Q3 Post8

A book that has a really different kind of culture than us is Eragon. A major difference is that its military is very archaic and apparently has been so for thousands of years. They rely on important beings known as Dragon Riders that are considered neutral, peace-keepers to their continent of Alagasia. These Riders, and a few other lucky humans plus all the elves in the book, can wield magic that can be used to simulate modern machines that could be just as devastating. Elves also add a twist to the book by being almost a completely different species although they are very human-like. This is very different from our culture in that we live with many more material good than they could ever realize in the book. They also would notbe able to match the population and exploration that our world has acheived within the past 800 years pobably.

Q3 Post7

One documentary that I watched on the History Channel talked about the Industrial Revolution. It was time of very dramatic change in social standings and how economies worked. For instance, the steam engine dramatically changed how some goods such as textiles were made. They could be produced faster, more cheaply, and produced anywhere so long as they could put up a factory there. Also, the fuel for the engines was constant and didn't require nature which was never constant in its power. Coal was very abundant and burned very hot to produce the heat to produce steam to drive the engines. Another invention that came from the United States was the cotton gin. The cotton gin could take the cotton seeds out of cotton that was picked by slaves on southern plantations faster and more effectively than the slaves doing it by hand. It also increased productivity which made cotton even more cheap and a common source for clothes-making factories.

Q3 Post6

One book that I think has a lot of hope about it, is Brian's Winter. This is a sequel to Gary Paulsen's Hatchet and offers an alternative ending where he isn't able to set off a radio signal that saves him. Brian figures out that he should get ready for winter and hope that nothing big, furry, and has claws doesn't decide to hibernate in his shelter. He also breaks his rifle, so now he hopes that he will be able to hunt again with his bow, which he does fine at. Also, he hopes that the winter won't be a really harsh one and that he will be able to stay warm enough even when he goes outside. One thing that I really like about the book and other books that Gary Paulsen writes is that he is able to make everything that he writes sound completely realistic even though it usually is an entirely fictional work. His descriptions as to what happens such as the rifle breaking, sound realistic and like something that could happen at any given time.

Q3 Post5

A series of books I am reading is the Fullmetal Alchemist series. A major influence that I have noticed throughout the books is religion. The Homunculi in the book, which are major secondary characters, are all based off of the seven deadly sins in Christianity, even though the book sports a primarily aetheist group of people. In the first book, a religion that bases itself on a sun god with followers that think that their prophet is able to resurrect them if they die. Totally a farse. Turns out the Homunculi were behind the cult and just wanted to cause massive bloodshed in the region in order to fulfill their primary purpose. A huge concept in the book is a science called alchemy, which they have learned to wield to turn any element into anything they can think of, while following the law of equivalent exchange (conservation of mass). This leads them to believe that there isn't any god since they can do just about anything.

Q3 Post4

I read a book on (and called) Joan of Ark. This book talks about how Joan was able to overcome the gender boundries of her time and rise to command the entire French Army during the Hundred Years War between France and Britain. Most women during this time had very few roles other than doing housework, helping their husbands out in the fields, and working as servants. Yet, somehow (most people think that their was some sort of divine influence in her), she was able to convince the Dauphin, the leader of France, to let her command the armies and begin retaking France from the British. Her first major victory won here the hearts and loyalty of the entire army. Oh, and by the way, she was only 14 when she received command under the Dauphin. There wouldn't be another female general in any army for several centuries to come.

Q3 Post3

A book that I have read before has a very different culture than what we are used to living in. In the book The City of Gold and Lead by John Christopher, the world is under the control of foreign aliens known as the Masters and have been limiting human existence with their powerful machines known as Tripods. The subjected humans are "capped" at a certain age to prevent disobedience and resistence from the humans. However, a group of humans has been able to avoid being capped and tries to re-learn what their ancestors had known. The present science level is at about the mid-19th century with the resisting humans at a little later point and gradually progressing due to recovered books and articles from the 20th century (the present day for them is a while into the future). The free humans are constantly fighting to prevent the Masters from taking control of the whole world and soon begin a race against time as a spaceship from the Master's homeworld is coming to Earth that would kill the world for humans and make it entirely the Master's planet. Supression is a key component that is very different from our culture.

Q3 Post2

The book Hatchet by Gary Paulsen with Brian as its main character is a great example of someone overcoming adversity. Brian gets stranded in the Canadian wilderness for some time and has to learn how to survive on the land. His first nights are miserable since he has just escaped death in the crashed airplane and mosquitos attacking him make life miserable. He is left with some money, his clothes, a hatchet his mother gave him, and a broken watch. He learns how to make a sturdy shelter that will keep the bugs, critters (a skunk surprises him one time when he comes out), and keeps the rain off of him at night. Eventually, he makes a bow and a quiver of arrows so that he can hunt rabbits and little birds. Surprisingly, he gets good at the archery and is soon living well with herbs and meat in his little hut. Brian also makes a little live well by the lake he is on to keep little fish in their for when he can't kill anything when he goes out hunting. His lifestyle steadily improves and he soon is living well and comfortably in Canada.

Q3 Post1

Pope Benedict XVI has promoted a pastor to a bishop with one of the reasons being that this pastor wrote an essay on how hurricane Katrina was divine retribution for all the sin in New Orleans. Many priests and other Catholic officials have to disagree with the Pope's decision on the reasons for this promotion and how disturbing the article on Katrina was. Many other high ranking Catholic officials in Austria, where the promoted bishop is from, find this move disturbingly conservitive and likely to produce many people leaving the church. This has also brought up very one-sided (although heatedly debated) argument that Katrina was a man-made pollution or whether it was spiritual pollution.