Q3 Post15

Another myth (or legend if you want to call it that) that I read recently is called "Finn and the Goblin" which is of Irish origins. It is about a boy whose father was a prominent military leader for one of the old clans of Ireland. The father was killed before the boy was born in a clan war in which he lost. The boy was raised in secret and becomes a skilled warrior himself. He eventually gains a vast amount of knowledge due to eating a mystical slamon that gives the eater intelligence beyond belief. Finn then confronts the king of the clan and takes a challenge that will make him a prominent warrior amoung his father's enemys. Finn is asked to kill a wicked goblin that was going to terrorize the city and Finn uses a mystical spear and his vast knowledge to defeat the goblin. He returns a hero and becomes a captain in the kings military. This is kind of akward since he is more healing wounds with his enemy's rather than fighting them.

Q3 Post14

A tale about love that I read this week is called "The Sea Monster" which is based directly off of its Greek mythological counterpart. It is about a city that is visited by a sea monster that destroys all the trade going to the city. The oracles in the city find out that if they give the monster the king's daughter, Andromeda, it will leave the city forever. So, they chain her to a sea wall and she waits for a day and the sea monster does not come. The next day, a man named Perseus finds Adromeda and falls in love with her. He will not defy the oracles of her city however and so he ends up fighting and slaying the creature (called a Schyllia in ancient Greece). In return for the service he provides the city, he is allowed to marry Andromeda as a tolken of gratitude from the city's king. Oh, another reason that Andromeda was the one chosen by the oracles is because she was also considered the most beautiful in the city.

Q3 Post13

The book Stalingrad is a war-time book written by a woman who lived in Stalingrad during the time it was under siege by the Germans. The people in the city at first are happy and peaceful and enjoying life while the war is going on a long ways away. That winter, they get news that the Germans have advanced to the outskirts of Stalingrad. The people have to deal with food shortages and constant artillery fire from the blockading Germans. It also talks about how the civilians helped stop the Germans from ever entering the city as a combined militia. In February, they find a way to get supplies from a little ways across the Baltic sea to the city by using rucks provided by the Allies. In the end, the Russian army finally arrives and drives the Germans back and away from the city, relieving the people of their oppressive blockade. Many people died during that winter due to starvation and poor sanatation was rampant since their was very little electricity.

Q3 Post12

I found a text that has described the colonization of the Americas by the Spanish. In 1492, Columbus sailed from Spain to the island of Haiti in the Carribean. During the next few voyages that Columbus took, he believed that he had reached Asia which was his main goal. Of course, he didn't find a western root to Asia. In the following centuries, the Spanish set up many colonies in the New World in the Carribean, Mexico, and South America. They used natives to mine silver and farm sugarcane that they planted on plantations in the Carribean. This led to a dwindling native population. Many natives were treated a lot better and had more rights than the slaves that the Spanish brought over from Africa. This also led to a complex social hierarchy with pure Iberian Europeans at the highest of the hierarch. The colonies eventually revolted against Spanish rule in the 19th century and all of the American mainland colonies won their independence.

Q3 Post11

I read an article from the Star Tribune on the uprisings in Pakistan. Prime Minister Sharif has been trying to talk and reconcile with President Zardari who competes with him for power in Pakistan. However, Sharif seems to be a hypocrite when he later on as he calls on a demonstration to overthrow the government that is being led by President Zardari. Sharif has said that he will talk with Zardari as long as the president keeps his word, as it appears he has gone back on promises several times. It seems like Sharif is a peaceful person who is willing to negotiate his way out of this political mess, but the demonstration seems to show a more violent side that says that he is prepared to start maybe a civil war with Zardari. Maybe Sharif is just keeping his options open in case the talks fail again or the president desides to not talk and just use the military to surpress the demonstrators.

Q3 Post10

I read an article that describes the history of Christmas, a religious holiday celebrated by Christians as the the birth date of Jesus Christ. Christmas comes from the words Cristes Masse which is an early english phrase for Mass of Christ. Christmas is thought to have originated from a Roman holiday that had celebrated their goddess Saturn and Mithras. It later became a date that celebrated the birth of Christ after the official religion in the Roman Empire changed to Christianity. Many nations continued to celebrate this holiday as a feast after the harvest was over. In the 16th and 17th centuries, during the Reformation, Protestants outlawed Christmas as a pagan holiday since many un-holy things were performed on Christmas in England and her colonies. Christmas has evolved now in the past 150 years or so with the decorating of Christmas trees and the sending of cards to relatives and friends. Christmas also in the past century has been an important economic boost to places like the United States as people spend a lot of money on gifts for relatives. It is a fun and joyous holiday that I celebrate with much joy and hope.

Q3 Post9

Bollywood came out in the mid 1900's and took a while to solidify itself as a huge movie-making set. Many movies made in Bollywood are loved all over Asia and some parts of Europe. So many people seem so attached to the place that they seem to only focus on the movies made there. It is sort of like America's Hollywood, but people seem more fanatic about it and there also seems to be a better reputation for it than Hollywood has. Also, there seem to be a lot more fans than Hollywood does. Many people love the movies that come out of Hollywood, but don't care much for all the underground, really bad stuff that the media seems to indulge upon all the time. It seems that Bollywood has a more positive outlook on the watchers and people seem to enjoy it a lot more as well as its movies.