Another Road to Success for Special Olympics Athletes

Many people don’t typically understand that the Special Olympics has so many talented athletes and it’s amazing to see the effort they put in to compete.

http://www.specialolympics.org/

In the article, “Special Olympics: Confidence in Sports and Life, Molly Hincka”, Kerry Hincka talked about how her daughter Molly was diagnosed with the disability of coordination, which caused her not to be able to walk or talk.

They took her to physical therapy and by the age of four she was talking and walking. Since their family was very athletic, they decided to put her into a soccer program that her brother had played on. “It was hard to watch her carefully set up to kick the ball and have another player kick it away before she was ready.” Her mother had explained that and shared that Molly soon tried track and as soon as she stepped onto the track, she fell in love with it. 

Now she is 20 years old and still competing in the Special Olympics. She works very hard. She works out with her family and siblings all the time. This article was very reliable because it came from a source who has experienced it and learned to overcome her struggles and how to deal with her situation. I think that this article about Molly was very interesting and cool to read because it was from a different perspective than most athletes out there. I enjoyed learning about Molly’s experience from birth to her early twenties and seeing how much she has grown since then. 

In the future I plan on researching more of the topic of Pro-Athletes who have made mistakes and lost their success and told their story.

Germany is Back Again

Below is a picture of a very famous prison camp, known as Auschwitz. Here everyday, about 6,000 Jews were gassed. 

Source:http://www.danandholly.com

1. What did Germany do to bounce back from World War I?

Germany had most of their resources taken away for reparations, and their economy was in a crippled state. But, in less than 20 years Germany is back and running and causing trouble again. First, Germany bent the rules of the treaty of Versailles. That rule was no mobilizing. However, hitler would sneak soldiers around and they would fly planes over fields and train that way. Which was a major loophole. They also borrowed a lot of money from other countries which helped get them out of debt. The U.S. helped Germany out a lot, because as it helped Germany it would have helped the U.S. also. It helped the U.S. because they were just getting out of the Great Depression (a little bit after Hitler came into Power),  U.S. would Loan it to Germany, Germany would then pay it to European Powers, and eventually the U.S. would get it back. However, the U.S. did not know that Germany would make the same mistake twice.

2.  What did Germany contribute to World War II?

Germany was one of the many reasons why the war broke out. Partially because they broke the Treaty of Versailles, and that they were taking over countries. They murdered many, many people. Germany killed around 6 million jewish people. The Jews would be tortured, imprisoned (concentration camps), and even kidnapped. Germans separated many families and created what is now known today as the Holocaust. The etymology for Holocaust comes from holos meaning “whole” and Kaustos meaning “burned.” In the concentration camps if a prisoner was to weak, which was likely because of malnutrition, they would be sent to ‘shower’ but really they would be sent to gas chambers where they were burned or, ‘baked.’  Germany caused a ton more issues than they did in World War One.

My next blog post will be about war tactics Germany and other countries used.

Germany in World War One

Have you ever played the game Risk? Becuase, Germany used tactics in the beginning of World War I that are a like the game.

Source: http://www.passports.com

According to History.com, Germany had caused a lot of issues in Europe.

1.  How did Germany stir up problems in Europe?

Germany was so prepared for a war to break out. They had many different ideas, one of which is called the Schlieffen Plan. The Schlieffen plan was made for quick decisions that would destroy the enemies. Germany, thinking they had no other choice,  aimed to use this plan, and invade France. Germany was in need of a plan fast, because if they did not act quick Russia would be mobilized and ready to fight against them. However, acting quick did not work in their favor, and German forces had to take a detour into Belgium. Germany was expecting to be able to walk right through, but Belgium fought against them, making Germany’s job a lot more complicated.

2. Why did no one try to stop German forces?

No one tried to stop Germany, because none of the other countries wanted a war to break out. Germany was not ready for it either,  and despite that Germany declared war on France, on August 3rd, 1914. Germany was expecting it to be a quick war, but France and its allies were a lot more prepared than the Germans thought.

3. What made Germany so successful?

Germany was going strong and fighting well the first few battles. This was because of trench warfare. However, trench warfare was very nasty, the trenches had mice, bugs, muddy, and were often filled with water to point where the soldiers could easily drowned. Germany’s luck ran out, and they began to have a hard time continuing the war that they had started.

4. How did Germany fall out of power?

In the beginning of 1915, Germany and its people started to realize that the war was turning against them. Many of Germany’s people lost hope and they stopped supporting the war. By the end of 1918, Germany was losing its allies, and the ones that were loyal had collapsed, like Bulgaria. Germany ended up losing and had to pay for the repairs of the war expenses, but Germany did show the world that they could almost defeat nearly every country in Europe

In future research, I am going to see how Germany came back form World War One and how they contributed to World War Two.

What Started it All

SOURCE: https://ferrebeekeeper.wordpress.com

According to History.com, both World Wars were started by Germany getting into conflict with other countries.

World War I

1. There was a chain of events that started the war. However, the thing that really sparked the war was the murder of Franz Ferdinand .

I didn't know that that there was more than one reason why the first world war was started. I just thought that it was only because countries were invading other countries. Also, I was surprised that the death of archduke Franz Ferdinand was what really just set off the war. It's known as the, "spark that set it on fire."

2. The reason why U.S. got involved was Germany sank Lusitania, a ship with U.S. passengers on them.

I found this really interesting, because I didn't know that U.S. got involved because they thought Germany was targeting them. I thought U.S. got involved because Britain wanted to ally with them.

3. The Battle of the Frontiers was the first major battle between Britain and Germany.

British and German forces were face to face on the western front. However, Britain were allies and against Germany. Over the period of one day 27,000 French soldiers had been killed. For one day, that is many, many soldiers and that was just the first battle. Lanrezac, a french commander, called for a general retreat. He did that because the 5th army was barely holding their ground and all of the other armies were either captured or were too having just as much trouble, he said that “we have been beaten. But the evil is reparable. As long as the 5th army lives, France is not lost.” Meaning that they could get other soldiers, but if the 5th army were to be captured or dead, then France would have a greater challenge ahead of them.

4. Four days after Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, Russia and Germany declared war on each other.

I found it really interesting how most of Europe was in war. Serbia and Austria-Hungary were in a war with each other and Russia and Germany were in a different war. But soon after it would have just become one gigantic war.

5. A lot of people in the countries were happy about the fighting.

The citizens of the countries were happy because they were so convinced that the war would last no more than a few months. They were also convinced that their country would win the war. However, the war took four years long which is most definitely not just a few months.

World War II

1. The start of World  War One was when Hitler invaded Poland.

Hitler invaded Poland by using lightning war or blitzkreig. Blitzkrieg was using tanks in battle. Hitler had invaded many countries before Poland. The reason why he got away with it was propaganda and excuses. Hitler lied and said that Poland was persecuting German soldiers across the border.

2. In 1939, Britain,  France, and Soviet Union formed an alliance against German forces.

However, this all fell apart when Poland refused to let Soviet Union enter into Poland. I found that really surprising because Soviet Union would be helping Poland. However, Britain and France still defended Poland, against Germany.

3. On September 3rd Britain and France declared war on Germany.

Even though Britain and France were the ones to declare war Germany was more prepared. Germany had advanced to the outskirts of Warsaw by september 8th. I found this almost ironic because Germany was almost ready for the war to begin and it kind of seemed like they wanted a war.

For further research, I am going to study how did Germany got so much power?

The World's True Food Consumption

In the world we live in the most important thing in life is to eat, but exactly how much do we eat, grow, and use?  This is a question many scientists have because of our constantly growing world.  Hunger and malnutrition have also been huge centers of aid for countries like Africa and even the U.S.  The article “14 Surprising Stats about Global Food Consumption” on One.org, talks about what fuels our lives.  

“75% of the world’s food is generated from only 12 plants and 5 animal species.”

Rice, maize and wheat contribute to 60% of the total grain and protein consumption across the globe and many people don’t realize the lack of biodiversity in our food.  This also shows how creative people have been to showcase these ingredients in such diverse ways and products, to accommodate the world we live in.  

“Americans waste about 141 trillion calories worth of food every day.That adds up to about $165 billion per year – 4 times the amount of food Africa imports each year.”

While people in Africa have a huge percentage of people with malnutrition or starvation, the U.S.’s waste could replenish Africa 4x more than usual.  This seems crazy because most people don’t appreciate that sandwich crust they threw away at lunch, but it could have saved another person somewhere else.

one.org

 

“By 2030, only 1 in 7 people are expected to be consuming less than 2,500 calories per day.This is great news – it means more people in developing countries are eating more!”

New statistics show a lot about how much people consume around the world.  According to these stats we have even brighter futures because they show that more people will not be hungry, and poverty levels will drop, meaning many people will eat more than usual.  This also means higher produce production rates, increasing jobs and economy around the world.  

FUTURE RESEARCH: Inequality/poverty/demographics around the world:
http://www.100people.org/statistics_detailed_statistics.php
http://www.miniature-earth.com/
How people have overcome the challenges of their geography?

Origins

How did people start to sign in high pitches in loud voices for long periods of time?

In article titled "The First Musicals" I learned this was the beginning of a lifestyle that has lasted nearly 300 years. The Beggar's Opera written by John Gay in 1728.This show is often considered a forerunner for modern musicals, as it was the first show to combine singing and dialogue in the same show.The show was very, popular and brought in a lot of money. The reason it was so popular was that Gay used familiar song that were popular during that time. From this came many other shows that would shape the shows to come.

William Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan were musical writers over 100 years after the Beggar's Opera. They were some of the first well know writes to make satirical musicals. While both were popular writers, their best work came when they collaborated with each other. Sadly they had a hard time getting along and only wrote about 1 unpopular show before they met Richard D’Oyly Carte. Carte was the owner of a theatre and needed a writer, so he asked Gilbert to write the show, but he needed someone to write the music and Sullivan fit the bill.

Musical Comedy’s creation is credited to George Edwardes. Most of his plays were about an independent hard working woman becoming rich and famous. During opening nights he would watch the audience to see how the show was received. To make his show more enjoyable he always made sure his characters were dressed in the most current style.  

http://budapest.travel

I think it makes sense that musical theatre came from operas, but I am surprised that no one had thought to mix dialogue with singing until th 1700s. I had never heard of John Gay before this, and I feel like I would have heard of such and important character in th creation of musical theatre. I was familiar with Gilbert and Sullivan before this, but I got to learn more about them. It is surprising that such a successful duo did not get along very well. I was not familiar with George Edwardes, but he seemed to be an important bridge between early musicals and modern ones.  

The source is reliable, becasuse it had believable information, and I knew some of what the article was saying, so I know it is accurate. It is also a one of the links in Wikipedia what is usually reliable. 

For my next 2 posts I plan to look at modern theatre and modern musical theatre.

The Rise of African Fashion

When I heard Africa, I imagined beautiful wildlife, nice warm weather, and a very cultural type of lifestyle.

Fashion designers viewed Africa as an area with“street style and trends that have been largely ignored by western media outlets”. Now Africa is on the rise and exposing the public to new styles such as motifs, prints, and textiles.

www.afrikanspot.com

“Both established and aspiring African designers are reaping the rewards of a reinvigorated fashion industry in Africa. Smaller and traditional African accessories and textile artisans, commonly associated with curios sold at tourist markets in Africa, are finding their own niche in the industry by joining efforts with established companies in the west. These collaborations are termed ‘ethical fashion,’ a term used to describe “the design, production and retail and purchasing of items. It covers a range of issues such as pay and working conditions, fair trade, sustainable production, the environment and animal welfare.””

Africa is developing small businesses and shops are being recognized globally because people want something new and exciting to wear for the new big fashion change in the future era.

Will African Styles be worn by people like us?

Why do you think “ethical fashion” is becoming popular?

The East African fashion industry’s annual highlight is the Swahili Fashion Week, an event described as “a fast growing platform for fashion and accessory designers from Swahili speaking countries and the African continent to showcase their talent, market their creativity and network with clientele and international fashion industry.”(5) Nigeria also hosted two major fashion events, Nigeria Fashion Week and MTN’s Lagos Fashion and Design Week.  MTN, Africa’s leading telecommunication company, collaborated with the fashion industry in Lagos to host this event, which brought together media agencies, industry agents, buyers and consumers to view the current collections of designers in Lagos

zenmagazineafrica.com

Not only are people getting more interested in Africa’s fashion but they are now so popular they are hosting many of the world’s biggest fashion shows which are shows to introduce the new and upcoming styles and trends.

Since Africa’s fashion is more popular, will more African models be given jobs?

Will the average of African models to USA models go up?

This article is kind of biased because this is only one person’s opinion of how African fashion has developed but compared to the U.S it hasn’t developed very much throughout all its years. The country has just started to Modernize now!!

Horoscope Essay

Do We Change Our Behavior Based On What Other's Say?

     Most people think that Horoscopes are fake things used to tell people what they day will be like. But this is not true for some people. Some people believe that these horoscopes are actual fates designed by the universe and told by star readers. People believe that the universe is an actual being that has a fate for people everyday. Most people don't believe these readings because it is against their religion and they try to push them onto other people saying that the horoscopes are always wrong, when most of the time they are usually spot on. The reason why they are spot on is because people who do read their horoscopes try to live their day by what it says. They make the decisions that the horoscope tells them to and they think about what the horoscope tells them to. This is called a placebo. When people are told that their day is going to a good day, they believe it and start to think that all of the events in their day will have a positive outcome. Same thing for a bad day, although horoscopes usually are made to improve people's days.

The different signs that people read their horoscopes by. 

How Does The Government Affect The Medical Field?

What effects do government policies like Obamacare, Medicare, etc have on doctors and the medical field? 

The government policies like Obamacare, Medicare, etc, have effects upon the medical field. The effects are mostly good, and some not so good, as shown in Sciencedaily's article; "Advances In Medical Technology: What Does The Future Hold? -- ScienceDaily". 

These government policies have made some great effects towards the medical field. First of all, they have changed the way about how the medical field works. For example, in the United States, they have federal laws protecting people with issues in the medical aspect of their health. Second of all, the government, in certain conditions, allows themselves to pay for the medical procedures and resources needed to carry out the job successfully. This has caused great success within the medical fields, within these government policies. Third of all, these government policies are helping to "expand the scope of practice of advanced practice" in the medical field.

These government policies have made some not so good effects towards the medical field. First of all, they have changed the way the certain medical fields do things, which sometimes does not grant them as much freedom as other certain situations. Second of all, these government policies have to have a deal with the medical field. The medical field must pay, or do something back towards the medical field, whom, after all, supply them with the needed materials. 

FUTURE RESEARCH: What is similar or different about America's healthcare system compared to Canada & Europe. 

Your grades could be dropping by the second!

Teens are being affected by the t.v. no doubt, but is it always a bad way?  A big argument against the television is that it can affect teens grades. In the article How TV Can Affect Teens Grades it states “Even a moderate amount of television viewing can negatively affect a teen's grades.” This means that even watching TV small amounts on a regular basis can affect a teen student. Also in this article it states. “Teens who watched this amount of television or greater were less likely to complete homework and more likely to have poor grades, a negative outlook toward school and poor prospects for long-term academic success.” The quote shows some of the many effects on a student’s school work if they are watching TV too much.

Some people say that television does not affect teens brains and that watching TV in your teens years is safe. They talk about how many people have watched TV on a regular basis in their teen years and still be successful. This is most certainly wrong because the teen brain is affected majorly by TV, and this obviously can changed their motivation and study habits. Overall watching TV on a regular basis can changed a teens way of thinking, which in turn can affect a teen’s grades.

http://ts2.mm.bing.net/th

Once Its Out There It Is NEVER Coming Back

“Its only a picture how much damage can it really do?” Teen and even adults all over the world are sending pornigraphic pictures to boyfriends/girlfriends to make them like him or her more. They don't think its a big deal because its only to one person and if “I put it on for one second they won't be able to screenshot it” or the person promises they will show it to no one or even delete it.. It is a major problem these days especially for teens because usually boys peer pressure girls in to sending it by saying, “Come on its only a picture” “If you do this our relationship will be way better” “ Ill like you more if you send it” “I promise I wont show it to anyone ”. Of course most girls fall for it because its a boy they like and want to impress so they will do anything. What they don't realize is that people are evil and just w=one picture could ruin someone's whole life. So many high schoolers lose their scholarships to one stupid picture that didn't do anything positive for their futures. In the article It Was Late on a School Night officer Lowe states, “Every time someone they were interviewing mentioned another kid who might have naked pictures on his or her phone, they had to call that kid in for interviewing. After just a couple of days, the deputies had filled multiple evidence bins with phones, and they couldn't see and end to it”(Lowe 66). This just shows how many kids at one school are involved in sending inappropriate pictures. Students don’t see how serious this issue is. It is against the law and they can get in huge trouble by the law and maybe never able to get into a college or a job in their future over one little click that reads “Send”.

I personally know exactly what it is like to be in this situation. So many boys during these past few years have begged and begged for a nude from me, my friends, and girls I know. Its not easy to say no but as I look at it is that why start something that could possibly never go away  over something so stupid as a picture. My friend has sadly been in this situation where she was doing something sexually with a boy and someone took a picture and sent it out. In the picture she was nude. Soon people started to talk and then the whole school had it. She was mortified and I know if she could have gone back she would have never made this stupid mistake. Boys and girls lost respect from her that will take time to gain back. People on twitter started tweeting awful things about her and boys would make group chats and send it so many people could see. Another one of my friends sent her boyfriend a picture of her breasts and didn't think anything of it. Of course he sent it to his friends and so on. One of the boys made a group chat of her and a bunch of other guys and sent her pic in it. She read all the texts about her and was heartbroken. No one boy or girl should ever go through something this hurtful over a picture.

Source: www.crimesensemag.com

What is the penalty for a poragraphic picture?

What's the average percent of teens that send nudes in the US?

What urges teens to send these pictures?

Suicide Media

Is making someone feel bad for no reason so important to end someones life? Social media has created a new type of bullying, cyber bullying. This type of bullying is spread through electronical devices that contain social medias like texting, instagram, twitter, snapchat, and facebook. These apps make it easy for someone to bully another person when it is not face to face. Cyber bullying had a major affect on most teens that can be very serious even life threatening. An article found on Megan Meier Foundation states, “71.9% reported being cyber-bullied once or twice in the school year”( Megan Meier Foundation). This is how many out of all the US teens have been cyber bullied once or twice in the school year of 2009. Bullying causes self harm to a person who has done nothing to deserve all the hate and insults. The CDC states, “There is 1 completed suicide for every 15 attempted suicides, and specifically among young adults ages 15 to 24, there are approximately 100-200 attempts of every 1 completed suicide”(CDC). No teenager should even think about ending their life due to some stupid person who enjoys bullying for fun. It is very serious and their are major consequences for cyber bullying.

I have personally heard stories from my friends who have caused self harm or thought suicidal thoughts due to cyber bullying on a social media like texting or twitter. Hearing these stories makes me sick to my stomach and very upset because if one of them were to end their lives due to some stupid text or tweet I would never forgive the person who caused this but then again I know that person bullying isn't intending to lead the person to death. So if you see or hear of someone you know being harassed over social media take charge and save that individual from self harm.

Source: resources.uknowkids.com

http://www.meganmeierfoundation.org/statistics.html

How would you react if someone you knew took their life due to a text message?

How do you help a friend that is going through self harm over a social media?

Have you ever been cyber bullied?

Does your religion determine your wealth?

The study, from the nonpartisan wealth research firm New World Wealth, found that of the 13.1 million millionaires in the world, 7.4 million, or 56.2 percent, identify themselves as Christian when asked about their religion. Fully 6.5 percent of millionaires identified themselves as Muslim, 3.9 percent identified themselves as Hindu and 1.7 percent identified themselves as Jewish.

   According to an article from the New York Times by David Leonhardt the households of certain religions tend to have a larger annual income than others.                               

alum.mit.edu

How are wealth and religion related?

There are two broad reasons that religion and wealth are related. First, religion affects wealth indirectly through its very strong effect on important processes such as educational attainment, marriage, decisions to have kids, how many kids people have and women's decisions to work or stay home with their kids. Religion affects these behaviors and processes, and they, in turn, affect household income, expenses and the amount of money left over to save. Understanding these processes alone accounts for a large portion of the religion-wealth association.

What affect does religion have on work?

One of the most fascinating explanations is the direct effect religion can have on orientations toward work and money. Many of the important decisions about family, work and saving have roots in their religious beliefs. For example, in some conservative religious groups--including Conservative and Black Protestant denominations--becoming a minister, working for a social service agency or becoming a career missionary are considered good jobs. A calling into one of these careers can be important for religious reasons, but these jobs don't necessarily require high levels of education, don't typically pay well and won't make it easy to save and accumulate wealth.

How is religion and wealth shown through Judaism?

At the opposite end are Jewish families. Many Jewish mothers also stay home with their children for at least the first years of the child's life. But Jewish mothers are more likely to have high levels of education and a relatively small number of children. This makes it easier for the Jewish mother to devote time and other resources to early education. The Jewish mother is also more likely to return to work after her children enter school, adding to income and making saving and wealth accumulation more possible. Jewish families are also more likely to take a pragmatic approach to money--that is, money is more likely to be seen as a tool or a vehicle for taking care of family needs and other practical concerns--and tend to accumulate relatively high amounts of wealth.

How is religion and wealth shown through being Catholic?

White Catholics are an important example because their position in the wealth distribution has changed considerably in recent years. Less than a generation ago, white Catholics were relatively disadvantaged: they had low educations, low income, low wealth. Important shifts in orientations toward family and women's roles in the family were important contributors. White Catholics now have much smaller families than in prior generations and Catholic women are as likely as Mainline (or Liberal) Protestants to work out of the home. Combined with a pragmatic, pro-saving orientation toward work, this has propelled white Catholics up in the wealth distribution in recent years.

Question: Do you believe that your religion and income are connected?

Future research: For my future research I plan on researching the rivalry between certain religions.

Are you an underrated city?

   As humans, I think that it’s necessary for everyone to learn something new everyday. So why not travel to another city to learn about something? L.A. and New York seem like great places, London and Paris too, but why not go somewhere not as overrated but still as fun? You’ll still learn something new.

http://www.amconshows.com/

Here are some of the most underrated cities around the word and interesting facts about these cities.  This website that I used is reliable since a majority of people use this website to plan their long term vacations and it even allows people to express and share their ideas on cities that they had visited before.

1. Move over New York, because cities such as Detroit and Philadelphia are the new large cities of America. People oftentimes forget about some of the other great cities of America probably because people don't often talk about it on the news or that not many people live in those cities. Yet with better technology, old and withered out buildings in Detroit can even be attractions for many of the roaming artists today. If Los Angeles or Miami just sound too crowded, than Detroit and Philadelphia are the cities that may be re suitable for you.

2. You may have heard of Beijing and Tokyo, but have you ever heard of Taipei? Long ago, a city that was covered in pollution is now a city full of eco friendly spaces and highly convenient public transportation. Not only does the countryside combine with the urban areas, but Taipei even offers a wide amount of exotic food for the tourists.

3. Europe has a wide amount of cities to offer to the world yet so many of them are considered as "underrated" when compared to the world. After Slovakia joined the EU in 2004 Bratislava was forever transformed into a buzzing city packed with cafés, bars, and delicious cuisine almost anywhere you go. After you're done eating and drinking, you may also want to go to an art museum if you're more of an artistic person who enjoys wandering around the busy streets.

4.  Australia May be a large continent down under, but it only has a few cities to offer. Adelaide is another wonderful city in Australia with interesting attractions such as the "Adelaide Fringe festival" and the "Adelaide Festival of the Arts". The weather also plays a big part in Adelaide. Since the climates is oddly mild all the time, people can enjoy the beaches or the botanic garden all year round in this city.

5. When it comes to history, Valparaiso in Chile can be the perfect city to visit. It's only a two hour drive from Santiago, so it wouldn't be such a hassle to get to. This city is known for its colorful houses that were built along steep hills, and also it's renaissance that it's been going for the past few years. Almost all the hotels have a fantastic view, and they all give off this 19th century mansion feeling which can be a very interesting experience for those for love history.

6. Denver is another great city in America, yet it wouldn't be as convenient when driving from a place such as Chicago all the way to Denver. Denver has some great dinners that offer "earthy" dishes and even has some Mediterranean flavors too. The new and improved hotels even have luxury spas with a rooftop pool for people and their families to enjoy together after visiting Denver Art Museum's  Hamilton Building.

7. Durban in South Africa is not your average city in Africa. Not only is it very sunny, but it is also offers some of the most diverse ambience in South Africa. With plenty of beaches and Lagos to visit, you can even stay at one of the beautiful hotels after the day and try bother great cuisine such as their curry dishes which came from Indian influence.

For my next passion project, I want to research about cities and their culture's traditions and holidays around the world.