Ishmael by: Daniel Quinn

I found this book to be very interesting yet a bit strange.  I have never read a book quite like this one.  Towards the beginning of the book, the narrator comes across an ad that that said: “TEACHER seeks pupil.  Must have an earnest desire to save the world.  Apply in person”(pg 4).  The narrator then meets a educated gorilla named Ishmael who is telepathic.  Majority of the book is a back and forth dialogue between the narrator and the gorilla, where the gorilla helps the narrator to understand the history and the future of humankind and how if we don’t do something, then we are essentially destroying the world.  Through the book, it talks about the Nazis and Mother Culture.  One quote that scared me was the one that was one that was in the front and in the back of the book “With man gone, will there be hope for gorilla” and the other quote that was in the back of the book was “with gorilla gone will there be hope for man.”  This scares me a bit because we are all one, we are all a part of something thing and if one goes will we/ they be able to survive without us/them.  I would like to read it again when I have more time because I kind of quickly read it and I feel like I may have missed a lot.        

Vocabulary on decline due to fewer books

Although this is not news, I did find this article to be very interesting and yet a bit sad because it’s true.  More and more kids would rather play on the computer, Xbox, or text, and then actually pick up a book.  With the advancement of technology, books are becoming a thing of the past.  With fewer books being read, there is also a decline in vocabulary words that should be learned.  Reading allows for a child to develop their vocabulary and even help them later on in life.  There are also less dictionaries being used which also hinders a kids ability to learn because if they see a word they don’t understand they are less likely to pick up a dictionary to look up the word.  We are becoming lazy and would rather not learn the meaning of the word(s).  By looking up a word, the process mentally glue into the memory, which will allow you to recall that word later on if you learn it to begin with.   I may not always carry a dictionary around, but I tend to write down word that I heard but wasn’t familiar with and later look it up.  I actually have a word list that keeps on building.  When I have the time, I try to do some leisurely reading, but I usually end up reading something for school.    

Social Life Starts in the Womb

Wow that was certainly an interesting yet strange article.  The article talked about how the womb provides the first opportunity for social bonding.  The twin fetuses start to reach out for one another and as the weeks go by the fetuses spend more time touching their neighbor then themselves or the wall of the uterus.  The findings suggest that the twin fetuses are more aware of their counterparts and prefer to interact with them in the womb.  This was definitely an interesting article and I guess that’s why many twins have a somewhat closer bond then siblings who aren’t twins.  Because they have to share the womb, they may also be sharing other things like thoughts and feelings.  I don’t know if this is actually true, but I have heard that many twins seem to feel each other’s thoughts and feelings.    

Drowning Beautiful

An artist named Jason Taylor is creating life size cement sculptures that he later submerges in the waters of South America.   As time passes the sculptures become a part of the beautiful underwater landscape and become artificial reefs for the fish.  These picture are so amazing, I don’t think I would have believed someone would that that had I not seen it with my own eyes.  It’s unbelievable the way people come up with are and how they choose to show it off.  I would love to actually see these sculptures in real life.  It’s amazing that people can be so creative and can even help the environment along the way. These sculptures have more than one purpose, they are nice to look at and also help the underwater environment.  I loved the picture and have already showed these pictures to others and they too found it to be interesting.  I can’t wait to see how these sculptures look in a few more years.

For more pictures and the actual article: http://24flinching.com/word/gold-seal/inspiring-artists/drowning-beautiful/

Ted.com (Marcel Dicke)

I stumbled upon this video and found it o be very interesting.  The video basically talks about insects and that we should be eating them.  As far as I know I have never intentionally eaten an insect, but apparently every one does, whether in their sleep or in their everyday food that they eat.  I was shocked to learn that all our processed foods contain more protein than we are aware of.  These insects are in our tomato soups, peanut butter, chocolate, noodles, and many other things.   80% of the world’s population actually eats insect, which I found to be interesting.  I had no idea that it was that many but as I watched the video, I came to understand why.  There are far more insects on this planet than humans or any other mammal.  There are 6 million of insects on this planet and a thousand of them are being eaten.  “We are not a planet of men, but a planet of insects.”  I thought that was an interesting quote because it seems to be true there are far more insects than humans and without insects we would not be here.  Insects are at the bottom of the food chain but if they go what will the other animals eat.  The insects help us by removing dung, pollinating our crops; they also control pests and are food for animals.  More and more people are turning to insects for their daily protein and a lot of restaurants are staring to add insects to their menus.  After watching this, I’m still not sure if I would eat an insect willingly, unless I was starving.  Over all I thought this was an interesting video and in a few more years we could start to see the value of eating insects.  There is only a limited amount of livestock and plants that are edible, but bugs could be the future to our survival.

The video that I watched:  http://www.ted.com/talks/marcel_dicke_why_not_eat_insects.html

Eat Here by: Brian Halweil

Wow this book really opened my eyes.  I thought it was a very interesting and educational book that everyone should read if they care about where their food comes from, or if they care about the connection we have with our food.  You should also read this book if you care about local farming and local food and the importance local food has on the environment.  Halweil also talk a lot about history and how things became the way they are and how things have change in only a few years.  

I thought it was very interesting how farmer are getting together and actually selling their produce in a farmer’s shop/grocery store.  These store support local farmers which is one step closer to putting the word out there that it’s better to eat locally.  People today are losing connection with the farmers and even their food, because the people eat/buying food that does not come for that area; don’t really know where it came from and the process it took to ship it here.  “The long-distance transport of food had become such a defining characteristic of the modern food system that most people accept it as the only way for us to be well fed” (pg 12).  I thought that was very sad because that isn’t the only way but because many of us are lazy and don’t have time or just don’t want to grow our own food we rely on “fast food.” It was astonishing to find out that not only does long-distance travel for food increate waste and pollution, but it actually increase a substantial amount of waste.  The food that is shipped to an area will have more waste and the area the sipped it has less fertilizer. Long-distance also contributes to climate change.  I never thought about that, but that is very interesting.  Also the book talks about the history about food storage which I thought was sad yet interesting.  For some reason this quote scared me when I read it, “tinkering with plan biology.”  I think it scared me because a few semesters ago we spoke about genetically modified foods and its impact on us.  However it may be good for something’s, I don’t really think it should be done because you should be changing things that weren’t meant to be changed. These are just a few things that the book touched on and there is a lot of interesting information in that book.

I think people need to start supporting their local farmers and get back somewhat get back to what we used to be.  We are losing touch with our food and with history of what we used to be.  I am so thankful that my father is a gardener and we are able to eat what we grow and not have to rely so heavily on the food market.  We are able to stay connected to the simple things in life and appreciate what we do.  Gardening is hard work but you get a sense of satisfaction because you are doing things with your hand and you get to see Mother Nature doing her work and you get to eat what you grow.  Not many people can say they grow what they eat and I am happy to say I do.  My father also gets a lot of joy by giving extra vegetables to our neighbors which allows us to stay connected.  Also other people in the neighborhood do the same so at least we are able to kind of look out for one another.

Field Trip: Likeke Trail Hike

Unfortunately, this was the last field trip I went on before going home to Maryland and I wasn’t really feeling all that great that day to begin with.  For the most part, I stayed in the back of the line of people who were hiking with us.  Although this way I could take pictures and really capture the event. Sadly I wasn’t able to hear a lot of the history of the trail because I was in the back, but from what I was able to hear, was pretty interesting.  I really liked the trail because you got to see the beauty of nature and hear the some of the history.  I started to feel a little better during the hike but still stayed behind and took pictures. I figured I would do this field trip again and hear more of the history the next time. Halfway through the hike we came across a waterfall and stopped to take pictures. I loved that part because it was just so beautiful and many people who visit the island never really get to see something like that because it’s not really advertised.  Its hidden beauty is what I liked about it the most. Once we got to the end of the hike, we took a break and sat for lunch (if you brought a lunch, sadly I didn’t, but someone offered to share their pomegranate with me, which was very nice of her and I definitely accepted since pomegranate is a favorite of mine).  I wish I had heard more of the history, but I am still glad that I went for the experience and took pictures and I hope to go again. It’s a hidden beauty and I think those are so rare to find now-a-days, but I’m glad I went and I can’t wait to go again.

Here are some pictures from the field trip: