Wikipedia Trail: From "Blogger.com" to "Evolution"

Wikipedia Trail

For this trail I looked up “Blogger (service),” I was curious as to how this blogging service started and why. While it didn’t necessarily answer my question I did find an interesting fact: Blogger was started by Pyra Labs but then Pyra Labs was purchased by Google. I found also that blooger is a free service, while its competitor, WordPress.com charges $13 a domain.

From this I got curious and tapped the hyperlink for WordPress.com. There I found a bit more detail on the matter. It actually IS a free blog service, BUT you can upgrade with paid perks and subscriptions. Cool fact: WordPress averages one million new articles published daily and two million comments. I read through the article and found that Adnan Oktar was able to block the site in Turkey, saying that the site contained libelous material on him that the site was unwilling to remove.

I then tapped the hyperlink for Adnan Oktar. I learned that he is an Islamic creationist writer under the pen name Harun Yahya. What I learned wasn’t really pleasant. He not only denied evolution in his writing, but he also denied the Holocaust. He stated in one of his works that “the death of some Jews due to the typhus plague during the war and the famine towards the end of the war caused by the defeat of the Germans.”

After hearing that, I no longer wanted to read more of him and tapped evolution just to bring myself back to reality *and to also partly study for a biology quiz coming up*. After brushing up on what I had already knew, I also learned a few new things. One of the most interesting things that I came across was that evolution was a pre-Darwinian concept, but no one could justify its means (this mean was later found to be natural selection). Cool fact: Darwin’s own grandfather, Erasmus Darwin used the term proposing that all warm-blooded animals could have descended from a single microorganism.

I found it funny that I went from one blogging site to another, then to read about a creationists unrealistic and conspiracist viewpoints, then finally ending at my go-to biology study guide for the next week.

↓This picture basically summed up my reaction to this wikitrail. ↓

Reading Notes W2: About-the-House Girl, PART B

Citation: “About-the-House Girl” -Karok p.40-50

Literary Devices used:

·        The author uses euphony describe the scenery as harmonious and flowing (a way of incorporating imagery). “it drifted upstream, sometime SHRILL and SHARP, with the THILLS and RUNS….LOW and SAD…Etc.”

o   That same sentence also employs circumlocution to produce a similar effect. This long, seemingly never-ending sentence is a metaphor to the long distance to the sound the flute travelled across the land.

o   The author then uses cacophony to describe Patapir. This is done to emphasize the character’s masculinity with harsh-sounding adjectives.

o    Style: The author starts by describing things in long sentences, but as the story progresses, the sentences got shorter, probably to emphasize that Patapir played his flute LONGingly and all day. But when he saw the house on the hill and the women, he put it down and started a different and new path, no longer longing, but exploring.

Culture:

·        I noticed that the culture is welcoming and homey *at least for the main character* (shown by how the aunt just let Patapir in to eat seaweed), but also hierarchical in a way. Families marry off their daughters to men, or, in other terms suitors. Patapir “paid the bride price” for marrying Ifapi. Her family wanted her to be happy, so they pretended she was ill to prevent men from buying her, but when she was offered by Patapir, she chooses her fate and we find she was longing to marry him. *something that wasn’t normal in the tribe*

Character:

·        Patapir starts off by playing songs on his flume about loneliness, longing, and love. This soon is “put down” and he sees beautiful women on the opposite bank. No longer is he longing for love, but instead, lust. However, after realizing the beauty and mystery of Ifapi, he again looks for love, this time, Ifapi’s love.

·        Ifapi is an interesting character. She comes from humble beginnings and avoids others. No one really knows why, but then we find her, on Patapirs voyage into the sea. She is different then, serving the Leader, youthful, good-looking, trained, and pure. This mystery fuels Patapirs longing once again and drives him to change again. We also find later on that she pretended to be ill to keep men away, all because she too had longed for the Flute Player *Patapir*.

In the end it was almost like a happily-ever-after. She and he found the spouse of their dreams, he also happened to be quite wealthy so her humble family benefited too. While many of the tribe teased, it was mainly out of jealous because its almost a Cinderella tale. A Prince falls in love with a beautiful maiden to find she didn’t amount to much, but they both still longed for each other. In this case Patapir falls for a mystery woman during a night party to find that it was the “ill” girl he met earlier, he goes to offer her family his hand and her family accepts because she too wanted to marry.

Reading Notes W2: The Creation, PART A

Citation: "The Creation" -Maidu pg.23-35

Summary: The Creation is a fiction piece that shows how the main character, Earthmaker, goes about creating a world for future humans. He starts by pondering how to start, but his partner, Coyote seems to force the matter by saying that if he waits too long he may starve. After his complaint, with no budge from Earthmaker, he begins to sing, annoying him until they find a “nest.” From this nest, Earthmaker created his first being, the Meadowlark. After having Coyote help him stretch the land, he began to create pairs of creatures. He directs them to different areas of the world he has created and then tells these creatures they will eventually become humans, grow old, have children, and tell stories of the land and names that everything was given. He warned the creature to share the land and told them that descendants will soon fill up the world and pass down the information. After reminiscing about his first creation, Meadowlark, he builds a house on the end of Earth and lives humbly.

Main Characters:

·        Earthmaker: the protagonist. He is often used in Maidu literature as a god-like character

·        Coyote: Also often used in Maidu literature, the Coyote is a trickster, or Anti-hero

Background Information:

·        Maidu stands for “man”

·        Maidus are Native American tribes in the Sierra Nevada region. There are a number of Maidu Tribes

·        They believe in Animism- “the worldview that non-human entities—such as animals, plants, and inanimate objects—possess a spiritual essence”

What I noticed:

·        Given the background information, I can assume that the text is a representation of Maidu history.

o   Earthmaker tells them they will eventually become human and based on the Animistic religion, it doesn’t sound surprising that natives were named after or spiritually connected to “creatures”

o   He also says that the places will have names and that the names will be told to the generations. This also plays a role in Maidu culture. Every place, every object, and every person is given a spiritual essence and name, and these stories are passed down the lineage.

o   Earthmaker warns them to not kick people out of the land- This may link to Americans inhabiting and forcing Natives out of their lands.

o   Geological references: -The creatures were sent to different areas by Earthmaker, as were the tribes. There were numerous Maidu tribes in the Sierra Nevada and they were spread out in different regions as well.

Links:

·        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maidu

·        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_narratives_(Native_California) 

Time Strategies

Keeping organized in a college course is very important, organized both physically and mentally. Part of being mentally organized is remembering when and what is due in a given time and managing that time wisely. After reading the Time Management article I’ve gotten a few ideas to keep myself organized. I am going to try to work ahead whenever possible and keep a planner handy as a look-ahead into all my classes so I can complete other upcoming tasks and plan accordingly. In terms of reading assignments, although it says to read at least Part A, I won’t let that constrain me from reading the full assignment or I’d get into that habit. I have Canvas bookmarked on my laptop and my phone, and I’ve also signed up for the weekly email updates as a reminder and double-check in case I missed it the first time. I’ll also attempt all extra credit opportunities, time-allowing.

Technology in Engl205

For the most part, I understand the tech tools offered to us, and while it hasn't come natural to me yet, I think switching between platforms and sites will grow on me. I am slightly nervous about creating my own site. I've never done that before, but I also have never made a blog before. *I actually found blogging interesting after trying it.* I am already familiar with bookmarking and have already started a bookmark folder for the class to jump between blogger.com, Canvas, and the course wiki to make things easier on me. Hopefully it all gets smoother with practice. I'm trying to keep a positive mindset and accept the challenge.

Growth Mindset and My Views

I found Carol Dweck's explanation of Growth Mindset Theory intriguing. I think that praising effort rather than achievement is a great way to keep people, not just kids, interested and willing to try a challenge. I would like to explore and learn more about this theory this year, and try to think in a growth mindset more myself.

In past occasions I have seen this theory play through in numerous points in my life. Mostly family, of course, but there were a few instructors I've had that praised effort and attempts. If I did poorly on an exam, my family would talk to me about it and point out where I excelled, but also, encouraged me to not get discouraged with what I didn't do well on. "You'll get it next time," or "Maybe today's quiz was rough. But you weren't ready, maybe the TEST will prove better for you." In terms of an instructor, an example of Growth Mindset teaching would be correcting in other colors rather than red or even leaving positive feedback. Studies have shown that students get discouraged in seeing a paper returned in red and often is seen as "distressing." By grading with other colors, instructors cut out the mental block of red being bad, and students can embrace all feedback without having the mental barrier of "I did horribly, I should give up." By leaving mixed feedback, students will also be more likely to try harder to improve aspects where they didn't excel in before while maintaining or incorporating more of what they did well.

For current and future applications, I would like to incorporate the theory in how I view my first semester of college. I would like to focus on gaining more intellect rather than aiming to get enough to pass. I would also like to continue to see my fails as improvement points rather than lost hopes, and to see my strengths as opportunities to take challenges, rather than settling.

Introduction to a Future Undecided

Hi, my name is April. I’m pretty much an open book. Ask and you shall know.

Me in a nutshell: I was born and raised outside of San Francisco in a small Pacific town of Daly City. *Yes, for those who are public transit-ers, that’s the last stop on BART.* I lived on a cliff house overlooking the beautiful Pacific coastline. I’ve moved a lot since then, from SF, to Pitt, to Antioch, to Viva Las Vegas, and right back here to Pittsburg. If you ever ask me, I will tell you, “I HATE Las Vegas.” Hate’s a strong word, but being under the age of 21, Vegas was never a great place to be. Once you saw everything, the lighted city in the desert grew boring. I did have one interesting part of my life happen there though. I got my first job to help my mom out with finances, and became a lifeguard at a very nice, and very new, waterpark. It was a fun job, but it didn’t pay very well, so I worked at a local mall for two, yes, TWO, stores. That’s three jobs for a newly-graduated high school student. Because of this though, I realized I didn’t want to work minimum-wage retail for very long and needed to get back to school. I made my way back to California, and here I am, a year later, college-freshie at age 20. 21 in March by the way. Weirdly enough, my mom had me early, hence the name “April.” So, if you ask, “Were you born in April?” the answer is no. Having your name be a month just magically forces people to ask you that question. But I digress.

I still work retail, this time aiming in the healthcare area, as a designated hitter, and hopefully soon, a Pharmacy Technician at Walgreens. Speaking of long term goals though, I’m not exactly sure what I want to do. My mom wants me in healthcare, preferably a doctor or nurse. But whose Filipino mom doesn’t want their kid to take on healthcare anyways? I wanted to work as a marine biologist or veterinarian, but I’m not so sure anymore. I’m currently thinking of pediatrics and I thank my first job for that bright, and educationally-expensive decision. College scares me. It's probably because deadlines freak my procrastination-filled self out, so wish me luck.

Goals for the semester: Keep on schedule and work hard for what I want.

Quote: “A goal without a plan is just a wish.”- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Favorite Place: Meeting my Family

My favorite place is the place my family comes from. It is where my mother grew up, where my cousins are, and where the way I was raised originated from. It is a place I have never been and a place I plan to soon visit. This destination I speak so eagerly about is the Philippine Islands.

My mom tells me about the land, and my family, whom of which I have never met. We plan on going there in the summer of 2019 for a month to tour, and for me to finally meet my relatives. I'm excited to experience the culture first hand, to get immersed in the language, try the foods, and see local treasures. My younger sister was there for a year, and while learning new languages is a struggle for her, she understands so much more than me that it makes me envious. They both show me pictures of the sites they've visited and videos of the things they've done. They have seen waterfalls in picturesque forests, surfed and jet-skied in clear waters, indulged in authentic Pinoy street food, slept in a childhood-fantasy-type treehouse, and hiked seemingly untouched trails of evergreen. I hope I can enjoy the nature, culture, and food as much as they seem to have when I visit first-hand in 2019.

Testing testing testing

*Sounding alarms rage in the background, people look around in worry*

Announcer on the PA:
This is just a drill, I repeat, this is JUST a drill!!!!
Everyone just remain calm and stay where you are. The alarms will be silenced
*awkward pause*
.... as soon as i figure how to.... ah, here it is!
*alarms silence*
Thank you, carry on.