I saw a movie called Troy which was released on May 14, 2004 based upon the Trojan War. Sparta and Troy are allies that were neutral with the Greeks at first. Agamemnon of Mycenae, Greece tries to maintain power over Sparta and Troy. During the reign of Menelaus of Sparta, his wife Helen cheats on him with Prince Paris of Troy. A war simply breaks out because of an affair.

Another film that depicts war is Forrest Gump. In this film, the main character which is Forrest enlists into the Vietnam War. As a child, he was always picked on and teased about. After enlisting into the war and going through training, look-out procedures, assembling their equipment in a little bit of time and scrubbing floors. He does not seem like he knows what is going on around him and the fact that they are at war. When his best friend Bubba dies in the middle of combat he saves most of his platoon. In this film, I did not see much action of gun shooting but mostly about his love life with Jenny. He is discharged from the war due to a bullet to that hit his butt-tox.

In a recent movie watched in class called Platoon was also about the Vietnam War. Characters were expressed as “back-stabbers” rather than allies. Chris Taylor played by Charlie Sheen seemed as though he was the only one with a soul to save the little girl from getting shot by Barnes. Another thing that this movie shows about war in general does not happen most of the time. This is the first movie I’ve seen where villages are torched, innocent civilians are killed, and soldiers from the same side are killing one another.

Wars are created because of power, money, and property. Soldiers are also shown in these films as potheads, killers, and a no-hearted person.

oh boyyyyyy

The group and I went to NYPL of Performing Arts on Friday. Yes, a lovely day to stay in doors on a rainy day and explore. Noel, Hema, Dino, Nick, and George went directly to the second level to see what was there. There was Art collections and scripts that were really old. There were also useful audio tapes of music in the past. We didn't spend alot of time on the first two floors. Instead, we spent most of our visit to library on the third floor. It was the most interesting floor out of all. We all wondered in our own directions and I noticed that alot of the materials and books were in different languages. In most of the books on the third floor involved women in some way. Either it was emotionally, physically, or verbally. I also came upon one aisle that were filled with european pornography. and then everyone was interseted in the aisle I was at. lol While we were leaving I noticed there were 3-4 people sitting in a glass-boxed room with headphones on. They were watching dance videos and music videos. Would of spent more time in the library but it was frigid cold! So we left and went our seperate ways.

So I recently read an article on how lip gloss is not all about glamour! Unless the lip gloss you are wearing contains SPF… I am glad I don’t use lip gloss, only on occasions. It is intersresting because it has a connection to global warming. Since the sun is more effective and more UV rays come through...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24190829/




I also went to Uno's Chicago Grill on Saturday for a friend's birthday dinner. It was just nasty having to sit with about 5-6 men and talk about what they do after they eat. LOL! Yes, my dinner wasn't as pleasant as I wanted it to be. Is that all men talk about; feces? kinda strange...

Mother's Day is this Sunday and I have no clue what I want to get my mother. She is a very hard person to please. lol She gets upset when I spend my money and she gets mad when I don't get her anything so what shall I do? Hmmm..

Anyway, I am still trying to process the whole going green situation. I have been using glass cups rather than buying plastic cups. Usually my father buys the PC's and we use about 10 of them in one day on literally just drinking water... I also tried to not use paper as much but it's difficult to eliminate it completely. I went grocery shopping this weekend and the lady that bagged my brocery dobule bagged the food, I didn't find it nesscary... Straws too. What is the use of it? So many materials that are made are not even needed!

A visit to the NYPL

Libraries are not there just so it can look appealing but they are a source of knowledge in various sections. It allows the public to have access to books, references, indexes, information, reviews, and a variety of diverse information.

The visit to the first library was interesting. Each floor was organized according to the genre.

The fifth floor offered information about:

1. History
2. Law
3. Philosophy
4. Social services
5. Documentary
6. Movies on Historical Events
7. Historical Atlases
8. References
9. Psychology
10. Biographies

The fourth floor offered information about:

1. Computer Information
2. Internet Services
3. Periodicals
4. Indexes

The third floor offered information about:

1. Art
2. Language and Literature
3. Magazines
4. Indexes (Fiction)
5. Picture Collections
6. Photographs
7. Literary References
8. Reviews

The second floor offered information about:

1. Accessibility Services
2. Education
3. General Information
4. Help books on RESUMES
5. Pet Health
6. Encyclopedia
7. Test collection (SAT’s)
8. Job Information
9. Phone books

The first floor offered information about:

1. Tourist Information
2. Traveling
3. Computers
4. Fiction/ Non-fiction
5. Films/Videos/DVDS
6. Mystery books
7. Criminology
8. Oprah’s book club
9. Romance books
10. Jazz and Popular Music
11. Science fiction
12. Audio Cassettes

Out of all the floors we went to as a group, I found the first floor most fascinating…It is the most popular floor and I also observed that there were many people in different areas of the floor especially in the technology area.(films/videos/DVDS)

In addition we visited the NYPL with the lions in front. I forgot the man’s name but he gave us a tour of the library including his assistant. They told us that many interesting information about the things that we saw. Like the first makings of Winnie the Pooh and his gang, the bible, the painting on the walls of a man writing a manuscript in the ancient times. It was cool lol… The assistant offered advice about being assisted at the library if we need help on looking for a certain book. I don’t know if you guys were listening or not lol but she was bringing up the fact that most of the references and information they have are indeed helpful and how they have very fragile books that still exist.

Saving The Planet

Wow, I must say there are many ways in which we as humans can contribute to help the environment. Even if it’s just a tad bit, a little goes along way.

· In my kitchen most of the gadgets we use are metal, like our bowls and plates. It is so much easier to clean.

· I can always try and save energy by shutting my computer off before I leave the house, even if it’s just for 10 minutes.

· I recently subscribed to a magazine and instead of throwing it out, I can offer it to my friend that buys its monthly.

· After we are done with our laundry we hang them to dry.

· I usually buy a bottle of water and I use it for that week by refilling, but I should switch to a glass bottle like Dr. Smith.

· I don’t have a membership card for the gym because I DON’T NEED IT. You can exercise for free… plus most of the equipment at the gym requires electricity.

· I hate writing, so I think this semester is the best and the least I have written!

· I have a habit of keep the water running while I’m brushing my teeth so I guess it won’t hurt to turn it off.

· I guess it won’t hurt to change to fluorescent light bulbs. My bathroom is the only one that has a fluorescent light bulb.

· During the summer time we have BBQ’S we usually use the same trash bag to dump the coal until it’s ¾ full. But it’s also bad because the fumes that go into the air…

· I usually let my hair air dry, but the rest of my family blow dry their hair for a good 15 minutes, especially my sister and my mom.

· My sister unplugs her cell phone charger and only charges her phone if her battery hits below 25% I should do that too.

The information that ice cores and tree rings provide about the Earth's past climate is that
Ice Cores - when air bubbles and the massive ice itself and the amount of dust that are trapped in its way it changes the temperature, humidity, atmospheric circulation, volcanic activity, amount of the sea ice, and the pollution. A seasonal variation in atmospheric dust allows us to set apart the difference between the most recent layers and the older layers. The older layers seem to be no different than the recent because of the way it is compacted and the pressure against it.
In Sample 6, as more snow fall on the on the layer before it (older layer) it allows it to re-crystallize once again.



Tree Rings - In sample 13, my group and I examined the tree rings and if you look closely you can see that the outer most rings are thick. It also illustrates that the thin rings closer to the core imply that the season during the time was dry. (1441 to 1931)


The types of greenhouse gases that are important to Earth are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and the ozone. The most important one is water vapor because without it the Earth’s temperature will drop to a freezing point and below. Scientists believe that carbon dioxide is another way of keep the Earth at a warm temperature. It was said that due to the burning of fossil fuels that it has increased the quantity of carbon dioxide tremendously. Another contribution to the warming is the solar radiation. As radiation tries to escape, some of the warm heat is trapped by the green house gases.


My group and I experimented with the different levels of fossil fuels, Co2 and the extinction of the human race. We maximized the Co2 level and the result is that if this would happen, in the next 75 years all human kind would be extinct. HOWEVER, the level of Co2 will set the land back to the pre-industrial revolution period.




Here are some other exhibits we saw after our assignment:





I liked the tribal and native American exhibit the most! it was so fascinating to me how they lived life in the wild with only the natural resources around them. I would never be able to live like them. Without shampoo, comfortable shoes, and a source of real nutritonal food. I don't think I would make it through a day like that.

Gnosticism-argh!

Gnosticism is a rational and spiritual part of the Christianity times. People also known as Gnostics believed that the knowledge they knew were beyond what normal human beings knew, which was about the diving God and about the universe during the 1st century. Gnosticism is the belief of us as humans are stuck in a world where all human being soul is trapped in a materialistic world. However, I’m confused about all the different terms they are using. Anyway, it is very similar to “Allegory of The Cave” and “The Matrix”. It seems though it is a vision and not reality. Gnosticism is also said that to free one self we must be open-minded by the spiritual knowledge of gnosis.

The similarities between all three are that the knowledge we hold about reality may not be real. For it to be real and for us to believe, we have to explore and be able to gain information. In The Matrix, Neo is stuck in a world of where everything is based on the machines and their machinery they have created. Neo does not believe that it is true at first until he enters the realm and to gain the data that it is real he must understand it and take part in it. In The Allegory of The Cave, prisoners assumed that the shadows were whispering to them. However, it is themselves that they hear. The prisoner tend to believe what they hear and see but they don’t think in a rational way until they are introduced to the land above their cave.

Annoyance

people get me so fustrated when they do the following:

- take their time walking when there is a whole mob behind them and EXPECT not to be pushed and trampled on.(esp. during rush hour)
- be rude and EXPECT you to be happy and giggly towards them
- pay for anything in general and complain about the pricing but still keep it! and yet in fact buy another

idk i guess i have an issue with certain things like these. i've worked at mcdonald's for over 2 years and it's like i see the same face everyday and they complain about the drinks having too much ice, not enough pickles, not enough ketchup for their french fries, but still come back....
ahhhh the weekend is almost here i am suppose to be happy but i'm not!... it means i gotta work for d money..lol

The Allegory of the Cave

Allegories have various meanings according to what you are connecting it to. I believe that an allegory is a way of expressing a meaning or a thought through showing someone the true meaning of what underlies reality.


The Allegory of the Cave was originally told from the teachings of Socrates. Socrates student Plato was so compelled with his teachings that he wrote everything down. He turned his teachings into dialects and forms of lessons. For example, Plato compares the prisoners down in the cave s reactions to their own shadows compared to the ones above.
Surrounding an open-lit fire, the prisoners make hand-puppets and a mixture of things out of their hand that creates shadows against the wall(s) The prisoners believe that their shadows are real, when on for the men speak, resulting to the prisoners being ignorant.

On the other hand, if a prisoner were to discover the layer above them (land, sun) they would feel misplaced at first. Socrates is trying to say that if the prisoners stay in the cave they will never learn the truth. If the prisoners stayed in the cave they would not realize why the sun sets and why it rises at a certain time during the year. Socrates was a man that strived for the truth and knowledge of every view point in life. He questioned every motive of why things existed and why it was real.


This sense of knowledge is similar to the movie, The Matrix in many aspects. Neo seemed to believe that The Matrix was some game to him. Although, he found out the truth about The Matrix is actually the real world he searches for unanswered questions. His conquest was to realize that what he was pursuing was real.

The Matrix

The Matrix film came out in 1999 and today we are in the new milli. of the year 2008. It's been quite a long time when I first saw it. I didn't UNDERSTAND at all. Now that I am older and more knowledge the film made more sense to me. The graphics were great, but it was a little too much. In my opinion, I love films based on real life/story/event. So this film didn't interest me like other films do. I did like how the director put the scenes together of Tirnity, Neo, Switch, etc. in The Matrix(The Real World) and then in their normal bodies.

The settings and props were awesome... The part that interested me the most was when Neo and Morpheus were discussing about what was real and what was not. Morpheus explains to Neo that even though he sees things, smells, touches, and hear does not mean it was real. I also didn't like the ending because it was obvious that Neo was going to survive since everyone including the oracle claimed he is "The One"