[ESSAY]-We're not like them

         Are there differances between ourselves and the animals we know today? As Machavelli a Reniassaicne historian once stated in a paper; humans are the ultimate beings in the universe because god gave us reason and choice. Is that true? I believe that we are different from the other creatures in our world. Wether it be our human emotions, or our human qualities. All I know is that we're different from other creatures but similar in some ways, I mean why else would we call ourselves human? For example, one quality that we have that most animals in the animal kingdom dont have is the ability to communicate.

        One of the greatest form of intelligence in today's world is communication from either languages to gestures, to even something like Morse code. Sure most animals can communicate, but what makes human's communication so special is that we have a more advanced way of communicating to each other. For instance, we have so many different languages, and in those languages millions of words.In the end its pretty hard to find something that doesn't have a word to it. For instance, if we did have a word that we don't have a word for we could at least explain the event/thing we want to talk about.

         We are most similar to the animals in the animal kingdom in the sense of oral communication, and gestures.Take dogs for example they use barks as a way of communicating with us for either telling us that they "have to go" or that they want food.While we ourselves also have a way of telling each other that by either saying "I'm hungry", or "I need to go to the bathroom".So in the end if you think about it human language and animal calls are basically the same ,we just have a lot more calls than they do. Gestures are another great way of communicating in the world. For instance, we either shake hands with someone or wave to them as a sign of greeting them. Animals also have this skill as well, going back to dogs for instance, when a dog is happy his/her tail wags high back and forth signally(or symbolizing) his/her happiness.

          One communication skill that no other creature in the world but us has is our ability to talk through writing or literature. Being able to write has given us a great advantage through time. It has allowed us to exchange information, spread stories, and even introduce new ideas to the world. Even thouugh we still have cellphones we still communicate a lot through our writing for instacnce, social sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+ , and instant messaging have given us the ability to keep in touch with each other all day and night, when ever we want and,where ever we want. For example, Martin Luther during the 15th century wanted to reform the church so he wrote his ideas, and thoughts in German (specifically the 95 these) so that the many lower class individuals could read and relate to it, thus it made it easier for Luther to spread his ideas of the church and get a reformation of the church going.

      One flaw that comes with out language though is that we commonly mis communicate. For instance when one person says one something to one person and the person reciveing it gets a slightly or entirely different message. This has lead to many conflicts in our everyday lives such as large arguements, or even many unfortunate mishaps. For example, If a man in the relationship said "That girl is a really good friend of mine" the woman could interpret that in an entirly different way.

      Gestures are one way of communicating to someone or someting else in our world. For example we wave/handshake someone as a way of greeting them, oppose to dogs/some other animals who sniff their other animal's anus as a way fo saying hello(yes it is quite awkward). Another form of gestures is something such as sign language, a very complex way of communicating with others, this is used by people who cant hear and have to rely on their sight to talk to others. This has also been done with people to animal mostly with chimps, and gorillas our closest relatives in the animal kingdom.

      If there is one thing we have that animals defiantly don't have is technology which we also use to communicate with. We all know that these days people can talk to each other through the internet through social websites such has Facebook, Twitter, Google+. These sites have enabled us to furthermore talk, and even see what the other individual is doing or where he/she is at(kinda creepy and stalkerish). Furthermore people can find out events, disasters, etc. through the news which is another form of communication. The media is a excellent example of how far our communication skills have gotten. The radio, TV, and internet one of the greatest communication successes we have probably had in history. People through the radio, TV, and internet are able to advertise, sell, etc. Websites such as youtube have become great source of media communication, through this website musical artists have been able to communicate with other viewers, and thus have become famous on the internet now. Cellphones are another form of technological communication, through this small device we now even able to talk to one another from either a mile to a thousand miles away. The internet has also created these sites called "forums: where individuals can get help with a specific problem and have other people help him solve that problem. For example say that an individual's computer was malfunctioning, the person could just simply post it online and wait for another individual with superior knowledge with the situation come and help.
   
     Communication is a definite quality that separates us from other creatures out there in the animal kingdom. Communication is also one of mankind's greatest triumphs in history, without the advance communication that we have today and even before the modern age it would be hard to see where we would be at in history. 

     

[CE]-Its about time

Wandering through google reader/the news I found this:

The US policy banning gays from serving openly in the military ends on Tuesday, and the Pentagon says it is prepared for the change.

Looking at this article i find it nice that people are beginning to see homosexual people as regular people who are just like us,  except well yea u know. Also while reading I found out that the goverment rejected gays from the army, I definatly did not know that haha. The goverents new "Dont ask dont tell policy" is a good way to reslove the problem but it kinda says that they dont really want to change theyre just tolerating it which is good because that is hopefully a first step to accepting gays into our society.
     I do not understand why society dislikes gays so much. Is it because of religon? or just because we our selves are scared of them? I'm not saying i am gay or anything, but i believe that homosexual people have a right to be who they are and who they want to be with just like us(or most of us) we can choose what we want to do with our lives, becuase we ourselves are not that much different from them. Anyways seeing that the goverment has lifted the law/rule that gay could not join they army i think it is again quite a big step becuase it is a sign that society is beginning to accept them into society. Furthermore it is good for the army becuase this way we gain more volunteers for our army. 

[FREE]-uhh who would want to be hated O.o

          Last week, in my AP European history class we had a discussion/debate of wether as a leader "Is it better to be loved or hated?" In my opinion, I believed that it is better to be loved. Throughot history we have seen evidence of how being loved has done better for a nation than being hated. For example, The Independent City state of Urbino was well known cultural and intellectual center of the Renaissance. Why? because the people in the city actually liked him because of how he (Ferderigo da Montefeltro) ruled. It is said that the Ferderigo could walk the streets of his city GUARDLESS (its a big deal) becuase the people loved him that much. With that said compare that the other leader who got over thrown recently like in Mexico (I may be wrong but this is just what i am going from i think i heard recently).
     Being hated sucks(of course) becuse if you are a crapper ruler/leader i am pretty sure people out there are gonna be constantly out to get you or kill you. That is why being a good ruler has its perks, u get peace, less revolts, less people trying to kill you etc.  Thus with this evidence being loved is truly a way better way to go than being feared because being feared would have chances of some not so good outcomes if you get what I mean.

[RE]-Way of the future

I was looking through the my class blog https://sites.google.com/site/sutherlanduniversityahs/home/class-blog/cellphonesarebannedaahsbutand I saw that my teacher Mr.sutherland posted

...it's possible to do your homework on some of them. Cough, cough. (Hey, not everybody can bring in a laptop every day, right?)

   After reading this i couldnt helped but chuckle to myself because its actualy possible. I own an EVO 4G and I have typed up my homework on that small thing.  Last year I typed up a draft of my paper with the android because there was no computer available and my english teacher would not let me leave the room. I ended up typing it up in a little over half an hour later (it is espically convienient with its auto correct system). Afterwards I simply emailed the document to my self on gmail, then I simply went to the media center after class, got on a computer accessed my the email and printed it out. Therefore I do not see why the schools wants to band cellphones. They are a big part of everyone's everyday lives. How? becuase it is so convienient for individuals with the phones many apps/features from the caculator(also graphing) to word document programs, it just makes the whole student life a lot simplier, and easier.
   Furthermore the new smart phones like the Iphone, and android phones are the way of the future. Devices such as the ipad and new android tablets will inevitably replace traditional textbooks. So in possibly, in a couple years, or even longer we could be looking at a school which runs on ipads, android tablets, etc. Having these would also(again) make it easier on the students, although it is may(probobly will be) much more expensive, but easier on their backs. For example, students would not have to go all the way to computer labs anymore nor would they need them. With the new tablets and such, students could type up their essay, check their email, and browse the web all in one classroom at 3-4G speeds, way faster than  the computers at the school.

[BC]-What the heck...

    He wanders the pitch black room looking, searching for something. The floorboard creaks with each step he takes. Unable to see into the darkness he lets his arms become his eyes. Thinking he knows where the object he desires is suddenly feels a sharp instant pain against his toes. Yelping from the sudden shock he jumps back grasping his foot in pain. Moments later he regains his balance and slowly starts across the room again walking slower this time. Letting his arms guide him he feels a cold, rough, and smooth feeling against his hands. He continues down the path letting his new surrounding guide him.
      As he continues down he hits a sudden object this time against his body around the chest area, seconds later he hears a crash against the ground a glass like breaking sound. He stops to process what had just happened, then continues his walk this time more cautiously and straying to the left hoping to avoid the shattered object on the ground. By now he feels a wet sensation on his toes as well as a certain numbness. After taking his next step  he feels another great pain against his foot, but it was different this time it had a     more of a sharp stabbing feeling to it.Quickly jumping back once again this time though he looses his footing, falling backwards hitting his head against the hard cold floorboard. Now on the ground trying to put together what had just occurred he can feel the cold wet sensation as felt on his toe before now slowly coming down the side of his face. Laying there still, he feels himself slowly drift off almost like a sleep but different he didn't know why, but it was different. He quickly realized what was probably coming down and shakes himself awake.
       Slowly he tries to get up using the rough, cold object from earlier as support. Groaning in pain he begins his walk(more like limping now) to the other direction this time. Since his other hand was being used to help support him he uses his other hand as once again his "eyes". He lets his hand roam where ever it wishes after a while he hits an object but this time the sound it made was more of a hollow like sound. It almost felt like the thing he was supporting himself on but this time more of a light hollow, fibrous feeling. The hand roams down and grasps a cold metal feeling object he then turns the object using his wrist and pulling back at the same time. A sudden gush of fresh cold air hits his face along with a bright light. Then with great enthusiasm hops out with one leg but at the same time losses his balance once again tripping and goes down head first into the cold hard wooden floorboard. Laying there he feels the wet sensation flow out  rapidly around him, able to see it now he realizes what it is, his own blood.Now to tired and hurt to do anything he lets himself fade into darkness once again.

[FREE]- Bucket List

       I wonder how many people have an actual bucket list. I pondered for a good hour once on my bed trying to think of what I would do and i came up with some (in my opinion) good ones, and good ones as in not "become a billionaire", or "get a Ferrari(although maybe possible)". I've never been much of a traveler the last trip it was on the week of summer before school to LA, my last vacation before that was 2-3 years ago to Vietnam  for three weeks. Thus, lately I've wanted to go traveling more, so my first goal before I die would be to travel to all the countries in the world starting in the United States , and hopefully most of Europe and Asia . But if that doesn't work out my first stop that i would;d defiantly go to would be Hawaii. Ever since i was a kid I have listened to stories of how great and beautiful the island was.
     Number 2 on the list would be to become a climber, specifically a mountain climbing, even though it seems dangerous from I've seen on TV, but what ever  it looks treacherous and fun. I hope to one day climb to the top of Mount Everest( I know bit of a long shot).
     3rd on my list is something that i cant necessarily really attain it kinda depends on genetics and myself physically, I also hope to grow to 6ft, I know not really a goal, but hey its my bucket list not yours! Sports are a big part of my life, and I love playing sports(i mean who doesn't). I specifically play badminton, and my long term goal with the sport is to become an A ranked player and hopefully win a tournament before I go off to high school. My last and biggest goal for myself is probably one that everyone would agree with me on, I wish to live a good, healthy, long and happy life. yea see you would probably agree with me on that i mean if u didn't you probably would have offed yourself by now. 

[RE] MW3

Ive found an interesting post from a classmate and i thought id talk about it

So Modern Warfare 3, like I said before is the continuing saga of COD and the continuing story of MW2. Modern Warfare 2 defiantly deserved the credibility it got by having one of the best story-lines, graphics, and online play of any COD game.

I am to very excited for the new Call Of duty Modern Warfare 3 (MW3) game coming out in November of 2010(i think).The last game black ops was really  disappointing becuase it lacked the graphic, and pvp (player vs player) perks of the last game, modern warfare 2. Furthermore Black Ops also lacked as Thomas said in his last post the weapons of modern warfare 2 as well while playing the game i missed the powerful weapon of the .50 cal sniper rifle, the AK-47, and much much more.
     I believe the only thing that made Black Ops sell was the "title" of Call of Duty(COD) and the expansion of "Nazi zombies" which was a major hit in previous games although not so much with this one. The graphics of Black Ops furthermore seemed lacking, and some what slow. I don't know if I am the only one who noticed that ,but hey who knows maybe its just me. I never liked the idea of currency in the game but more in the leveling system because you can just automatically get the weapon when you are a high enough level much better than saving up money or grinding for about a week and a half. But Hopefully, Modern Warfare 3 will bring back what Black Ops lacked recently.

[FREE] 9/11

Since the 10 year anniversary of 9/11 was quickly approaching, my English teacher, Mr. Sutherland decided to start a class discussion of how 9/11 changed the world. During the discussion I was surprised of how some of my fellow student’s thoughts and reactions about the event. They believed that people all over the world should just not celebrate, and forget about 9/11, to me that seemed a little disrespectful. By simply forgetting this even, it would not only be greatly disrespectful to the people who died in the disaster, but also to the heroes who were brave enough to go into the building and help. Furthermore forgetting an event like this is almost like forgetting a loved one, it’s just not right. While debating about, an individual commented about a 3 year old boy who was killed due to a cross-fire in Oakland not too long ago.
     He tried comparing that event to the 9/11 which is quite different. Before I go on I am not trying to imply that the child who died is not important. In a matter of hours during 9/11 2,000 people died, while the child who died in Oakland was one person. I am basically trying to say is that there is a somewhat big gap between these two events.   Once again I am not trying to say that the child that died isn’t important it is just that 9/11 and the incidents in Oakland are two very different scenarios.

[CE]- Texas wildfire

I've found an interesting story about natural disasters and i decided to share it with you

My heart goes out to the people in Texas as over the last couple days a wildfire proves to be fatal as hundreds of people are left homeless. “Worst wildfire in history” individuals are saying. I believe that this is a good example that Global Warming is truly happening and that if we don’t start changing it could leave dire consequences. This is a great example for the people who don’t believe in global warming that it is very very real. If we don’t change the wildfires might not be the only things that we have to worry about, other natural disasters such a rises in sea levels, and hurricanes could also be a more frequent possibility. Anyways it turns out that the wildfire has proved to be a fierce foe that even local firefighters have trouble keeping it in check. The wildfire is said to be so bad that some residents in Texas have fled their home and moved into safe houses for the time being waiting and hoping that the fire blows over soon.
 The same predicament has also occurred in the South California Mountains where about 650 residents have also fled their homes to safe houses. Furthermore, matters became worse when in Texas as if one wild fire was bad enough, it is hypothesized that two giant wild fires met and merged together creating and giant mega wildfire. Another prime example that global warming is real and natural disasters are becoming more and more common and that we need to change for the better soon.       

[BC]-Noob

Name is Nick, not Nicole, not Nicky, not Dick, just Nick. Good now that we’ve got that out of the way. Welcome to my blog, I hope to post Columns, essays, or small posts up a couple times a week about anything I find interesting. My hobbies are building models such as planes, tanks, etc and painting them as well. I also like playing videogames, hanging out with friends, and going to play paintball. My favorite sports are badminton, football, Frisbee, soccer, and little bit of baseball. I don’t travel quite that much the last place I traveled to that was pretty far and interesting was Vietnam and Hong Kong back in 2009. I liked the experience because it showed how really different the other side of the world is and how culturally different we are from one another. I hope to in the future travel to other parts of the western country such as France, Germany, The United Kingdom, etc.
     I play three instruments the piano, guitar, and the alto saxophone. My current goal in music is to start a band with my friends. I also hope that after I finish mastering guitar I could play bass or the ukulele.
      I am the middle child of three kids in my family I have an older brother, and a younger brother, and also two parents (of course). My mother came from Vietnam when she was fourteen years old because of the war that was raging. She first immigrated to Canada and then to the United States when she met my father who came from Hong Kong when he was twelve years old. My school work has always been at the B and maybe A level so this year I hope to make them all A’s. In the future I hope to become a computer engineer or some kind of biological chemist. I want to go to either UC Berkeley or UC Davis. With most people, they don’t actually know that I’m a Sophomore and Last year they had the “:O” going on when they found out that I’m a freshman.  My writing goals this year include almost anything from spelling to Vocabulary. I hope to improve my writing in both historical and first person writing. I furthermore, want to find out who the “inner” writer inside me is. For example am I a social writer, artistic writer, sport writer, etc anything like that.