Word of the Day. 12-18-12

Word of the Day.

ardent- to be passionate about something.

CNN Student News. 12-17-12

Topics included in today's news- 

The Connecticut Shooting.

5 random facts you don't need to know...

More Monopoly money is printed in a year than real money is printed in the entire world.

You will eat about 35,000 cookies in a lifetime.

Every second Americans collectively eat 100 pounds of chocolate.

A person uses approximately 57 sheets of toilet paper in a day.

The average person laughs 13 times a day.

the inside.

Source: 25.media.tumblr.com via Taylor on Pinterest

Word of the Day. 12-17-12

Word of the Day.

apprehend- to capture or arrest of you can also apprehend a concept by grasping or understanding it.

Word of the Day. 12-12-12

Word of the day.

aloof- at a distance, especially in feeling or interest; apart

CNN Student News. 12-12-12

Topics included in todays news- 

Protests in Michigan about work laws

Nelson Mandela in hospital

It's 12-12-12!

12 newsmakers from the last 12 months

NHL Games Canceled until December 30th

CNN Student News. 12-11-12

Topics included in todays news-

100's of people missing after a typhoon in the Philippines 

Civil War in Syria

President Obama asks for 60 million for Sandy recovery

A family who's life was turned upside down after Hurricane Sandy

New Satellite made for night time pictures

Word of the Day. 12-11-12

Word of the Day.

accord- to be in agreement or harmony; agree.

Word of the day. 12-10-12

Word of the Day.

abet- to encourage, support, or countenance by aid or approval, usually in wrongdoing

Word of the Day. 12-7-12

Word of the Day.

abominable- repugnantly hateful; detestable; loathsome

very unpleasant: disagreeable

very bad, poor, or inferior

20 seconds...

-we bought a zoo.

Source: lasagnafeet.tumblr.com via Taylor on Pinterest

5 random facts you don't need to know...

Cats sleep for 70% of their lives.

One car out of every 230 was stolen last year.

Every day 20 banks are robbed, the average amount of money taken is $2,500.

The sentence "The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog." uses every letter in the alphabet.

Recycling one glass jar saves enough energy to watch T.V. for 3 hours.

Word of the Day. 12-4-12

Word of the day.

obliged- to place under a debt of gratitude for some benefit, favor, or service

Word of the Day. 12-3-12

Word of the Day.

deviate- turn aside. as from a route, course, etc.

Word of the Day. 11-30-12

Word of the Day.

canonize- to glorify and honor

Word of the Day. 11-29-12

Word of the day

epithet- any word or phrase applied to a person or thing to describe an actual attributed quality.

My Short Story.

A day in the Life of Damien DonkeyKong the Glowing Vampire

The only time that Damien DonkeyKong, yes DonkeyKong, could go anywhere was on days that it was raining or gloomy. Otherwise, he had to go out at night and there wasn't much open in the middle of the night. Not being able to go out in the day, unless it was rainy, was one of the many parts of being a vampire that he didn't like. Although one thing that he did like was how it made him look. His skin was much lighter than before, which made his hair look darker and his eyes more blue. He guessed that technically he could go out in the day, but most people would probably get a little freaked out when he started glowing like a lightsaber from Star Wars. Luckily he lived in London and it was pretty much raining all the time.

He had a lot today do today so he got out of bed, got dressed in his normal clothes, jeans, a black t-shirt, and boots, then he walked into the living room. Then he started to separate and the next thing he knew there were four more of him standing in the living room looking at him. Being able to to make four more of yourself and be in five places at one time was cool, he had to admit that, but it was very tiring and it was a pain to make sure people didn't notice it. Although most of the time he didn't have to worry about humans noticing it because they weren't very smart, at all. But he still had to be careful. He was still staring at the other four of himself. Although seeing so many of himself was one thing that he would never get used to. He doesn't know why it happens, but he hasn't met anyone else that can do it. Although, it's not really a very good conversation starter, “Excuse me sir can I ask you a question? Can you clone yourself like I can? If so how many of yourself can you make? I can make four!”

He didn't have to tell them what they had to do, because they already knew. They were him. They still had the same brain, thoughts, and memories. One of the downs of cloning himself was that when they separated he didn't know what the other hims were doing or thinking. He had to wait until they were all back and he became one person again to know how the whole day played out.

Today wasn't different than any other day, he'll stay home and do all the things that needed to be done around the house. One of him will go to work; he works in the basement of a warehouse, that manufactured toothpaste, by himself. All he did all day was unpack toothpaste, Nasty stuff, that toothpaste. He asked to work by himself in the basement that way no one would see him. Then if someone did see him when he was supposed to be working, then there wouldn't be a misunderstanding. One of him would see his friends of family. He spent more time with his friends, because they were vampires too, so there was nothing he had to hide. Although his family was a little harder to be around, if he spent too much time with him they would know that he was different. Plus they lived all the way in Wales, a four hour drive, but he hated not being able to see them when he wanted. He loved his mother, father, and his sister, but he was pretty sure that they thought he hated him, considering he left when he was sixteen, That's when he changed, and started “traveling”. That was his excuse, telling them that he was going all around the world. He even told him that he went to 42 Wallaby Way Sydney and they believed him, but in reality he did the same thing every day. One of him did the more enjoyable things at his second house like reading and playing the piano, and the last one of him fed. He didn't drink human blood, only animal blood. It was the only thing that could make him feel like less of a monster. He made sure to feed every day. He had never lost control around a human before and he didn't plan too.

He still remembers the change, before then he hated blood, the thought of it made him sick, but afterwards that's all he wanted. He was walking home in the middle of the night, although now he can't even remember where he had been coming from, He was just walking and then out of nowhere someone bit him and he was in agonizing pain. He realized what he was when he woke up, felt his fangs, and the horrible burning I his throat. He didn't go home after that. He bought an apartment in London, then called his family and told them that he was going to travel. He didn't even build up the courage to go see him until four years later.

Damien suddenly  realized that he was still standing in the living room and everyone else had left, probably about five minutes ago. He did this a lot, just stood or sat somewhere and thought about random things. You didn't really have to worry about wasting time when you lived forever. Realizing that he had nothing better to do, Damien walked into the Kitchen and started cleaning.  

CNN Student News. 11-27-12

Topics included in todays news- 

Lots of Work to do on the recovery of hurricane Sandy

Auto Racing 17 year old Tristin Nunez brings awareness about texting and driving

Jack Taylor beats the college basketball record for most shots in one game

Santa Clause Festival

Word of the Day. 11-26-12.

Word of the Day.

deign- to think fit or in accordance to ones dignity.

just look for it.

Source: silent-rainfall.tumblr.com via Taylor on Pinterest

5 random facts you don't need to know...

The human heart creates enough pressure to squirt blood 30 feet (9 m).

There are twice as many kangaroos in Australia as there are people. The kangaroo population is estimated at about 40 million.

The average person makes about 1,140 telephone calls each year.

Dentists have recommended that a toothbrush be kept at least 6 feet (2 m) away from a toilet to avoid airborne particles resulting from the flush.

You burn more calories sleeping than you do watching TV.

Word of the Day. 11-20-12

Word of the Day.

deviate- turn aside, as from a route, way, course, etc.

CNN Student News. 11-19-12

Topics included in Todays News- 

Increased fighting between Israelis and Palestinians

Myanmar shifts toward a democratic government 

Presidents visits Asia

Flu and Cold Quiz

Hostess Closing Down

The Twinkie

Word of the Day. 11-19-12

Word of the Day.

eccentric- deviating from the recognized or customary practice; irregular; erratic; peculiar; odd.

CNN Student News. 11-16-12

Topics included in Todays news- 

Hearings in Capital Hill

Attack on US Consulate in Benghazi Libya

The largest Criminal Fine in US history

Fiscal Cliff

New leader in China

13 deaths have been reported to the FDA

Accidental Overdoses

The Star Spangled Banner Controversy 

Word of the Day. 11-16-12

Word of the Day. 

eccentric- deviating from the recognized or customary practice; irregular; erratic; peculiar; odd.

CNN Student News. 11-14-12

Topics included in todays news-

Civil war in Syria

Natural disaster in Venice Italy

U.S. Presidential Cabinet

Car of the Year: Tesla

Homecoming

Word of the Day. 11-14-12

Word of the Day.

canonize- to glorify and honor.

CNN Student News. 11-13-12

Topics included in todays news-

Sandy's Damage

How people are recovering from it

U.S oil boom

Drilling for oil in the Arctic

U.S. Navy punish 7 of its Navy SEALs

The festival of Diwali (Hinduism)

A program that aims to educate teenagers on gun violence

The Summit Church.

Week 1: "We Are Blessed" from The Summit Church on Vimeo.

This is a video from our church service from Sunday and the message of this video is about Gratitude. With thanksgiving right around the corner gratitude is a good thing to learn a little about. This video talks about what gratitude is and why we need it. The reason we need gratitude is because it completes the circle. Whats the circle? Well you'll have to watch the video to find out! :)

Impact.

Over/Under #1 (11/07/12) from Impact Student Ministry on Vimeo.


This a video of my youth group service last Wednesday. I go to The Summit Church and on Wednesdays we have a youth group service called Impact for grades 6-12. Last week the message was about being above the Influence of God. Being above the influence of God basically means that you are doing things that God wouldn't want you to do such as lying, cheating, being mean or rude to people, doing drugs, etc. This is a very good service and is a good message to teenagers and adults.

Word of the Day. 11-13-12

Word of the Day.

disbosom- to reveal; confess

the choice is yours.

Source: etsy.com via Taylor on Pinterest

5 random facts you don't need to know....

The numbers '172' can be found on the back of the U.S. $5 dollar bill in the bushes at the base of the 

Lincoln Memorial.

In the average lifetime, a person will walk the equivalent of 5 times around the equator.

Odontophobia is the fear of teeth.

The most common name in the world is Mohammed.

The most money ever paid for a cow in an auction was $1.3 million.

CNN Student News. 11-9-12

Topics included in todays news-

• Economic Record in Greece
• Protests in Greece
• Guatemala Earthquake
• Japan still suffering with leftover debris from Tsunami
• Veterans Day
• 21 uses false documents to attend high school and be on the football team
• Peewee Football Player
• Monster Truck Teen

Word of the Day. 11-9-12

Word of the Day.

beatitude- supreme blessedness; exalted happiness.

The Election.

I am so very done with the election. I do not want to here another word about it. It has been on tv, the radio, and all over Facebook for months. All I here is "Obama does this" and "Romney does that". Be quiet.

 What bothers me a lot too is all of my friends that are only 13 and 14 are completely devastated or absolutely joyous that Obama won. People are either saying that it is so awesome that he won or they're saying that America is in big trouble and they can't believe that he won. Honestly it doesn't matter what they think because they can't even vote yet.

Although what bothers me the most is that people will get so fed up and Mad at each other over it. Just because someone wants to vote for a different person than you does not make them stupid, they have their own opinion. People shouldn't start to hate each other because of it. Obama is not worth losing your friends and fighting with your family. He will be gone in 4 years, period. 

CNN Student News. 11-8-12

Topics included in todays news:

• People of the World watch the election

• Election and Social Networking (Twitter, Facebook, & Instagram)

• Challenges Ahead

• U.S. Debt

• Tuesday's "Firsts"

• Leadership Change in China

• What's a Nor'Easter?

• Ping Pong Robot

Word of the day. 11-8-12

Word of the Day

climacteric- a critical period.

Word of the Day. 11-7-12

Word of the day.

glean- to learn, discover, or find out, usually little by little or slowly

CNN Student News. 11-6-12

Topics included in todays news:

• Election Day

• How the day and the math could turn out

• Electoral College 

• Referendums in the U.S.

• Look back on previous Elections

Word of the Day. 11-6-12

franchise- 1. the right to vote

                  2. a privilege of a public nature conferred on an individual, group, or company by a                          government    

Characteristics that Make a Good Parent.

It takes a lot to be a parent. It takes a lot of time, sacrifice, and you need to have a lot of good characteristics. 

I think that the most important characteristic to have when you are a parent is to be very loving. You should always show your kids that you love them and that you would do anything for them. I think that kids learn from what they see, so if they grow up in a loving environment then they will grow up to be loving people. Also you should really make sure your kids know that you love them. You might know it, but if you never say "I love you" or if you don't give them hugs and those sorts of things, then they might know that you love them, but they won't really feel  loved. Also I think that kids just like to hear a parent say "I love you", just like a parent likes to hear their kid say "I love you".

I believe that parents should be VERY encouraging to their kids. It is really important to show your kids encouragement and show that you believe in them, even if what your kids want to be is the exact opposite of what you want them to be. You should always try and remember that what they want matters and try to be encouraging of it.  If kids don't think that people, especially people as important to them as their parents, believe in them then they will have trouble believing in themselves. Not only does encouragement help them believe in their self, but when people believe in you and you believe in yourself it makes want ever you are trying to do or what you are trying to reach so much easier! I believe that part of being encouraging is trust, not the kind of trust such as trusting your kids to go out with their friends and trust they won't do anything wrong, although that's important to do too. But you have to know how to trust that your kids know what they want.

A very important characteristic of being a parent is being a good listener. Kids will most likely be more open with their parents if they know that they will listen to them if they want to tell them something. Plus, when kids are more open with their parents that creates a better relationship. I also think that you should listen to your kids no matter what they want to talk about. Meaning if they are talking about something that happened at school or if they are talking about something important and heartfelt. 

I really do believe that it takes a lot to be a parent, but i think it would make it easier and better if you are loving, encouraging, trusting, and you are always a good listener. 

Fallacies!

A fallacy is an error in in logic- a place where someone has made a mistake in his thinking.

Here are some fallacies.....

Red Herring: A red herring introduces an irrelevant point to an argument. Someone may think (or may want us to think) it proves his side but it really doesn't.

Son: Why can't I go see The Day of the Spatulas with my friends?
Dad: Isn't there some other kind of move you could go see instead?

Special Pleading: When someone uses a double standard or argues for an unjustified exception, he is committing the fallacy of special pleading.

"I know I need to control my anger. But Officer, this time my wife was nagging me so much, the only thing I could do was lock her in the closet."

Ad Hominem: An ad hominem attack is attacking an opponent's character or his motives for believing something instead of disproving his argument.

Jenny: My uncle says that all murders should be put to death because then nobody would want to murder anybody anymore.
Sylvia: Wasn't your uncle in jail once? I don't think we can trust the opinion of someone who was once a criminal.

Genetic Fallacy: The genetic fallacy is condemning an argument because of where it began, how it began, or who began it.

Bert: Mr. Gritchus, why do you always wear suspenders and never a belt?
Mr: Gritchus: Because belts were developed in the military centuries ago and were used by soldiers. Since the Military is evil, and belts came from the military, therefore I can't wear a belt.

Tu Quoque: Tu quoque is dismissing someone's viewpoint on an issue because he himself is inconsistent in that very thing.

Fred: I wouldn't smoke cigarettes if I were you. It is a bad habit, and it will bring you all kinds of problems.
Jake: Don't tell me not to smoke. You do it, too.

Faulty Appeal to Authority: A faulty appeal to authority is an appeal to someone who has no special knowledge in the area being discussed.

"If Paul Newman thinks organic foods are more nutritious then chemical-saturated foods, shouldn't you, too?"

Appeal to the People: When we claim that our viewpoint is correct because many other people agree with it, we are committing the appeal to the people fallacy.

"The new book, The Fallacy detective, must be the best logic book around. It has been on the best-seller list for months."

CNN Student News. 11-5-12

Topics included in todays news...

• Final campaign push.
• Sandy: A week later.
• Daylight Savings time.

think for yourself.

Shel Silverstein
Source: google.com via Taylor on Pinterest

5 facts you don't need to know....

The average person has over 1,460 dreams a year.

One in every 4 Americans has appeared on television.

A quarter has 119 grooves on its edge, a dime has one less groove.

Over 2500 left handed people a year are killed from using products made for right handed people.

Scientists have identified and described about 1.4 million species of an estimated ten to 100 million on earth.

Word of the Day. 11-5-12

Word of the Day.

deign- to think it or in accordance with ones dignity

Rich.

Do you think that you're rich? No? Well listen to this... 1 billion people in the world live of off $1 dollar a day. That means you spend a whole weeks worth of money on ONE Starbucks coffee. Every two seconds someone dies of starvation. You have a pantry full of food whenever you want it. There are people that drink water so nasty that you wouldn't feed it to your dog. The minute you saw it you would dump it out and fill the bowl up from your sink, that has an endless amount of water supply. Now do you feel rich? I do.

After hearing those thing I don't know how you feel, but I feel very blessed and RICH. I also feel like I, and everyone else, take to much for granted. When we look into our fridge full of food and complain that there is nothing to eat, we are taking what we have for granted. When we are at our house, that has phones, computers, and TV's, and we complain that we have nothing to do, we are taking that for granted.

If you have food in your stomach, no saying you have to have a steak, some corn, and cake in there, but if you have food in your stomach and clothes on you back then you are rich. As people we take stuff for granted and we really shouldn't. We are blessed in many ways. So the next time that you see something that you really want and you just have to have it, remember that you don't because you already have stuff, and you are rich.

I believe that I am rich, even though I only have a whopping sixteen dollars in my bank account, and I believe that you are too.  

CNN Student News. 11-2-12

Topics included in today's news.....

• Effects hurricane Sandy has on people individually.
• Jobs.
• Where the candidates stand on foreign policy.
• Election ads and how they've changed.
• Michelangelo's painting at the Sistine Chapel turns 500.

Word of the Day. 11-2-12

Word of the Day.

drivel- childish, silly, or meaningless talk or thinking; nonsense; twaddle.

My Favorite Subject.

My mom asked me to start putting a journal entry, or at least one piece of writing, on my blog everyday. So that's what this is for. I couldn't really think of anything to write so I looked up some writing topics and since this is for school, I'm going to write about my favorite subject.

Well, really I don't have a favorite subject because like most people school isn't really my favorite thing to do.

I really like reading so if all you had to do for language arts was read, then that would be my favorite subject. Unfortunately you have to do a lot more than that.... I like science sometimes, such as when you do experiments, but you can't do those for everything. Also, a lot of science has to do with the human body and that really grosses me out, especially stuff about blood. I definitely CAN NOT be a doctor when I grow up. History is pretty much a drag and the only thing that I ever got interested in, that I can remember, is World War II. Plus, I still wonder why we have to learn about Ancient Civilizations and Medieval times and that kind of stuff. I understand that it teaches us the past and how far we've come, but why do we have to know that? Anyway, that leaves math. For the most part math isn't that bad because I actually understand it and it's the subject that I'm best at. So I guess math is my favorite subject!

Word of the Day.11-1-12

Word of the Day.

vocation- a strong impulse or inclination to follow a particular activity or career.

The Murder King Tut.

King Tut was the pharaoh of Ancient Egypt from 1333 B.C. To 1324 B.C. He was the son of Akenhaten, son of Amenhotep IV, and Kiya. Tut's mother died when he was born and Akenhaten died in 1335 when he was six. Therefore, he was raised mostly by Nefertiti, Akenhaten's wife. When Tut was eight Nefertiti died and Tut married his half sister Ankhesenpaaten. Tut and Ankhesenpaaten had two children but they were both born dead.

There are still conspiracies on how the boy king died. Some believe he was murdered and others believe that he died from an infection caused by a broken leg.

The reason that many people believe that he died from an infection from a broken leg is because Tut was in a chariot crash right before he died and he did have a broken leg.

The theory of the murder of King Tut goes like this, Tut was in a chariot crash and while he was weak, Aye, the scribe who wanted to be Pharaoh for a long time, made a soldier, named Sefu,  kill Tut. He did this by suffocating him. Afterwards, Aye killed Sefu so he couldn't tell anyone what he had done. He then forced Akhesenpaaten to marry him. Right after their wedding he killed her and threw her in the Nile river. A few years after Aye became pharaoh, General Horemheb, a man who cooperated with Aye for years, killed him and became pharaoh. When Horemheb was Pharaoh he was the first to excel Egypt back to it's height since the rule of Amenhotep. 

Word of the Day. 10-30-12

Word of the day.

incontrovertible- not controvertible; not open to question or dispute; indisputable 

The subject was incontrovertible. 

Word of the day. 10-29-12

Word of the Day.

anguish-  excruciating or acute distress, suffering, or pain

She had a lot of anguish over her father's death.

be yourself.

Source: positivemed.com via Taylor on Pinterest

5 facts you don't need to know...

Every time you lick a stamp, you’re consuming 1/10 of a calorie.

Every 45 seconds, a house catches on fire in the United States!

There are 293 ways to make change for a dollar.

In the White House, there are 13,092 knives, forks and spoons!

During your lifetime, you’ll eat about 60,000 pounds of food, that’s the weight of about 6 elephants!

Word of the Day 10-25-12

Word of the Day

Subordinate- placed in or belonging to a lower order or rank

The soldiers are subordinate to the General.

inspiration.

If you don't GO AFTER what you want you'll never have it. 

If you don't ASK the answer is always no.

If you don't STEP FORWARD you will always be in the same place.

5 facts you don't need to know..

If you yelled for over 8 and a half years, you would have produced enough sound energy to heat one cup of coffee.

If you pet a cat 70 million times, you will have developed enough static electricity to light a 60-watt light bulb for one minute.

85,000,000 tons of paper are used each year in the U.S!

Car accidents rise 10% during the first week of daylight savings time.

Right now, this very second, 70% of the people driving on U.S. highways are speeding.

Word of the Day 10-24-12

Word of the Day!

Incessant: continuing without interruptions; ceaseless; unending: an incessant sound.

There was an incessant rain for days.

fearless.

The phrase "do not be afraid" is written in the bible 365 times. That is a daily reminder from God to live everyday being fearless. 

Statistics!

And we are scared of sharks because........

Source: thefuturebuzz.com via Taylor on Pinterest

Ancient Egypt: By Taylor & Caiden

Church on Sunday.

On Sunday several members of my family and I went to church at the Summit in High Point. It was VERY fun and there was a good message. There are a lot of nice people at the church and there is even a band that sings on the stage. It's like a rock concert every Sunday!

The message that the preacher talked about was about making a DIFFERENCE, instead of just making a POINT. The way he explained this was by referring to the a story in the book of Luke. (Luke 15:25-32). The story is about a King and his two sons. The younger son knew that when the king died he would get half of the inheritance and the other brother would get the other half. The younger brother told his father that he wanted to have his half now. He didn't want to wait for it. The King did as his son asked and gave him his half and the younger brother left the kingdom. Years past and the brother blew his money on things that were looked down on. When he ran out of money he began working for people, getting little pay and was starving. The brother knew that he had done wrong and decided to ask his father if he could work for him, that way he could be at home and he would at least get 3 meals a day. When the brother got home he did not get what he was expecting. When the brother walked up he was embraced in a huge hug by his father. His father was so excited the the lost brother had finally returned that he exclaimed that they would kill the fattened calf! The brother went inside with his father and they celebrated. While they were celebrating one of the servants told the older brother, who was working in the fields, that they were celebrating because his brother returned and that they cut the fattened calf and that he should join them. The brother didn't go in. The father went to the older brother and asked him to join them but the older brother said this....“All these years I've slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing that you told me to do. And in all that time you never gave me even one goat for a feast with my friends. Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!” As you can see the older brother does not feel that the younger brother deserve this and it is not fair that he gets it when the older brother has been loyal to his father the whole time. But the father sees it as he is making a difference in his sons life. He could tell him that he is not welcome back home, that would be making a point, but he wanted to make a DIFFERENCE.

I think the lesson was very powerful and meaningful. It was one of those times when the preacher says something and you're think in your head “how did he know that.....where does he have cameras hidden at my house?”. I think that everyone should hear this and figure out who they are....... The father or the older brother?

When I was younger my cousin and I would fight ALL the time. Everything that we said to each other was about whether something was fair or not. Sometimes instead of us making a POINT about whether it's fair or not we could have helped out the adults, by not fighting, therefore making a difference. Just a few days ago my mom said that her and my aunt were going to get Starbucks and I said that if she got Starbucks then I want Starbucks, that's not fair. As soon as I said it I realized that I was being the older brother and my mom and I laughed SO hard and she said, "What's your point?". That was one of those times when I realized life isn't always about being fair or making a point. 

There is a lot that I could do to make a difference. For example, The Summit does an event called The Big Serve where you volunteer around the community. I could make a point by telling people what it is or that they should help out or I could make a difference by actually volunteering myself. I chose to volunteer. What will you do?

Mesopotamia

Beginning in the year 4,300 B.C. a series of great cities and empires dominated the plains of Mesopotamia. Mesopotamia was located in the region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, which were used as the main way for transportation of goods. There were many people in Mesopotamia, so the rivers didn't supply enough water with all the daily activities they had to do. To compromise for this they built dykes, canals, and channels to capture the flood waters. 

Mesopotamia was divided into city-states. Most of the cities contained about 5,000 people, although Uruk had a population of 50,000 at its peak. Mesopotamia was the first "string of cities". Each city-state had a king who was the representative of the gods. The kings lived in a ziggurat, the holy tower, that had a spiraling ramp. In the center of every city was a temple where they kept all the food. They also sold it from there, along with other goods. Eventually most of the city-states developed into empires, including Sumer, Akkad, Ur, and many more. The best known out of all of Mesopotamia's Civilizations was Babylon. During the second millennium B.C., it rose from a providential capitol to the center of a kingdom that encompassed southern Iraq and beyond. 

In Mesopotamia the first type of writing was formed,. It was called cuneiform and it developed in Sumer. Sumerians wrote on clay tablets using a wedge, like a pencil, to carve in the soft clay. Having this writing allowed the people of Mesopotamia to keep trade records. Also scribes recorded the first literacy work known to western civilization. The literature followed the epic story of king Gil Gamesh, who embanks on a quest for immortality but ultimately failed. 

The Mesopotamians were very important to modern day civilizations. They left a legacy of law, literature, and engineering, for modern nations to build on. 

Watch a video about Mesopotamia HERE!

CNN Student News 9/13/12

Tuesday night, violence and anger in Egypt and Libya broke out. In the Egyptian capitol Cairo, protesters attacked the embassy. The Embassy is the building where the ambassador, the diplomat that represents the U.S. in other countries, and staff work. The protesters tore down the flag outside of the embassy. Things in Libya were much more violent. There was a protest outside of the consulate and four U.S. citizens, including the ambassador, were killed. It was said that the protest was used as a diversion by attackers. The Libyan and Egyptian  governments said that they didn't have anything to do with this and it was to be frowned upon. The protesters were made up of a group of people who decided to  attack on their own. 

The strike with teachers in Chicago is still not over. They have still not come to an agreement with teachers pay or the stability of their jobs. Over 350,000 students go to school in this district, which is the third largest district in the U.S. Not only does this strike keep the students out of school, but sports teams are forbidden to practice. The football team has been practicing by themselves because their coach is not allowed to help them in any way. Their coach says that this is a major set back and the team needs a coach. Many of the players want to play college football and without practice or games it is hurting their chances. Other threats include the students falling far behind in school, which could lead to them repeating the year or getting bad grades. 

In 1300, the plague, also called the black death, killed 1/4 of Europe's population, a total of 25 million people. This plague causes you to have swollen lymph nodes all over your body in places like your neck. Now there is an average of 7 people per year who are diagnosed with the plague in the United States. Seven year old Sierra Jane Downing was one of them. She was on a camping trip with her family when she came across a dead squirrel. The plague can be spread by flea bites from infectious animals. Sierra's family rushed her to the hospital after she was vomiting and had a seizure. Luckily Sierra got out of the hospital yesterday and is feeling much better now. 

CNN Student News September 10, 2012.

The U.S. congress is likely to face a fiscal cliff this upcoming season. A fiscal cliff is a series of tax increases and spending cuts. The Congress will face this if the republicans and democrats don't come to an agreement on the deficit. If they don't there will be a $110 billion dollar cut on everything from education to food inspections. I think that the republicans and democrats NEED to agree on a deficit because these businesses can not afford this big of a budget cut.

Students at Florida A&M University, FAMU, will be required to sign an anti-hazing pledge to be able to attend the school. Hazing is when someone has to do a series of things involving harassment , abuse, dangerous activities, and humiliation as an initiation to get into some sort of group. The reason that this school is making everyone sign this pledge is because last year a member of the marching bad was killed in a hazing accident. There was also a report of the same thing happening to a girl on the dance team. Personally I don't think that this pledge will help that much with anti-hazing. For instance, a lot of people sign a pledge not to do drugs or drink and drive, but a lot of people still do it anyway. There is not really any way to stop this, but there are other ways that they could prevent it. Teachers should be responsible for admitting all students into functions. Also there should be a closer look at groups of kids doing this on their own.

Boston Dynamics has recently built a number of robots that can do a variety of things. Some of them can run fast and some of them can get through very difficult terrain. One of the robots that they built, named Marvel, actually beat Usian Bolts world record which was 27.78 miles per hour. Marvel's record was 28.3 miles per hour. These robots could be used for a number of things. Including helping the army, being sent to outer space, etc.

Herodotus

Herodotus was the first real historian. Herodotus lived in Ancient Greece, in Halicanassus, Caria. He was born in the fifth century, during the year 484 B.C. Herodotus' father's name was Lyxes and his mothers name was Artemisia. When he was born, Caria was still under Persian Rule.

Herodotus is called the “Father of History”. He was not the first person to ever study history, but he was the first to collect his material systematically, test its accuracy, and arrange it into a well constructed narrative. The Histories, is his masterpiece and the only known work he has. Long after Herodotus' death, The Histories was divided into seven books, beginning with Clio and followed by Euterpe, Thalia, Melpomene, Terpsichore, Erato, and the last was Polymnia.

Herodotus spent all of his life studying history, writing The Histories, and traveling almost all of the known world. Herodotus had a very productive life with many accomplishments, considering that he died at the young age of 59 in the year 425 B.C.

Boone

Boone is a city located in the Blue Ridge Mountains in northwest North Carolina. Because I enjoy the scenery, changing seasons, and nature, Boone would be no ordinary place to live and attend college.

Coming into Boone is one of the best parts of being there. You're just driving and then all of the sudden as you are driving, the scenery changes from highways and roads to beautiful mountains, trees, views, and valleys.  Boone is the home of Appalachian State University, the place where I want to attend college. Appalachian is a very nice school, not only because the way the school looks or that they have a good educational program, but there is a LOT of school spirit! Everywhere you look you see black and yellow, whether it be a sweatshirt, a sign, a little mountaineer statue, or, like we saw, a mountaineer mobile. When you're at your house in Boone and you go outside to get dome air and you just sit on the back porch it is amazing. It's very peaceful and there isn't all that unwanted noise, such as cars driving by. You look out and see all the beautiful sights, the trees, listen to the rain and thunder, and enjoy the scenery.

Where we live when it rains, isn't it usually just gloomy and boring? What about when it snows? Well, that's fun, but we don't get much of it. In Boone when it rains it so peaceful! It's very relaxing to listen and watch it. Also it is always cool because it's in the mountains, so in the winter it's actually cold enough for snow! Personally I have only been there when it had snowed once, but my aunt said that sometimes she will go sit on the porch and listen to the snow. Did you know that snow made noise? One of my favorite parts about Boone is the changing seasons. When the leaves turn from green to orange, yellow, and red and it cools down. Then the trees loose the leaves, there is a lot of snow on them, and it's really cold outside. Then when all melts, it warms up, leaves grow back, and the flowers come back. Not only do you get to see the beauty of all of this, but there is so much to do. In the summer you can go white water rafting and zip lining, and in the winter you can go sledding, snowboarding, and skiing.

Enjoying the weather doesn't always mean sitting at home. In Boone you can take walks outside or at the shops because they are outside. It's very fun to shop outside at all the places and go to the restaurants there. I would much rather go shopping on King street outside than I would want to shop in a mall. As I said earlier I want to attend Appalachian. I have been to a couple schools and none of them are in as nice a place as ASU, with nature around them as pretty as it was there. I think that it would be amazing to walk to class every day and read your books for school outside while you listen to the birds, the wind, and the crickets.

After I told you all of this, do you see why Boone would be no ordinary place to live? When I get older I want to live her with all the the beautiful scenery, changing seasons, nature, and all the exciting the things there are to do. I don' think that it would ever get old, it is an ever changing place to live.

Archeology and Anthropology

Anthropology and Archeology

The study of humans past and present is called anthropology. An important field in anthropology is archeology. Archeology focuses on the study of humans in the past. These two studies are considered a science, but can also help the study of history. Without it we wouldn't know anything about the past, when people didn't leave records. With anthropology and archeology we have recovered a lot of things that tell us about history.

Topics studied in Anthropology include human origins and evolution, the organization of human social and cultural relations, human physical traits, how humans behave, the variations among different groups of humans, and how the evolutionary past of humans influenced it's social organization and culture. The field is divided into four sub-fields. Those sub-fields include cultural anthropology, the study of culture, linguistic anthropology, the study of the process of human communications, biological anthropology, the study of humans and non-human primates in their biological, evolutionary, and demographic dimensions, and archeology. Archeology is the study of human activity in the past, mainly through the recovery of things such as artifacts, architecture, bio-facts, and cultural landscapes.

The point of anthropology is to learn more about past and present societies and the development in the human race. This is why archeology is so important. If we didn't have any way to study humans we wouldn't know anything about past societies and the development of the human race. Imagine if we knew nothing about history. How often do you talk about the past? If we didn't know about history you couldn't talk about the past. It would be like not knowing something all the time. Or it would be like someone trying to tell you something and then saying never mind. You know that feeling of wondering what's going on until it drives you crazy? Or it would be like starting a movie from the middle! If we didn't have the sciences of anthropology and archeology we would be completely lost!