred and good things became of it. Change is and can be good when done at certain points in time and in certain places in which change is needed.

            One of the earliest signs of change was in the origins of art. This change shows the beginning of thought outside of just survival. People had begun to, in the closest way they could, record or express who they were and what they were doing. This change was from nothing to something. Also, it showed a new way of thinking. This would become important to society. It is also possible that art also showed sign of religion or at least statues to represent possible things like fertility. Clearly, art was a good and beautiful change that took place at the right time and place to create a good result.

            Another great change is the agricultural revolution that happened thousands of years ago. It completely changed the way that people lived. People no longer were nomadic. As they farmed villages or towns were created. When these villages became successful threats of invasions began and people started to specialize in military things too. From this, people began to specialize in even more things like healing, building, farming, and more. Religion even took off as the priesthood was created. It is scary to thing to think that farming started this all. This agricultural revolution also came the right time to make a positive impact.

            The last thing I feel is an important example of change is the urban planning in Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley. The Indus Valley was a huge civilization that from research it is believed that it was at one point thriving and then suddenly it seems it was gone. Was this change good or bad? What does it mean? Why did it occur? The fact is that people just do not know.  What we do know is that, this civilization was quite advanced. They even had working plumbing. The Mesopotamian and Indus valley civilizations are known for the dense populations, urbanization process, and cultural innovation. Although they disappeared they positively changed our world. They were even important in the growth of commerce and broader cultural innovation. These civilizations themselves where seemingly built on movement and exchange. As you can tell these too civilizations were extremely advanced and provided important positive change for themselves.

            Change is a very important and necessary thing in everyone lives. Yet, the time in your life or the time in history that this change occurs is key. Even in art, agricultural, and civilizations in general, change is an important aspect to them. Change makes us see the world from a different view and grow in new ways. Change is, in a way, part of the foundation you live on. This is because when there is a break in it, you have to replace that part foundation with something new. Therefore, you have change. When change occurs in this positive way, it will have remarkable effects on the world.

Week 2:Daily Blog Day 4 – Thursday, February 3, 2011

Daily Blog Day 4 – Thursday, February 3, 2011

Question: Describe the importance of water in the ancient world.

            To this day, humans need water to survive, and without it we would be unable to live, reproduce, or maintain a society. In the ancient world, it was probably just as important. The difference though is to these people water itself may have been one of the most important things unlike today’s world in which there are so many other things to worry about and water is easy to come by. In ancient times, the society more than likely completely revolved around water and water sources. For example, one of the greatest empires of all times was Ancient Egypt. Naturally, this civilization was located my water, the Nile river. I believe part of the reason it became so successful and prosperous is because of water. This shows that water was very important to the ancient world because it is necessary to the success of a culture and their ability to survive. Also, you have to remember that the people in the ancient world did not have all the distractions we have today. The main focuses of their life were probably to survive and reproduce.  Water and food was what they needed to do this. For example, the people followed the food, the animals, where they went. Although, when they followed the animals they had to keep in mind nearby water resources. If they wandered to far from one, they would become dehydrated and die. Water in ancient times was a way of life. It decided where you lived and your daily routine. Imagine, every day you woke up you had to find or know where water was or you would die. We take for granted how now we seem to have an unlimited supply of water. We are lucky enough to work on things bigger than just surviving in the world. Instead, we can go out and explore it. Water for them was equivalent to their life. Everyone needs water. For the ancient world it was what made them who they were.

Week 2: Daily Blog Day 3-Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Daily Blog Day 3 – Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Question: Create your own Language.

Our language is called Savoloo.

Translation:  
The earth revolves around the sun on its axis. It takes a whole year for the earth to complete a revolution. Therefore, the sun does not revolve around the earth.

Savoloo:
Te farth volvo nts  te sone un ks riz. K taro cha raeb yuk fuge te farth cee opplenate le volvonto. Habicathinet, te sone de na volvo nts te farth.

Week 2: Daily Blog Day 2 – Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Daily Blog Day 2 – Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Question: You accidentally discover an invention that can immediately help millions of people; but only if you act immediately. On the other hand, if you just wait three months, you can secure a patent and get rich. Which do you choose and why?

            If I accidentally discover an invention that can immediately help millions of people, and I had the choice to immediately and help all of those people or wait three months and secure a patent and get rich, I do not know what I would do. I would love to say that I would be the good Christian I have been raised to be and help the people while sacrificing the wealth I could have had, but I do not know. When people are placed in actual situations, they react differently and we do not always do what we think we will. The pressure and heat of the moment can make us change from doing something good to mad and potentially result in making us make huge mistakes. I would like to stand before you know and say I would help all those people and forget about the money, but I cannot honestly do that. The truth is I do not know where I would be and what I would be doing. Who knows, I might need the money to pay for my mother or father’s surgery that cost millions of dollars. On the other hand, maybe I will already be rich living the high road. Therefore, in my heart, I want to say that I hope I would be filled with integrity and save those people’s lives. The world is filled with greed and evil. It needs someone to come in and save it. People need to start looking at the bigger picture, and doing whatever they can to help ignoring the money, fame, and other things our society now feels is important. I hope all people would do the right thing in this situation and save those people.