Singing in the Rain

2012: The End of the World? Research Paper

2010-05-26T16:18:00.000-07:00

Recently there has been a lot of commotion over whether December 21, 2012 is the day the world will end or not. From earthquakes to tsunamis to the sun burning up the planet, the list goes on and on, but how valid are these claims? Who can predict how and when the world will end and who on this planet has the power to know when such a drastic event will occur?
Many people started to believe that December 21, 2012 is the day that the world will end, but where are these people coming up with these ideas? The people’s answer: “The Ancient Mayan calendar ends on this date.” Many people see this as a “prophecy” of the end of the world. According to Argüelles, December 21, 2012 is merely “the day the Maya Long Count Cycle of 5125.26 years ends and restarts” (Solare 1).
Originally, the Mayan calendars were short. The Mayans had one calendar lasting only 260 days, and they had another calendar lasting 365 days. The Mayans combined these two calendars to form what they called the “Calendar Round”, “a cycle lasting around 52 years” (O’Neill 1). This calendar was no good for recording events in history, so the Mayans came up with the “Long Count”, the calendar lasting 5125.26 years. The calendar “depends on a base unit of 20” (O’Neill 1). The Long Count “starts at “0.0.0.0.0”, so the first day…is denoted as 0.0.0.0.1” (O’Neill 1). This continues all the way to the 19th day. “On the 20th day, it goes up one level...[to] 0.0.0.1.0” (O’Neill 1). “13.0.0.0.0 represents 5125.26 years,” which just so happens to be December 21. 2012 (O’Neill 1).
Just because the Long Count calendar date ends on 13.0.0.0.0, or December 21, 2012, does not mean the world is going to end. O’Neill writes:
When something ends (even something as innocent as an ancient calendar), people seem to thing up the most extreme possibilities for the end of civilization as we know it. A brief scan of the internet will pull up the most popular to some very weird ways that we will, with little logical thought, be wiped off the face of the planet. Archaeologists and mythologists on the other hang believe that the Mayans predicted an age of enlightenment when 13.0.0.0.0 comes around; there isn’t actually much evidence to suggest doomsday will strike. (O’Neill 1)
According to Solare, “the Maya left not a single inscription anywhere indicating any…conditions that could accompany 2012” (Solare 1). Myths of 2012 have been proven wrong. Maloof says that “evidence in rocks confirm that continents have undergone…rearrangement but the process took [a long time],” so the idea of “breakaway continents [destroying] civilization” in a matter of a single day would be extremely unrealistic (Handwerk 1). A lot of people believe that there will be some kind of galactic alignment will cause unknown forces to be revealed and that these forces will somehow leave no hope for the planet. According to NASA’s Morrison, there will be no significant galactic alignment. University of Texas Maya expert David Stuart says “no ancient Maya text or artwork makes reference to anything of the kind” (Handwerk 1). It is also believed that there is some object floated around in space that is going to collide with earth. Morrison, NASA astrobiologist, reports that “there is no object out there…If there were a planet or a brown dwarf or whatever that was going to be in the inner solar system…, astronomers would have been studying it for the past decade, and it would be visible to the naked eye by now” so there is no way that there could be some strange object floating around out there.
The truth of the matter is that there is simply no evidence that the world is going to end on December 21, 2012. The Mayan calendar starts over at the end of it’s cycle just as ours does. O’Neill quotes Dr Karl’s “Great Moments in Science”:
…when a calendar comes to the end of a cycle, it just rolls over into the next cycle. In our Western society, every year 31 December is followed, not by the End of the World, but by 1 January. So 13.0.0.0.0 in the Mayan calendar will be followed by 0.0.0.0.1 – or good ol’ 22 December 2012. (O’Neill)

Works Cited
Handwerk, Brian. "2012: Six End-of-the-World Myths Debunked." Daily Nature and Science News and Headlines National Geographic News. 6 Nov. 2009. Web. 24 Apr. 2010. .
O'Neill, Ian. "No Doomsday in 2012." Universe Today. 19 May 2008. Web. 24 Apr. 2010. .
Solare, Rohaan. "– On the Trail of the Super Organism, The Question of 2012 and the Marvel of Maya Calendrics." Emergent Culture. Tuesday Dec. 2009. Web. 24 Apr. 2010. .
Stone, Mark V. "FAMSI - 2012: The End of the World?" FAMSI - Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies, Inc. Web. 24 Apr. 2010. .
Yeomans, Donald. "» Blog Archive » 2012 - A Scientific Reality Check." NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory Blog. 10 Nov. 2009. Web. 24 Apr. 2010. .

The Perfect Body Synthesis Essay

2010-05-26T16:10:00.000-07:00

In today’s society, if you are a female and are not extremely thin, or if you are a male and you are not muscular there seems to be a problem. All of the advertisements cause people to perceive that “normal bodies are not culturally acceptable” (Source E). There is no doubt that the media cause a lot of people to feel bad about their bodies.

Today’s models have unrealistic characteristics. Since the 90’s, the perfect body has been set at “5’10 in height and 110 pounds in weight” (Source F). “These weights are 13-19% lower than the average North American woman” (Source F). “Magazines and television shows [are] serving up ads [that] celebrate the waif look by portraying pencil-thin models” (Source A). It is no wonder that so many people are not satisfied with the way their bodies look.

Brumberg “reports that 53% of American girls are unhappy with their bodies at age thirteen [and] this grows to 78% by…seventeen” (Source B). Mundell’s studies show that “10 year olds…were dissatisfied with their own bodies after watching a music video” (Source B). According to a “study funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute”, 40% [of 9 to 10 year old girls] have tried to lose weight” (Source B). In source D, the cartoon shows two girls deciding no to talk about their bodies anymore. After the girls decide to do this, they have a hard time coming up with something to talk about. It is as if the media has pushed the unrealistic view of what a woman should look like so hard that it is all that women can think about.

Because of unrealistic views of the perfect body, many women are scared of being overweight. “The national Eating Disorders Association estimates that 91% or 10-year-olds are afraid of being fat and between 5-10 million girls and women…are struggling with eating disorders” (Source A). Anorexia Nervosa & Related Eating Disorders, Inc. says that “one out of every four college-aged women uses unhealthy methods of weight control-[such as] fasting, skipping meals…and self-induced vomiting” (Source G). Teen magazine reported that “35 percent of girls 6 to 12 years old have been on at least one diet and that 50 to 70 percent of normal weight girls believe they are overweight” (Source G).

Entertainment and Society Today Argument Essay

2010-05-26T15:48:00.000-07:00

In entertainment today, there is rarely a song without reference to sex or drugs or a show on television that does not have a pregnant teen or a “gay” couple. It is almost impossible to find a movie or song without some kind of vulgar language. In entertainment today, people seem to have a lack of morality. In today’s society, morals are quickly washing down the drain as well. Who is to say that modern entertainment has nothing to do with it?

On ABC Family’s The Secret Life of the American Teenager, one of the main characters, Amy, gets pregnant at fifteen years of age. Two other characters, Ricky and Adrian, are always having sex and yet two more characters, Jack and Grace, are claiming to be Christians but are lacking sexual morals as well. The title fits the show perfectly. Is this not how many teens act in today’s society? How many teenage girls got pregnant just ten years earlier compared to how many do now? I would say the numbers have increased. Many teens claim to go to church; they claim to be Christians, but many of them are out having sex on the weekend. Who can say that shows like The Secret Life of the American Teenager, which many teens watch, have not played a role in society today: People are influenced by what they expose themselves to.

The song Tik Tok by Kesha has become a very popular song, yet the whole song is a reference to sex and alcohol. In the song, Kesha sings lyrics like, “…before I leave brush my teeth with a bottle of Jack…”. Lyrics like this make it seem like it is okay to go out and get drunk all the time. What does this say about society today? I know many people that are out getting drunk on the weekends. I know a few people that are into drugs. Entertainment did not used to be this immoral; society did not used to be this immoral either. There is a connection between the two.

The more people watch and listen to vulgar shows and songs, the more likely they will be influenced by it. There is no way that there is no connection. As entertainment worsens, so do society’s morals.

Pink Flamingo Style Analysis Essay

2010-05-26T14:50:00.000-07:00

Jennifer Price looks down upon the American’s tendency to go along with what everybody else is doing, such as the flamingo trend, and how we should be better than that. She shows what America should be based on.

Price crafts her writing in a way that really reveals what her view of American culture is. She talks about the five species of flamingos feeding “in flocks on algae and invertebrates”. It is as if she is saying that Americans are spineless; she is saying that we feed off of what other people are doing, that we have no backbone to stand up and choose for ourselves. She talks about other cultures using the flamingo to represent important things, such as the sun god Ra in Egypt, where as Americans used the flamingo for style. Price is saying that Americans feed off of each other. She is saying that we do not focus on what is important.

Price’s use of sentence structure really gets her point across. In the first paragraph, Price talks about the flamingo being a synonym for wealth and pizzazz. She uses ellipsis as if to show an unfinished thought. She puts the ellipsis there to make the reader stop and think about the reality of the statement. In the third paragraph, Price writes about the “sassy pinks” being “the hottest color of the decade”. She uses quotation marks around these two phrases as if to mock Americans for the importance we put on trends.

2009-12-09T19:47:00.000-08:00

I read Do You Know the Monkey Man? by Dori Hillestad Butler (worth one book). This book was very good. It talks about a girls named Sam whose twin sister supposedly died when they were three years old. When Sam is told by someone that her sister is still alive, she starts to believe it and starts to search for her? Will Sam find her sister or is she really dead?

I read the books TTYL, L8RG8R, and TTFN by Lauren Myracle (three different books). This trilogy is about three best friends: Angela, Maddie, and Zoe. Each book is written in instanting messaging format all the way through the book. The books follow all three of the girls through out their high school careers. The books were very entertaining.

I read the book The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (worth two books). I enjoyed this book. Even though it was long and kind of drawn out, it was interesting enough to keep me reading. I just couldn't put the book down most of the time! The story of Amir is a sad but touching story.

Lowering the Legal Drinking Age?

2009-11-15T11:33:00.000-08:00

Many people believe the legal drinking age should be lowered, but I disagree. There are many negative effects of lowering the legal drinking age.

A lot of college presidents and university presidents think that the legal drinking age is not effective and should be lowered. People will find a way to drink whether it is legal for them to be doing so or not so the law is never completely effective anyway. Also, most people that are under twenty-one are not mature enough or responsible enough to be drinking.

Lowering the legal drinking age would result in more car accidents. Car crashes are the leading cause of teenage death, and a lot of the accidents are caused by driving while intoxicated. Just as Pam Richter said, "There are already [enough] distractions for teen drivers." We need not add alcohol to the list.

http://www.news-record.com/content/2008/11/25/article/editorial_essay_drinking_age_should_stay_21

Texting While Driving Should Be Banned!

2009-11-08T19:37:00.000-08:00

Texting while driving is bad, period! It can cause drivers to become distracted from the roadway, which is never ok. Although Mr. Balko is right about the fact that there are other forms of distraction while on the road, studies have shown that a person is twenty-three times more likely to get into an accident while texting. In fact, texting while driving is nearly as dangerous as driving while intoxicated.

I know a person whose stepfather was killed in an accident because the person that hit them was not paying attention because she was texting while she was driving. Now that family has to live every day without him by teir side, and the lady that hit them has to live with the guilt of killing that poor innocent man.

Texting hehind the wheel should be illegal nationwide. If this were to happen, families would be less hurt by loss of loved ones, people would not have to live with the guilt of killing someone, and the roadways would be safer. No text is that important.

http://www.usnews.com/articles/opinion/2009/10/13/theres-no-way-to-enforce-a-texting-while-driving-ban.html

sentence 6

2009-10-13T10:27:00.000-07:00

Her sentence
After school, Hassan and I met up, grabbed a book, and trotted up a bowl-shaped hill just north of my father's property in Wazir Akbar Khan.
-The Kite Runner

My sentence
My brother and I walked out the door, hopped in the truck, and headed to town.

sentence 5

2009-10-13T10:19:00.000-07:00

Her sentence
Then, Baba and I drove off in his black Ford Mustang-a car that drew envious looks everywhere because it was the same car Steve McQueen had driven in Bullitt, a film that played in one theater for six months.
-The Kite Runner

My sentence
Mom and I sat on the couch in the living room-the soft one with the big blankets thrown across it.

sentence 4

2009-10-13T10:09:00.000-07:00

Her sentence
We would hear their caravans approaching our neighborhood, the mewling of their sheep, the baaing of their goats, the jingle of the bells around their camels' necks.
-The Kite Runner

My sentence
I could hear the noise from the kitchen, the clanking of the pots and pans, the sizzling of the fries in the grease, the loud noise of the mixer mixing the cake batter.

sentence 3

2009-10-13T10:06:00.000-07:00

Her sentence
We were upstairs in Baba's study, the smoking room, when I told him what Mullah Fatiullah Khan had taught us in class.
-The Kite Runner

My sentence
I was in the dining room, the place where we eat, when my mom asked me how school went that day.

sentence 2

2009-10-13T09:57:00.000-07:00

Her sentence
We sat at a picnic table on the banks of the lake, just Baba and me, eating boiled eggs with kofta sandwiches-meatballs and pickles wrapped in naan.

-The Kite Runner

My sentence

We were at the kitchen table, my family and I, eating spaghetti-noodles covered in tomato sauce.

Sentence 1

2009-09-25T10:46:00.000-07:00

Her sentence:
The neon sign in the window said, almost cheerfully, open.
from The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen

An appositive phrase set apart by commas, deliberately, to describe the noun.

My sentence:
My mother called for me, very angrily, telling me to clean my room.

A Whole New Mind-Portfolio Suggestion

2009-06-26T19:12:00.000-07:00

After i read the chapter on design in Pink's book, i looked through the portfolio and something struck my attention. Even though i'm not very good at it, i love to create arts and crafts.

I read the section in the portfolio that was titled "Third Industrial Revolution," and as I read, I noticed that I could go to nike.com and customize my very own shoe any way that i wanted to.

I went to the site and just started playing with the shoe that I chose, and I turned the shoe into something that I really really liked. The shoe expresses me. The colors are even my favorite colors.

Sophomore Reflection

2009-05-25T20:34:00.000-07:00

hmm...my sophomore year...well it was interesting

This past year has been crazy! I don't even know where to begin!

I'm finally a junior now. I can't believe it. I'm growing up. I have to face that fact. I have to start thinking about what i want to do with my life. I have to start thinking about college.

I have realized who my real friends are. I have lost a few friends this year, but is for the better. These friendships ended badly, but i realized what these people are really like.

"There comes a point in life when you realize who matters, who

never did, who won't anymore, and who always will, so don't worry

about people from your past, because there's a reason they didn't

make it to your future"

Just like the quote says, i'm not going to worry about those people because there is a reason why they did not make it to my future.

I know my junior year will have its drama, but i am hoping that there will be less of it.

Of Mice and Men review

2009-05-25T20:18:00.000-07:00

I highly recommend reading Of Mice and Men because it is a very very good book.

George and Lennie have been together forever. George takes care of Lennie. Lennie is big, but he is dumb. He can't remember a thing.

George always tells him that they're going to get some money and buy themselves a piece of land. George tells him that they are going to "live off the fat of the land".

Lennie is always getting into trouble. He never means in harm, but he's so big and strong that he just gets himself into trouble all the time. When Lennie pushes it a little too far things turn for the worse.

What becomes of Lennie? Read the book and find out!

The Giver review

2009-05-25T20:04:00.000-07:00

The Giver is a book of hope for something more in life.

When Jonas is chosen to be the new Receiver of Memory, he is scared because all of the rules are new, and he is not sure of what the job will bring.

Jonas is not allowed to tell anyone of anything about he job as Receiver of Memory. Jonas learns so many things that he never knew before, that no one else in the community knows. He begins to "see beyond". Jonas undergoes a lot of pain.

When Jonas hears of some terrible news, he flees the city, taking a little boy named Gabriel with him. He is in search of a new and better life.

Animal Farm review

2009-05-25T19:58:00.001-07:00

Animal Farm is a story of hope. The animals all work together for one common purpose.

When the animals run off the owner of the farm they set up some rules to go by; They basically form their own way of living.

When some disagreeing occurs Snowball is run off, leaving Napoleon to take lead.

When Napoleon changes rules and takes over the whole farm, things go crazy. Animal Farm is never the same.

Spring Break Reflection

2009-04-17T12:43:00.000-07:00

For Spring Break I went with the band to Orlando, Florida. I had a lot of fun there.

We went to Islands of Adventure which was a whole lot of fun. There was so much to do and so little time. My favorite rides were Jurassic Park and Dueling Dragons. I got pretty wet on Jurassic Park. On Dueling Dragon I rode the blue dragon.

We also went to Medieval Times. I love horses so i really enjoyed that. They were beautiful. We were on the blue team. The knight for the green team didn't like us very much. We all enjoyed booing at him.

While we were in Orlando we played in a contest. The awards were presented at Universal Studios that night after the contest. We were very pleased when we found out that we had won first in a division AND best overall score.

I had a lot of fun over my Spring Break. It was very enjoyable.

my favorite techie web-based tool!

2009-04-17T12:35:00.000-07:00

My favorite web-based technology tool would probably have to be thesaurus.com. Anytime I do not know a good vivid word for something, I look the word I need a vivid word for up on thesaurus.com and find a good vivid word for it and use it. Thesaurus.com is very easy to use. All that has to be done is to go to thesaurus.com and type in the word in the search box and hit enter. It is very simple.

To Perfect My World...

2009-03-15T12:31:00.000-07:00

Perfecting the world would be a very hard task to accomplish. It would take many many years to complete.

As for my perfect world:

1) No violence. Yell and scream about a problem all you want, but no hitting, punching, kicking, etc. anyone!

2) Everyone is given a second chance. People make mistakes. No one is perfect, so i believe everyone deserves to have a second chance. When someone messes up, they would be given a warning and then in the second offense, the person would be punished.

3) Only people that are fit to be parents would be allowed to have children. No teen pregnancies.

4) Less drama. Everyone would avoid conflict as much as possible.

Basically, my perfect world would be almost completely free of violent manners.

Anthem review

2009-03-15T12:12:00.000-07:00

Anthem is a story of determination. Equality 7-2521 knows there is more to the world than just the findings in the community he lives in.

Equality 7-2521 is just like everyone else. Well, at least that is what he is supposed to think. Everyone is treated the same, given the same clothing, given the same food, everything is equal. Everyone is referred to as "we", not "I". The word "I" is forbidden.

While doing the job he was assigned to do, a street sweeper, Equality 7-2521 meets Liberty 5-3000. It is forbidden for men to talk to women. He ignores this rule and so does she. Equality 7-2521 has even give Liberty 5-3000 her own special name! He calls her the Golden One.

When Equality 7-2521 discovers something new, he can't wait to show the House of Scholars. He has always dreamed of being a scholar. But when Equality 7-2521's discovery is banished, Equality 7-2521 runs away into the Uncharted Forest.

Does Equality 7-2521 survive in the Uncharted Forest? Does Equality 7-2521 get the Golden One? Read and find out!

Breaking Dawn review (754 pages, 3 books)

2009-03-15T12:00:00.001-07:00

Breaking Dawn is a story of love and war. This book is a wonderful conclusion to the Twilight series. This story winds up the story of Bella, mortal human being, and Edward, immortal vampire.

In the small town of forks you would think that nothing out of the ordinary would happen, but when Bella meets Edward, her whole life changes. She is caught in a love with an immortal being. Forced to keep secrets from her father and friends.

Bella and Edward are engaged to be married. Edward has promised Bella he will make her a vampire after they are married, but when Bella becomes pregnant, he must change her sooner than planned.

To top everything off, Jacob, the werewolf, has a secret of his own about the baby.

The Volturi, a clan of vampires, has it out for the Cullens.

Join the supense and figure out what happens to the Cullens when the Volturi come to attack!

The Call of the Wild Review

2009-02-16T17:59:00.000-08:00

In The Call of the Wild by Jack London, Buck is forced to live the life a sled dog. This book was a quick read with a very moving story. It held my attention very well.

Jack London bases his writings on experience. He keeps the reader's attention.

Buck is forced to live with struggles. Between the never-ending fight for food and his enemy Spitz, Buck is worn. He is determined to be the leader of the pack, even if that means killing a pack mate. Buck doesn't hestitate to keep the rest of the pack in line.

Just when hope seems to be lost, Buck finds a friend in John Thornton.

Buck's true desire is to join his companions in the wild. Does he? Read and find out!

Antigone review

2009-02-16T17:33:00.000-08:00

Antigone is a woman with disregard of the rules. This takes the spotlight in Sophocles' play Antigone.

Antigone has lost not just one but both of her brothers in battle. Since one of her brothers, Polynices, left the city and came back to attack, Creon ordered that he be left unhonored.

Antigone must choose between following the rules and honoring her family. Antigone is willing to die for what she believes in.

This play, just like in Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, a love is ruined by deaths before their time.

Although this Antigone was written in a different time period than now, it is a moving story about a woman with enough will power to stand up for what she thinks is right. I highly recommend this story.

Taking A Stand

2009-02-04T18:53:00.000-08:00

I was sitting in the building waiting for church to start of all places and i overheard some of the girls discussing some horrible and vulgar assumptions they had thought about one of my very good friends. They were calling her nasty names. They said that she was a slut, and they went on and on using names that I cannot repeat. They then proceeded to accuse her. They said, "She is always out drinking and smoking!" I decided I was going to say something. I told them that she was a wonderful person that did not deserve to be treated in the way they had been treating her. I also told them that they should find something better to do than sit around bad-mouthing people all day. They ended up telling me that they would not talk about her like that again and they apologized to her for talking about her in the way that they had.

Julius Caesar-Friendship

2009-01-08T13:42:00.000-08:00

From this play I learned that friends should be chosen very carefully. Just because someone seems to be a good person doesn't mean that they are.
Julius Caesar thought that his friend Brutus was loyal, but Brutus turned against Caesar. He ended up helping in the plot to kill Caesar.
I also learned that staying loyal to your friends brings reward, while not being loyal to your friends brings consequence.
Brutus and Cassius, two men that helped in the plot to kill Caesar, later died, but Mark Antony, who did not help, was rewarded.

Seek First To Understand, Then To Be Understood

2008-11-18T18:58:00.000-08:00

This chapter of this book has really taught me to listen more carefully. I often space out when i am being talked to, especially for extremely long periods of time. If i am not spacing out i am usually pretend listening, which is not good either. Occasionally i word listen. I hear every word that is said to me but i do not truly hear them. Even more rarely do i genuinely listen. I scarcely pay attention to the body language and meaning behind the words that are said.
After reading this chapter i have learned that i have first seek to understand people first to be understood. If i want people to take the time out to listen to what I have to say, then i should be willing to take time out to listen to what they have to say.
I have been trying to listen more genuinely lately. I personally think that i have done a lot better in listening to people. I now listen not only with my ears but with my eyes and heart as well.

7 Habits-Mission Statement

2008-11-07T20:59:00.000-08:00

MY MISSION STATEMENT

love-God, myself, family, friends, others
Always be respectful!
Put others before myself!
Never give up! "If at first you don't succeed, try and try again."
"Be what you want to be, not what others want to see."
Make smart choices! "The choices you make today affect the outcome of tomorrow so choose carefully because you can never go back to yesterday."
Always be forgiving! "I don't forgive people because I am weak; I forgive people because i am strong enough to know that people make mistakes."
Don't be afraid to step out of my comfort zone! "Don't let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game."

This idea, the mission statement, was not my idea. It was given to me by Sean Covey, the author of 7 Habits. I give Sean Covey credit for showing me that writing everything that I plan to stay loyal to down is a great way to keep my loyalty because I can pull out my mission statement anytime that I feel the need to.