Ishmael Parable

There was a long silence. I stood on the ground. I couldn’t believe my eyes. This was not good. I walked and walked. Weird sounds and creatures appeared simultaneously. No. No. Did I travel to the wrong place? That’s not possible. I did it the way professor told me to. I looked at the creature that was looking at me. It’s quite beautiful. But that’s not why I was there. I was there to do something. Research. Yes, I remembered clearly that I was there to do research. I didn’t want to disappoint my professor so I flew.
I flew in the sky. I recalled what the professor said, “Tall square gray rocks”. I was supposed to find those rocks. I couldn’t find them. I saw many brown sticks with green stuff on them, but no gray rocks. Suddenly, I noticed something. In a close distance, I saw a lot of them. “Tall square gray rocks.” I said to myself. That’s it. No joke. That was what my research would base on. “What the heck!” I shouted like a baby. The professor lied. He said there would be creatures that look like us. Nothing was there. Nothing. I forgot what the professor taught me. It was ten years ago. I opened my lab-top and turned it on.
I found the file that professor gave me. It had all the information about my mission. Okay, my mission was to save the world. That was clear. Let me explain to you why. My hometown was in danger. It was facing destruction. My mission was a to find a solution from this place. Our ancestors lived here. I knew what I wanted to find. Our ancestors. They were supposed be around these tall gray square rocks. However, I couldn’t see any of them. I flew again. I flew out of the gray rocks. I was flying on top of green stuff again.
Suddenly, I saw something moving. Quietly, I moved beside the object. It was the creature that I wanted to find. I walked up to that creature and said, “Hi, my people are facing some problems. We’re dying off.” The creature was the same specie as my people. It’s a female. It’s a girl.
“Why?” the girl said.
“I don’t know. That’s why I am here” I replied.
“I don’t know either”
There was a long silence. “I am here to find my ancestors” I broke the silence. “I’m guessing you are my ancestor.”
“No, I am not. I am different from you guys. Your ancestors are gone.” She said indifferently.
“That’s impossible,” I said impatiently, “According to the file, our ancestors are living just fine.”
“That’s a lie,” She laughed. “Why do you think they left this place?”
“They left because…what’s this place called anyway?”
“The earth.”
“I know. That’s what file tells me also. The file tells me that you are my ancestor.”
“Well, I am not,” She smiled “I am not a destroyer.”
“ I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I said angrily.
“Well, your real ancestors are gone. They destroyed themselves. That’s why part of them moved to your world.”
“No, no, that’s not the real story.”
“If you don’t believe me. Then go and fine them yourself. You will never find them.”
I looked at her. She seemed to be serious. So, I believed her in the end. “So, how do I prevent the same thing from happening again?”
“You can’t”
“What’s the truth? How should we live?”
“There’s no truth.”
“She’s talking nonsense.” I murmured in my mouth.
“You guys are doomed to face extinction because of your mindset. There’s no truth. You will never find the truth.”
“Who are you?” I shouted.
“I am the kind of creature you never want to become. A creature that is free.”
I walked away slowly. I couldn’t take it anymore. It was time for me to go. I walked to the machine that brought me here. I sat in the machine. That girl had nothing. She was naked. She was the kind of creature that I wanted to find. Nonetheless, she didn’t possess the technology and all that stuff that are described in the file. I turned on the machine and pressed the special button.
10 years passed. I finally traveled back to my world. I couldn’t believe what I had just seen. My world was destroyed. Everything was destroyed. I saw my professor lying on the floor dying. I sat beside him.
“It’s too late,” he said, “I know what you want to say.”
“What?”
“You haven’t found out the truth yet. You are the only one who can do the job now. Leave now, and create your own world. The world with free men.” He died right after he finished the sentence.
“That’s why I am here,” I said to myself. “I am here to find the truth. I am the chosen one.”

Instinct

This is a magnificent and moving film. I like Ethan Powell's unique way of thinking and living. The part I like the most is when Ethan Powell presses Theo Caulder on the table and asks him "What did I take from you?" and Ethan, almost choking to death, said "illusions". That ties back to the book Ishmael. We have all these illusions that we're in control. We're not in fact. Ethan finds freedom in the forest living with gorillas. Theo isn't free. Like the rest of us, he has to play the game. This reminded me of The Catcher in the Rye. The protagonist of the book Holden Caulfield mentions about the game of life also. We are controlled by this game that we have to play. We don't have to true freedom. We play with the rules of the game. I want to experience what Ethan experienced: living in complete freedom. Ethan realizes that we don't control anything. The game controls us. Ethan chooses to quit the game and live outside of it. We won't lose anything living outside of the game because we don't have control over anything in the first place. We only have illusions. This film also tells us that freedom is not just a dream; it can be fulfilled. The last scene of him walking into the forest is absolutely touching. I want to be able to do that too.

The Knowledge

The Leavers have followed the past from the beginning of human existence and the Takers have created new lifestyles for every generation. I actually don't think there's anything wrong with that. That's what make us, Takers, special. We generate new lifestyles. Leaver has a system that works well for them because it evolved among them. They have adapted to the environment. Unlike Leavers, we don't adapt to the environment, we change it so it suits us. I am confused about this one. I kind of feel that something is wrong about that and I kind of don't. I don't know if it's right to change the environment for us. The knowledge of what works well for production is valued in our society according to Ishmael, and I agree on that. What's one big reason we go to school? Of course is to be productive in the future. We are destroying everything that's not suitable for us, I think that's what Ishmael suggests. It's ugly, I concur. This ties back to the theme of how things came to be this way. Things came to be this way since we value differently from others, which, in my opinion, has nothing wrong.

Mugabe and the Tree of Knowledge

Mugabe is a man who controls Zimbabwe. He believes what he does is right without considering the other aspects of the situation. He is probably cognizant of what he has done to the people of Zimbabwe, but unfortunately, he is convinced that Zimbabwe is on the right track even when its inflation rate has reached 11 million percent. He thinks he has tasted the tree of knowledge, the knowledge of right or wrong. Maybe the saying that absolute power equals to absolute corruption is right.

Frankly, I am appalled by the article. The situation in the Zimbabwe is so bad and Mugabe still thinks that everything is fine. I can't believe that a man with such great power is so out of his mind. He thinks he is the God of Zimbabwe and has the right to do anything he wants. Mugabe is crazy. He fought for freedom before and now he fights against it. As Mugabe gained power, he probably became conscious of what power could do. As time passed, as he gained more and more power each day, he began to think of himself as the God.

What Mugabe is doing in Zimbabwe is totally unacceptable. He's slaughtering people who go against him. The fact that there are people in Zimbabwe who are willing to support Mugabe's ferocious attempts perturbs me. I am also upset about the fact that other nations are not doing anything effective. Sooner or later, for Zimbabwe, Mugabe will become the God of Destruction. He will destroy Zimbabwe if things keep on going like this. With inflation rate as high as 11 million, I don't see how this nation can survive in the future.

It's interesting to think about it, Mugabe was like Nelson Mandela, a hero. Now, one is still respected as a hero, one is considered as a devil. In my opinion, no man should own the true knowledge of right and wrong or image he does. It's always not to late to admit one's faults. I hope Mugabe will admit the fact that he has not tasted the Tree of Knowledge and what he has done is totally wrong.

p.s
It's really random, but maybe Obama can do something about this when he moves into the white house? ha ha

Dance Questions

How did the site of DongMen alter the choreography that you created in the classroom?

The site was bigger than we thought so we had to adjust our positions. The floor was rife with ponds so we had to avoid them. Overall, what we created was the same with what we performed.


Now that you know this site better; If you were to go back to Dongmen what would you add or subtract from your choreography to make it stronger?

I would try to make our choreography creepy since the site is creepy. I would add more creepy dance moves so we looked more like ghost dancers. I would maybe shoot it at night so it would look like a ghost town.

Reflexion de Presentacion

La actividad era útil porque yo aprendi sobre vocabulario en Español. Yo mejoré mi canto tambien. Sin embargo, no practique bastante, si habriamos practicado, hubiera sido mejor. Fuí nervioso cuando presenté en asamblea. Salio bien. Me gusto la actividad porque era interestante. No me gusta presentar porque soy un mal cantante. Quizás vamos a hacer una drama en Espanol, ja ja. Una de la mejores calidades de la cultura española y latina es la pasion. Pasion para el amor, pasion para los amigos, pasion para la vida. Viviendo la vida alegremente es una gran parte de la vida.

The Web of Life

Before I commence writing my blog entry, I would like to show you a part of a Chief Seattle's speech on March 11, 1854. This speech relates to E.O Wilson's Ted about how the web of life is being destroyed.

"You must teach your children that the ground beneath their feet is the ashes of your grandfathers. So that they will respect the land, tell your children that the earth is rich with the lives of our kin.

Teach your children what we have taught our children, that the earth is our mother.

Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of the earth. If men spit upon the ground, they spit upon themselves.

This we know: The earth does not belong to man; man belongs to the earth. This we know.

All things are connected like the blood which unites one family. All things are connected.

Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of the earth.

Man did not weave the web of life: he is merely a strand in it.

Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself."

This is a part of Chief Seattle's speech that was given on March 11, 1854.

According to E.O. Wilson, enormous amount of species are disappearing and most of them are unknown to us. In the future, our natural world may be in danger, and it will definitely affect us. Things will be unstable, including us. Maybe the law Ishmael refers to its diversity. The diversity of life is vital to nature because all things are connected. Just like the society Ishmael describes, A's, B's and C's, none of them can live without one another. An unknown organism might be crucial to our existence, we just don't know.

Chief Seatle said in his speech, man did not create the web of life, man is just a part of the web. If a string is cut off, the entire web might collapse. E.O. Wilson's proposal of a Encyclopedia of Life will make all key informations of life accessible. Understanding all the species has one most significant purpose, to preserve our biosphere, the web of life. If we're able to understand them, then we might be able to manage them and fix the problems we're causing in biosphere. We should recognize the importance of diversity. What we do to the web will come back to us. "Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself."

Laws for building a civilization.

From what we have read so far, we conclude that Ishmael believes that there are laws that exist regarding to how a civilization should be built. However, I don't see how there could be universal laws that suit every civilization. Civilizations in the history that collapsed all appeared in different locations, in other word, the environments were entirely dissimilar. In that case, the chance of having the same cause for collapse was low. There are physics laws, such as the 3 Newton Laws but it's hard to imagine that there are laws exist to indicate whether a civilizational flight will truly fly or not. In science, there are right and wrong, but is there a right or wrong way to save our civilization? That's something we can think about. Hopefully, Ishmael will convince me later that there are universal laws.

If there are, according to Ishmael, laws that govern the success or collapse of a civilization, then as humans we are definitely ignoring them. Serious problems are occurring right now, such as the lack of natural resources: gasoline, clean water, and trees. These phenomenons show that things are getting worse, and we are not doing anything significant to fix the problems. Maybe it's because we don't recognize the laws, or maybe there are no laws, maybe we are doomed to face extinction. If there are laws for civilization, then we should start following them right now.

The universe was created for us

Well, I made this blog entry a little bit different. It's a game. You have to guess who I am. It's more than one creature though.

A. The trees were created so we can rest when we're tired. We get tired because we have to hunt for our food. God created foods for us though. God made the mice and snakes so we won't be hungry. The sky is created for us too. We have huge advantage over other creatures since we're flying. We're the king of the world.

B. We dominate the world since everything revolves around us. The grasslands are for us to run and play. The antelopes are creatures made by God for us to eat. The caves are our houses. The river is providing water for us. I bet the universe came to be this way because of us.

C. We're a lucky group of creatures. We live in a place where everything is good for us. We're lazy but it's okay, what we eat exists everywhere. We call it bamboo. All we do is we eat bamboos and do nothing else. God is nice too us, God made us the focus of the world since we're the happiest.

A. Eagle

B. Lion

C. Panda

How do we become conscious of the ethical and social rules in our societies?

We become conscious of the rules in our societies by thinking about it. I didn't feel like we're caged before, until one day we had to blog about comparing gorillas in the cage to our past. I was suddenly enlightened after that post, I realized something: I am no free man, never was, never
will be. However, most of us don't become conscious because we don't want to.

We keep trying to hide from the fact that we live under rules. We lie to ourselves that we all live under freedom. We don't see the ethical and social rules we have. We see them as natural,
however, they're not, they're something we have developed in the history of mankind. We can only fulfill complete freedom when there's no rules.

Only when we question ourselves, "are we really free?", then we'll become aware of the rules. There's nothing wrong if one is not conscious, one's life is still the same. One's life will still be the same if one is aware, it does not mean one is free. One might see thing different, but one still has to follow the rules.

Endangered Cultures

I always have liked cultural diversity. I like to see how different people live their lives. However, many cultures around the globe are facing extinction; a language disappears every 2 weeks. If we don't do something now, soon, there will only be few main cultures existing, which is bad. Cultures are what define us as people, and we can't afford losing them.

Indigenous people have lived on their territories and have the same kind of life styles for thousands of years already. They may not have impressive technology like us, but many of them certainly have better spiritual lives and have made profound spiritual discoveries. They have the hearts to treat enemies nicely, that's something many of us won't be able to achieve. They know how to treat nature with respect and live with dignity. They don't destroy nature just because of their own benefits.

I'm not saying indigenous people are better than us, we're just different. We have made many great technological and scientific discoveries in our history. We have more complicated lives in a physical way. We have so much stuff going on in our daily lives. What I'm trying to say is that indigenous people have the right to exist and we should try our best to save endangered cultures.


P.S
We were asked in class if we would live with a particular group of indigenous people for a year. My answer right now is no. I would love to live with some of them for a while but not a year. I have lived my entire life in city. I am part of the technology world already. Maybe I'll change my mind when I grow older and become more mature. To be honest, I can't take that right now. Nonetheless, if I do change my mind, I will to use the opportunity to better my spiritual life.

Past to now = A gorilla going to a zoo

We talked in class about how wild gorillas have freedom and ones in zoos don't. This fact relates to the history of mankind in a interesting and confusing way: we're basically caged in various aspects like a gorillas in zoos.

First of all, we have something in our society called "morals", codes for our behaviors. They restrict us from killing, stealing, and etc. They basically tell us about what's right and what's wrong. When human beings were still primitive, they did whatever it took to survive regardless of anything. Somehow, humans developed a mentality that set the limits, and somehow we came to idea that certain conducts are "immoral". Our behaviors and mindsets are restricted by the rising bars of the cage.

Laws are rules to ensure that people who violate morals are punished. Laws add bars to our cage. Now, everyone have to follow the rules. Laws prevent us from doing what creators consider as immoral since we're afraid of consequences. During mankind's primitive period, there's no such things as laws, one would not be locked in a cell because of killing someone. Our behaviors and mindsets, once again, are even more restricted.

Knowledge adds a huge bar to our cage. The power of knowledge limits our ideas; it forces us to think practically and face reality. One came from a impoverished background wouldn't think of becoming the richest person since one sees the impossibility of that goal. Mankind uses knowledge to measure the chance of almost everything. For instance, children often think of flying to the moon or becoming super heroes, however, as we grow up and gain more knowledge, we realize that our dreams during childhood are just dreams, unrealistic ideas that will never be done.

Money is a bar also. Before we had money, one worked in order to continue one's life span, now we work for money. We always think about money when we're about to start something. The power of money controls what we do and think. One would do many things for money since one presume that money makes life better. We work for a long period in our lives, because if we don't, we don't gain enough money, and the lack of money creates problems. Money restricts our mindsets and behaviors by becoming the common goal we're fighting for.

Our lives are caged by abstract bars, unlike gorillas in the zoo, they're caged by the physically real bars. Mankind has built these bars to ensure the stability of individual lives in a society. Society itself is like a zoo keeper, it puts individuals into cages they belong in order to preserve the whole society all together. One would be considered an outcast if one is not caged. Most of the people are caged willingly because they know their lives would be stabler and their survival would be guaranteed. It's all part of the plan.

The "Choices" we made

Our global situation right now is in a way good and bad. We have technology but we have also created many problems such as over-population, pollution, global warming and war. What leads to our situation right now is that we choose to sacrifice environment for our own benefits and conveniences. We create big factories to produce objects we like and need, but factories are making lots of waste. We choose to use plastic things because they're convenient. We choose to take shower for a long time because we feel good. Not everybody chooses to sacrifice the environment, but most. Since industrialization, we have already made the choice.

Most of time people are thinking about how to benefit themselves rather than how to benefit the environment. That's the reason why people have developed technology, which is good, but that also has brought bad effects on the environment. As a human race, we always have prioritized our economy and our survival; we don't look at the big picture, what might benefit us right now might destroy us in the future. I believe our human nature has brought us to where we are right now.

Craig Kielburger

Craig Kielburger is a child rights activist and the founder of the organization "Free The Children" that has built more 500 primary schools throughout Asia, Africa and Latin America, providing daily education for more then 50,000 kids. The astonishing thing is that he began when he was at the age of 12. He was reading comics on the news paper when he saw an article about a 4 year old Pakistani who had to work. He was surprised since he didn't know children like him were suffering in other parts of the world. He researched about child labor and he wanted to do something about it; he had great ambitions. He had ideas of traveling around Asia. However, his mom didn't allow him to do such crazy things. He spent 8 months trying to persuade her and finally succeeded. Craig went to Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan to interact with child workers at the age of 13. 25 years old now, he has traveled to more than 40 countries, speaking out for children's rights and was nominated for Nobel peace prize. He's got a fantastic personality.

I chose Craig Kielburger because I saw his name when I was researching and was actually fascinated by his story. He has a grand dream to free the children who are forced to do what they shouldn't be doing because of war, poverty or etc. Not only he has the dream, he also has an unbreakable heart. He journeyed through world with determination just to help the kids around the world. In addition, he has arranged speeches and fund raising activities in a extremely young. These are things the most "kids" can't do. His courage, love and determination inspired me.

I was inspired by Craig Kielburger because I didn't know that a "kid" could actually do so much. I was keen to do something and I thought that I could actually make difference too. However, when I look at the reality, it disappoints me. The problem is that I am not as talented as Kielburger, not as determined and not as selfless. I don't have his ability to raise money, make speeches, or write books. I can't do anything because I'm just a normal adolescent, unlike Kielburger, a hero. I can be different, I can do something in my own life but after all I'm just one out of 6 billion, an small ant compare to this gigantic world. However, I'll do my best to make this world a better place. I might not be the leading one, but I will definitely be a part of it.

"Craig Kielburger." Free The Children. 16 Jun 2008 .

"Peace"

I would define peace as a freedom from disturbance. I can be in peace myself if I'm free from disturbance. However, that's just myself. National wise, if people aren't fighting each other violently, that's also peace. Finally, the peace of the world, if nations aren't having war with each other, I would consider that peace.

String

The idea of gravity doesn't work in quantum world. That's very interesting, there's two different rules in the same world. I was confused by that notion.
This film is amazing, since I feel like I grasp the big picture of the universe. The universe is elegant and beautiful. We humans are just a small part of it.
If we can manage to truly understand string theory, it would be awesome because we understand everything in the universe. However, I personally don't think that we would comprehend it anytime soon. It might take years and years to simply prove the theory.
I am fascinated about strings, I want to know more about it. I hope in my life time I can comprehend the universe, yet I do know that is almost impossible.

Science: Aceleration down a frictionless incline

This project was meant to be a group project. Jae and I were on the same team. Overall, we worked well. In the beginning, we weren't motivated enough. However, when it came to the end, we worked arduously. From this expedition, we comprehended the first two newton's laws. If Mr. Loken used the tradition way of teaching, it would be dull. Nevertheless, he let us learn from doing experiments ourself. We discovered elements in science that we did not know before. We had some heavy math but we surmounted all the problems. I was glad that it was a success.

Escape From Huang Shi

This film touched me. George Hogg, his spirit will never be forgotten. His courage, compassion, and love are all admirable. He's British, he's not Chinese, not even close, but he helps the Chinese refugees with a selfless heart. Lee is respectable too, even though she might not have the same strength as Hogg, but she has done so much for the children of Huang Shi. Jack Chen is a interesting person, he is Hogg's closest friend and a strong supporter. He saves Hogg's life a several times. I love all these characters, they're so genuine. These 3 people save 60 lives. They even put their lives into it. I like the plot too. I like that the film doesn't focus on the Nanjing Massacre, but on the moving story that happens in Huang Shi. Many people die in the movie, and these deaths make the film even stronger.
I think it's absolutely horrible when Hogg sees the slaughter. He is so terrified in that scene to see the Chinese civilians getting killed. I was nervous when I saw that part, I have no idea why though.
When Chin hangs himself, I felt so sad, he's a nice boy and all. He is so obedient to Hogg, he's like the best student. He trusts Hogg, but fear still overcomes the trust.
I was so depressed when I saw the white flag in the end, since I knew who died. I will never forget what he had done.

Movie Project

I personally think that I've gained much more understanding about land mines. I didn't realize that people are still laying and manufacturing mines in the ground around the world. I think my song "Tears in Heaven" really suits my theme of sadness and the lives of the victims. Many of them have the same experience as Eric Clapton, like losing a family member. I hope I can move our students when I present this video clip.

Science Self-Evaluation

I would give 2.0 for my person of high character because I don't cheat, steal or lie. I don't cause any troubles in class. I know when to stop.
Secondly, I give myself 1.5 for critical thinker and problem. I can solve problems most of the time, however, sometimes I don't think enough. Like I made stupid little mistakes when we were doing the steel ball lab.
I would give 2.0 for community contributing. When my classmates ask me questions, I'm always willing to assist them. I'm on time. I don't interrupt Mr. Loken speaking in class.
I would give myself 1.5 for effective communicator, I am an average communicator. Sometimes, Mr. Loken doesn't get what I'm trying to say.
I would give myself 2.0 for active learner. When we have homework, I always try my best to finish them. When I have problems, I always ask. I always go up to Mr. Loken and ask. For the recent test, I did my best on the test. I didn't skip any questions just because I don't know.

Issac Newton

Everyone knows who's Isaac Newton, I know him. However, I'm not acquainted with him. I know he's a scientist, physicist. An European. A student from Cambridge. I heard the story of the apple dropping on his head. I studied about his 3 laws, but I forgot what they are. I only know that he is one of the most important men in our history.

Stop Landmines

The video we watched was telling us how land mines can hurt people. It's actually a sad story if that really happens. I wasn't shocked or anything since I think the video itself is not real. It could not have occurred in the States. However, the film is trying to tell us that if this really took place in your country, would you stand for it. It's a excellent way to express this idea. If I was one of the parents, I would be extremely scared and worried when that happened. It's horrible if this occurred anywhere in the world, not only U.S, I think this is what the film is trying to tell us. This terrible clip can be true in many places around the world, such as Africa, Colombia and Asia. I'm glad to see that the U.N is really doing something to help like advertisements. Nonetheless, I don't like the video itself.

Gun Violence

There will always be guns in our world, because nations require them in order to protect themselves. Guns shall not exist on the street though, they're too dangerous for that. If I can create a ideal society without gun violence, there are several things that I will do. First of all, I would work on the law, no one is allowed to have guns except soldiers and police. This would be helpful for the community since it's secure. I will work on the economy and education. With good economy, crime rate will be low. With low crime rate, gun violence would be reduced too. My educational system will include lessons about violence. The kids will learn how guns harm and kill people, so they won't want to be possess them. I will try to destroy the black market for weapons so people can't get them illegally. People want to feel safe, so I will encourage them to hold tasers which can not kill people but injure them. People who own guns will be punished. I hope this system can make sure that gun violence is vanished.

Science

Today we learned about physics. Physics is really important. We learn about many stuff, with all the equations. I'm more interested in physics now. I hope I can under stand how stuff in our natural world work. How things move and everything. It's great.