Review of Jarod Diamond's Discoveries

Today we have Western Civ first mod, so most of us were still waking up at the time. To start our class off we discussed some of the things we saw in the video. We came up with other reasons why the people of Papua New Guinea are behind in terms of technology. I came up with the conclusion that one of the reasons they aren't up to speed is the lack of oil in the area, and the lack of iron and other metals. Some other reasons that they may behind is their remote location in terms of the distance between Europe and Papua New Guinea. This discussion lasted almost all of class, and for the rest of class we watched more of the video. Today was a pretty good class.

More of Jarod Diamond's Wacky Adventures

Today we watched even more of Jarod Diamond's journey to discover the root of oppression. We took more notes on what we saw, and we made it past how far I had watched. Draa is the oldest and first example of a community of around 40-50 people. People started to grow their own food during the drought, and they stayed near a source of water. China grew rice, the Americas grew corn, squash, and beans, and Africa grew sorghum, millet, and yams. Animals are considered to be the most powerful machines before the industrial revolution. The best animals to farm and use for farming were herbivores, animals that give birth within the first or second years of life, and ones that get along with humans. The fourteen animals that weigh more than one hundred pounds and meet the prior requirements are; Goats, sheep, pigs, cows, horses, donkeys, bactrian camels, Arabian camels, water buffalo, llamas, reindeer, yaks, nythons, and bali cattle.

Day Two

Today we took a pop quiz on the video we were supposed to watch yesterday. Me being the outstanding student I am, I watched a little more than half of it yesterday. The test was worded weirdly so I got confused on a couple of the questions. I think I did pretty well, and we also rewatched the video in class. We only got through less than half of the video, and we discussed some scenes in the documentary. I think the documentary is pretty cool, except for the weird part that's a flashback to a man asking about white people's cargo. I had already taken notes on the video so I just had to add a few small details to my notes. I think Mr. Schick is still upset with us, and he is letting it out on us with mild torture.

First Day of Western Civilization

Today was our first day of Western Civilization. The first thing that we did was change our seats. Mr. Schick had a lesson planned for today, but decided to not teach since he was tired of people complaining about the lack of heat. Instead of a lesson we watched a video on early humans and farming individually. People have lived in Papua New Guinea for almost 40,000 years. All advanced civilizations had advanced technology, a large population, and a well organized work force. Hunter-gatherers would live in shelters for weeks and sometimes months, and then move when food supply ran low. Gathering isn't efficient enough to feed a population. Barley and wheat grew wildly in the fertile crescent. Cereal plants can be stored for years. During a long drought in the Middle East, people started to stay near water and grow crops. Humans interrupted plants natural cycle and changed them to be better for farming.

Last Blog of Human Geography

This semester has been a wild one, and I'm glad that I'll still be with the same people next semester. We had our fun, and we learned some too. On our last day we had a test that everyone did relatively well on. Our class was shorter today because of the two hour delay, but we finished the test within the first twenty minuets. With the rest of the time in class we took a selfie and started work on our blogs. I can't wait to go home for a three day break, but I'm not excited for it to feel like -10 degrees at 6-8 AM on Monday. I'm a little nervous about the next semester, but I think it will be a good one. The end.

The Day that Mr. Schick Graded Papers.

Today Mr. Schick warned us of our test on Friday that may be pushed to Tuesday. Also, I got my essays back, and Mr. Schick started to grade Colin and Belle's essays. Colin's grading went off without a hitch, but Mr. Schick had a few problems with Belle's that he verbally pointed out. He was very distressed by the font she used. Mr. Shick also gave us some words of wisdom saying "Perfection is the enemy of the good", or something like that. We were also told about the term "Straw man", which is an opinion made by a person with the opposite opinion, that no person actually has. Leigh also wanted to be brutally honest with Mr. Schick and told him that she didn't want to be in class right now, since we weren't doing anything important. Patrick also questioned his existence today, and we couldn't provide any answers. Today was a good day.

Review Day

Today we reviewed the five religions that our test on Friday will include. Today was also Caitlin's birthday. I feel pretty good about the religions, and I think I'm ready for the test right now. I am not sure what to write in the rest of this blog. I really am not sure what to write in the rest of the blog that I am required to do. I myself, am quite perplexed at the concept of writing the remainder of this blog. Today was a day that we reviewed for the test. Tomorrow is yesterday's today. If a man lives under a rock, is he a mere man, or is his name the mighty Dwayne. Anyway, thats what we reviewed in class today.

Five Paragraphs on Five Religions

Christianity: Christianity has around 2.2 billion followers, which makes it the worlds largest religion. These followers are mostly based in Europe, North and South America, and Southern Africa. The different types of Christianity are Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Protestants, Lutherans, Methodists, Baptists, Anglicans, Presbyterians, and Episcopalians. The Founder of is Jesus Christ, and the Holy Book is the bible. Some of their beliefs are that Jesus is both human and divine, and that he is the Son of God. The Christian Clergy includes the Pope, Bishops, and Priests.
Islam: Islam has about 1.5 billion followers, and they are mostly in Indonesia, the Middle East, and North Africa. There are two different types the Sunnis (70-90%) and the Shiits (10-20%). The Founder of the Religion is Muhammad, and the Holy Book is the Qu'ran. Islam's beliefs are monotheistic, the Five Pillars, and Islamic Law.
Hinduism: Hinduism currently has around 1.1 billion followers, and they are mostly located in Nepal and India. The Holy Book is the Vedas, which are eternal truths revealed to ancient sages. There is no distinct founder of Hinduism. It is also a series of intellectual or philosophical points of view, rather than a rigid, strict set of beliefs. Hinduism is also the oldest extant religion.
Buddhism: Buddhism has around 500 to 1.5 billion followers, and they are mostly located in Southeast Asia, China, Nepal, and Japan. The founder is Siddhartha Gautama. The denominations are Tibetan, Zen, Theravada, and Amidist. Buddhism is based off of the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path.
Judaism: Judaism has around 14 to 18 million followers and they are located in Israel and the United States. The Founder is Abraham, and the Holy Book is the Torah, which is basically just the first five books of the Old Testament. The beliefs include ethical monotheism, and that God is one, and concerned with the actions of humankind. The rules of Judaism are the Ten Commandments, and the 13 principals of faith.

Three Questions On Religion *Answered*

1. The first of the four basic Vedic texts in use today is Rig-Veda, and it is used for recitation. The second is the Sama-Veda, which is used for chanting. The third is Yajur-Veda, and its purpose is to be used in liturgies. The third and final text is Atharva-Veda, which is named after a group of priests, and is used for magical incantations.
2. Indulgences were used to forgive a major sin, or to "help" a person get into heaven from purgatory. Indulgences could be paid for, and also be given to a person if they do enough good deeds. Martin Luther rejected the idea of Indulgences, because he believed that only God could forgive a major sin, or let a person move on to heaven from purgatory. My research led me to various websites that were full of useless information, but I eventually stumbled upon a website with good information.
3. Hajj is a pilgrimage to the Holy city of Mecca that every adult muslim has to make within their life at least once. This pilgrimage is a crucial step in the Five Pillars of Islam. The pilgrimage starts when a muslim is around six miles away from the holy city. The person enters a state of holiness and puts on different clothes. Once the pilgrim enters Mecca, they walk several times around a shrine, kiss a black stone, pray twice, and then run several times between to provinces. The next step is to visit holy places outside of Mecca, and sacrifice an animal. Then, they throw seven stones at three pillars. Finally, the pilgrim returns to Mecca and does a farewell ritual.

The Last of the Five Major Religions PowerPoint

    The last religion we discussed was Judaism. Judaism has around 14-18 million followers today, and they are mostly located in Israel and The United States. The founder is Abraham, and the Holy Book is the Torah, which is basically the first five books of the Old Testament. Jewish people believe in ethical monotheism, and that God is one as well as concerned with the actions of humankind. The main rules for the Jewish people are the ten commandments and the 13 principals of faith. Yesterday in class we took a test on different quotes from the Qu'ran and the Bible. It took us awhile to get a 95% on it, but towards the end of class we managed to get 19/20.

More on the Five Major Religions

     The third largest religion in the world is Hinduism, which has around 1.1 billion followers. Most Hindus are located in India and Nepal. The Holy book of Hinduism is the Vedas, which are eternal truths revealed to ancient sages, and is meant to be sung so it can be easily memorized. Hinduism has no distinct founder, which is very different from Christianity and Islam. Hinduism is a series of intellectual or philosophical points of view, rather than a rigid, strict set of beliefs. It is most likely the oldest religion still practiced to date. Hinduism is less of a religion then a way of life. Buddhism has around 500 million to 1.5 billion followers, whom are mostly located in southeast Asia, China, Nepal, and Japan. The founder of Buddhism is Siddhartha Gautama. The different denominations of Buddhism are Tibetan, Zen, Theravada, and Amidist. It is based off of the four truths and the Eight fold Path.

Two of the Five Major Religions

     The first of the five major religions is Christianity and it has around 2.2 billion followers. Most of the believers are in Europe, the Americas, and Southern Africa. The different types of christians are Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestants (and all of its forms). The founder is Jesus Christ, and the holy book is the bible. The main belief of Christianity is that Jesus is both human and divine, and he is the son of God. The second of the five major religions is Islam, and it has around 1.5 billion followers. They are mostly located in Indonesia, the Middle East, and Northern Africa. The two different types of Islam are the Sunnis(70-90%) and the Shiites(10-20%). The founder of Islam is Muhammad and he lived from 570-632 A.D. The holy book is the Qur'an and is sometimes pronounced as the Koran. The main belief is the five pillars.