PI’s journey

for pi’s journey to take place there must have been many enviromental factors to take place in order for PI to accomplish the route that he did. With my basic understanding of how his journey went, i drew out a small map for a visual.

The green line marks the area i think was covered by boat, and the red ex is were i suspect it sank. I came to this conclusion because, this area has many land masses and islands all around it such as Indonesia and japan. If they had sunk here it is quite likely that they would have been found, so i came to the logical conclusion that they must have came to some open water before going under. Now the red line represents the estimated travel of Pi’s life boat. Although the life boat had cleared all of the major land masses, there are, as you can see, still many other lesser islands speckaling the pacific ocean throughout the route PI most likely took, in order to have not run into these islands there must have been other forces at work. Which i suspect to most likely be ” Gyres” gyres are big circular directional currents that are influenced by the spin of the earth. Now through out the book Pi did not mention being very cold or having to use any devices to retain his heat, so i suspect he must have traveled fairly close to the equater, were it is warmest, this further promotes my Gyre theory because in order to follow the current of the gyre he must have dipped toward the equater and then have been picked up later on to travel north. This current would have lead him into the mexican shore and properly steered him clear of the stray islands.

Narrative essay

Three weeks of patience it took for the opportunity to reveal itself. when you are trying to escape boredom,like i was, your life begins to become a sandwich to thick to take a bite out of. Although, this was the day, my homework time was happy to be sacrificed for a bit of adventure. My only friend who was willing to drive (and was brave enough to follow me on a thin slab of fiberglass, into the ocean) was ready to take a group of pals to the shore.

Ugh, I would constantly be forced to wait around, for my friends to be ready to hang out and have some fun, or anyone for that matter to at least occupy me on an awesome time i had planned, But the majority of the time …I would be left hanging. Four hours later, the many promises made seemed to fall ever short of valuable. It was frustrating! how could someone tell you that they would be your friend and then leave you stranded with no solid answer? Many Days of m,ine were waisted trying to be a loyal pal by sitting around for someone.
The days became unproductive and repetitive which leas me to feel trapped in a huge waste of priceless time. Thats when i started to starve, hungry began to grow for action, things to occupy and keep me distressfully busy. “Two jobs!” I said that will help me become useful! Volunteering! I thought, i will no longer be a mind numbing consumer of space, I will show them, if people can’t keep promises to me, i will keep promises to the community, become a better man.
Many changes were made, but still the frustration lingered. I was caught in a net, a net full of struggle and all i wanted was balance, to be useful but calm at the same time. Would i rather be over-pushed with so many activities that i fail to accomplish them, or would i rather find myself droning away laying on my living room floor putting my happiness in someone elses hands? Balance was what i needed, peace was what i wanted.
The storm did not stop us that day, nothing would, we were exhausted from no sleep but pumped up with excitement ready to slice through a curling ocean swell. SSCrreechh!, the 1990 old pickup truck tore up the gravel as it skidded to a stop, two doors slam hard and the pitter-patter of six restless feet travel swiftly on the moist pavement. “You guys are crazy!” dialogue echoes from a crowd observing us prepare for our departure. Shivering bodies slap black wetsuits to their backs, “It is like forty-two degrees out here!” A second attempt to persuade our decision to a halt.. It was too late, we were off, splashes was all that remained in the distance to be heard. Three minutes to that exposure in the northern Californian ocean and my feet began to reject blood flow. T tensed all of my muscles and gave my all into it through the break zone. paddling as hard as i could, ten feet waves began to face me, So powerful i could hear them talking to me, then darkness…tumbling and swishing and flipping, my body was dunked deep into the water, brief moment of panic could have engulfed me, but that was when i realized, “is this not the soul reason that i am out here?” To be relentlessly challenged and put into harsh , somewhat frightening situations in order to hopefully experience the most euphoric endorphin release of life?, catching the wonderous wave? I popped to the surface, hands and feet completely numb, rain showering me in every direction, and the vast ocean in total control of my little life. This is experience was made a great time by my own mind alone, when others who may find themselves caught in this same situation may be see it as the most miserable, panicky, and frustrating they might ever be and i that same situation is where i find my peace and my happiness. So I struggle with life on land and chose to enjoy life in the water. The frustration and misery that i experienced was never created by my friends not showing up or by my situation i was caught up in, but rather how i wanted to feel about the situation. Frustration was the waste of my time, nothing else.

John Muir timeline

April 21, 1838-

Day John Muir was born, the third child of eight in the town of Dunbur, Scottland. His parents, Daniel and Anne were deeendents of scottish highlanders.

1838-1841-

Being born in a fishing port town his chilhood was spent doing work on his families farm. He cleared forrests and built wells through bedrock under his fathers eye, his father happened to be a religous zealot but through growing up in nature, John began to find his peace among the trees. john was also a bit of a inventor for during these years he had invented a self- regulating study desk, an automatic cow feeder and an alarm clock bed, which at the appriopiate time to awaken would turn vertical and dump the sleeper onto the floor.

1841- At the age of eleven John had arrived in America

1860- 1863- On the Basis of Johns inventions he was accepted into the university of Wisconsion, although he had not been formally educated past the age of eleven, he studied natural sciences and worked as a mechanic.

1868- A industrial accident had caused John to go temporarily blind and as his sight began to slowly return he decided to use his senses and see the wonderful sights of the world such as the mountins , lakes and forrests of unspoiled nature. So he planned a thousand mile walk from Madison and ended up in Yosemite.

1869- John wrote “My first summer in the sierra” was based on his diary he had written. It was his best selling book and his writings began to attract attention to yosemite and the sierras.

1879- Muir discovered the famous “Muir Glacier” in glacier bay, he made his home there and not being afraid of bad weather, he indured 93 storms. Climbing to the tops of trees and studying there habits.

Oct 1, 1890 – John Muir’s struggle against the devastation of the subalpine meadows surrounding Yosemite Valley resulted in the creation of Yosemite National Park on October 1, 1890. Yosemite National Park was made famous and incouraged many visitors to visit the place by the black and white photography of Ansel Adams.

May 28, 1892 –  The first meeting of the Sierra Club was held to write articles of incorporation. One week later Muir was elected president.

May 1903 –  President Theodore Roosevelt journeyed to Yosemite National Park in , he asked John Muir to be his guide. Muir, founder of the Sierra Club and acclaimed “father of the National Parks,” smuggled Roosevelt away for two nights beneath the stars so he could expierence the glory of yosemite.Theodore was later qouted, “We were in a snowstorm last night, and it was just what I wanted!”

Jan 9, 1908 – President Theodore Roosevelt used the powers of the Antiquities Act, to create Muir Woods National Monument.

Dec 24, 1914 – John Muir became part of the soil he lived on. A stand of giant redwood trees in California was named Muir Woods to honor his work and to preserve our natural resources.

Reference:1. http://books.google.com/books?id=vngGt6mA30AC&pg=PA2&sig=-7aZ9F99dNzjqZEHu2E0GX491FA&hl=en#

2.http://books.google.com/books?id=lyFbAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA77&sig=toNxWJrLOrjhQA2grSUcEq8dpy8&hl=en#v=onepage&q&f=false

3.www.vacation-cabin-rental.com/yosemite …

Kite running background

Objective

The goal of the kite running is to pull your opponent’s kite out of the sky by wrapping your kite string around the other kite’s string which is made possible by using a special kite string with special adhesive glass coating when the kite is cut from the sky is when the real battle begins because every particepent begins to run towards the kite mking way through as many obsticles as comes through there path. Sometimes the kite may be caught in high areas such as, on top of a telephone pole or high tree, this all adds spice to this already intense game.

Kite flying was developed in Afghanistan more than one hundred years ago and even though it is  a sport it has adopted more of an art form,such as what  skate boarding has done in America.

The art aspect of theis sport is expressed through the patterns and  designs of the kites and through the compitition of trying to craft an unbreakable wire. It has engulfed the youth of Afghanistan and has become a telling of honor to compete for who is the greatst in th nieghborhood.

Before the war kite flying was part of Afghans national game.   Until unfortunately, kite  flying in Afghanistan was banned by the Taliban who dubbed it aga inst the law for several years. However when the talibanian government collapsed, people re-adopted the famous weekend past time.

The types of kites that people fly in this sport are called fighter kites. There are called this because you, like i said earlier, must cut the string of the opponets kite with yours. this is called kite cutting and is the whole object of the game, once the string is cut your kite is sent twirling through the sky and if your kite is caught by the enemy, that is worse than losing in the first place because your dignity is smashed and you are humiliated double time. If you win on the other hand, you are granted with so mush fame from your nieghboorhood that you will think your a rock star.

Autumn is the season for kite flying in Afghanistan so many people gather and start to make there kites ready for the upcoming battles. This sport brings many people together and creates many friendships, although, on the other hand it can be very dangerous, for people have fallen off roofs or ran into walls while chasing a faling kite. Pople also sometimes lose there tempers  during a  heated battle and  break out into fights. Before the Taliban, people used to fly kites in a place called Chaman-e-Babrak [in northern Kabul], and the kite flying competitions were held there. Kids, teenagers, adults and older people from all over Afghanistan and Kabul City would gather and place bets on the kite flying comptetion.

Epilogue:

“Amir, i think we have rats again”‘, Soraya said in disgust, “every time i take a look in the basement i keep finding sticks and twine bundled together on the floor,the start of a nest”                       contemplating this Amir looked up, “i have never heard of rats building nests like birds do, they do not lay eggs you know”,  Amir chuckled at his own joke while Soraya stood in worry, “maybe it is something worse , a tarantula! we have to warn sohr..” she stopped, noticing Sohrab gazing at them from the top of the stairs. He was holding a small bundle of twine attached to two fairly straight, short sticks. “careful Soraya, i here those tarantulas jump”, again Amir finding himself funny created no sound of humor from his family. “What are you making there Sohrab?” Soraya still worry began to shake with uneasiness. Sohrab let out a puff of air that seemed to be  an attempt to form a word, sat up and walked back up the stairs into his room. ” You should go talk to him,  this could be  going the wrong direction again Amir” , “Do not worry Soroya, I have a feeling we have a blossoming kite builder on our hands” Amir pulled open a drawer and extracted from it a variety of colored paper. “I have been saving this  but never had the chance to use, i believe now is the right time to break its hibernation”. It had been five months since Sohrab’s first kite flight and his interest in the sport seemed to have sparked  into a small ember, for Sohrab had snuck subtle hints into their lives with comments about how birds resemble kites with how they swoop past each other to steal  pieces of food and how you could learn a lot about kites from how the birds react to each other. So Amir decided to get ready for Sohrab’s spark interest in the sport,kite paper in hand, walked up the stairs toward Sohrab’s room. His excitement began to rise as  the door neared, flashbacks of his happy kite flying days danced through his head and he remembered his first kite, made mostly by the hands of Hassan but with Amirs guidance of course. Amir gently opened the door and slid into the room with quiet ease. Sohrab’s back was turned to the door as his eyes floated out the breath fogged window glass. “The wind is a beautiful thing, one of the most powerful creations of nature yet so calming to enjoy.” Sohrab sat in silence still but you could feel his presence lightening up. “I found your rat’s nests in the basement, not to bad for a start, but i do not think you will have much luck getting it of the ground without some paper.” Amir shook the kite paper that he held up high, its sound mimicked the echoes of whistling wind and Sohrab turned around with a whimper of surprise in his eye. ” what do you say we have a look at your  bundle os twine and we can try to get it ready for battle, what do you say?” glimmer of light began to shine from deep within Sohrab’s pupils, “Ok” slight excitement came from that single word and they began to sit on the floor of Sohrab’s carpeted floor. As Sohrab began to try to tie some sticks together for the frame, Amir slowly touched his hand to motion the way of the correct knot to use. Sohrab didn’t flinch at this gesture. They spent many days fixing up kites to prepare for the contests and Amir would share stories of how Hassan and him would build their kites together. ” you have the natural talent with kites, just like your father” Amir kindly said, ” he would be very proud of you, just like i am”. Sohrab awkwardly pulled back his mouth into a half of a smile, looking up through his window to hear the wind whistle.

The Igbo Tribe

The Igbo tribe is estimated to have a population of 5 to 6 million and are located in southeastern Nigeria. The country has four main areas;the fertile low-lying deltas and riverbank areas ,The central belt which is a high plain and the Udi highlands which are is the only coal-mining area in West Africa.

The Igbo language is formed by
A complicated system of high and low tones which indicate differences in meaning and grammatical relationships.

heres a link with igbo phrases
http://niwi.us/page6.html

Igbo religion-
the Igbo believe in one supreme god who overlooks his creations (living things) from a distance. It is believed that he has minor gods that act as “helpers” or messengers”, therefore he rarely interferes with the lives of men. The overall god is named Chukwu Abiama.
The minor gods are associated with the environment such as Ala, the earth goddess who is also associated with fertility. There is also
Anyanwu who is the god of the sun and is responsible for the growth of trees and crops, and Igwe who is associated with the sky , which is obviously the source of rain.

Social classes are also a main aspect of igbo life which are based completly on wealth opposed to occupation. these classes are distinguished between obgenye or mbi (the poor), dinkpa (the moderately prosperous), and nnukwu madu or ogaranya (the rich). Although since the discovery of oil in nigeria the village housing has transformed from mud walls and and thatched roofs to cement blocks and iron roofs outfitted with television and radios.

Men in this custom are able to have as many wives as they can afford, which means providing a hut and plot of land to farm. The ceremonial crop used to be yams but has now changed to rice. The fashion style has also adopted a more western look with shirts and hats.

Rivertown Revival

One of the many meetings held to plan for the festival

Link for pictures
http://www.flickr.com/photos/friendsofthepetalumariver/sets/72157624458807181/detail/

weekly reflection

The most interesting thing i learned this week was how much world war one effected the whole and how everyone in the U.S. was involved not just the military. Another very important thing i say in this chapter was how the world kept provoking each other which lead to ww1, this can teach a big bit of human nature, which is, once someone is picked on by someone else they will most likely want revenge, which then accumulates into a downward spiral. So depending on your intentions you could use this “law of attraction” to acquire your goals.
one thing i would like to learn more about here is how the new war inventions spread across the globe so quickly because it seems as if the world came up with these new ideas at the same time without sharing them with each other.What caused Germany to want to get rid of America , hence the Zimmerman note?

Current event

The space telescope “Hubble” has recently spotted a “planet eating star”. Scientists were aware of stars engulfing planets but one has never been seen so clearly as this planet, called wasp 12b. The planet is said to have another ten million years left before it is completely devoured. The temperature on this planet is said to have reached over 1,500 Celsius, for it only takes 1.1 earth days to complete its orbit. Scientists are baffled though, because they have identified chemical elements here that have not been seen anywhere else but this solar system.

BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science_and_environment/10136415.stm

Right Click New Tab

What I noticed this week was how inventing and new thinking became a fad in the late 1800’s early 1900’s. So I was in wonder about what other kinds of inventions where around that are not publicized that much or never caught on, here is what i found.

Levi Strauss was an entrepreneur who invented the blue jeans. Levi was trained as a tailor in Buttenheim, Germany. He oringionaly sold tents and supplies to miners during the gold rush. A man named Davis, first came up with the idea of using copper rivets at the stress points of sturdy work pants. The first levi pants were oringionally called “work overalls”, they were made with a brown duck fabric material and the well known heavy denim material. the brown duck fabric ended up not being very successful so he stoped the production of those.

Toilet paper is also an invention we dont hear about very often, it was an invention that took a while to get started. Joseph Gayetty was the inventor of toilet paper in 1857 which was oringional just flat sheets. The invention failed however which i guess was more expensive than what people oringional used which were pages from catologs. Walter Alcock later invented toilet paper on a role which eventually failed yet again.Thomas Edward and Clarence Scott brothers from Philadelphia, were the final succesors of marketing this product in 1867 when they sold small rolls of perforated paper from there push cart.

Whitcomb L. Judson (an engineer from Chicago)in 1890 invented a metal zipper device with locking teeth. he called his invention a “clasp-locker”. He eventually presented his invention at the Chicago World’s Fair but was never successful in marketing his idea. Gideon Sundbach, later modified and improved his invention which led to the commonly used zipper we have nowadays. Judson ,however, died in 1909 before he could see his genious device become commonly known, so he never recieved any glory, like most other inventors.

Websites used;
http://inventors.about.com/od/timelines/a/Nineteenth.htm

Click to access 86_585-589.pdf

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/inventors/1800b.shtml