Research Paper Blog

I did my research paper on the changing technology of the airplane. From my paper, I learned many new things about the airplane. One thing I learned was that the airplane started out as meager attempts to fly by using flapping wings. I find that interesting that people thought they could fly if they build a machine like a bird. I never knew that people had done that, or that they actually thought it was possible to do. To be able to fly with flapping wings, humans would need to sustain their own propulsion, which we are really not built to do. I am surprised that people did not notice that after every attempt at wing flapping devices ended tragically. Another thing I learned was the fact that they are already planning planes for the future that will be able to travel over Mach 5, which is almost impossible to believe on Earth here. It is really quite interesting that they think the plane will surf on the shockwaves it creates as opposed to really needing a uniform height or speed to fly on. I would not want to be a passenger of that, because the friction is so high that people would almost boil if there were not proper insulation. All in all, the airplane has changed dramatically as it has had to to fit the needs of people. I really could not think of a world where we did not have the airplane.

The Chambered Nautilus

"The Chambered Nautilus" has to be my favorite poem, as it deals with a man finding a broken nautilus shell on the ground and pondering about it. The nautilus is quite an intriguing animal, and I find it quite amusing that, as it grows, it seals off a layer of its shell until the shell becomes chambered. Also, I like the fact that it was a scientist who wrote a poem, as that would have been uncommon. What is more uncommon is a scientist who wrote a poem about God, as the two "beliefs" really did not get along at that time. I like that he did that, though, because he showed that someone can be a scientist and still believe in God creating the universe. That encourages me for when I have to deal with the professors who criticize me for being a Christian. I also like it that he is comparing the nautilus's shell with our faith life. It is a great analogy to compare, that the nautilus will move to and build outward in its shell like we are supposed to build increasingly better mansions for God in our heart.

Connection with Nature

As I was watching the nature outside the other day, I noticed a hawk flying over my head, and I really connected with it. Hawks are strong and versatile creatures who can soar above the sky and use cunning and speed to capture their prey. They are strong and tough and free-flying without much a care in what is happening besides them getting their food. They stick with their prey until they get it, not matter how hard the prey can be to catch. I speculated that if a hawk can be like that, then why can't we as people be able to persevere in what we do. Perseverance builds character, and when we learn to do it, we achieve victory on our inside. Perseverance leads to success, as the hawk knows, so we should likewise do it to succeed ourselves.

Pit and the Pendulum Alternate Ending

There was not much time left before the walls closed around me. I knew what had to be done: I would have to jump into the pit. When the walls actually started to push me, burning my backside, I slid off the ground and into the abyss. However, I held on to the side of the pit for dear life as the walls continued forward, glanced off each other, and swung inward towards their original position. In that brief instant they turned off the lights. I knew that they would probably turn them back on in a few seconds to come and have a look to see that I had actually fallen in, so I took my chance. I climbed back out using every ounce of muscle I could muster and ran toward the spot where I had first seen the eyes. They were gone now, but there was still that slight glow from the inside, and I took that to be a sign that they were still in there. As I stood waiting by the edge, a door opened up from somewhere and several Inquisitors came rushing in. They were so intent on searching the pit that they did not see me slip silently through the door, not even bothering to close it. Outside the room I noticed that there were no people guarding the outer door, so, without making a noise, I slowly opened that one and slipped out of it, as well. I welcomed the brisk night air, and I walked into the night just as I heard them sound the alarm that they knew I had escaped. I was free! I sprinted into the forest, where I knew they would never find me just as they sent out their patrol. The Inquisition could not hold me!

The Crucible Reflection

I believe that the false accusations and convictions of witchcraft were quite unfair and unjust. Originally Tituba was blamed for being a witch because of the girl group wanting to get out of trouble. Then, when she blamed others, it just continued, and people would keep pointing the finger, until the ones who ended up being convicted were the "good" Christian people in the town, the ones who were considered almost perfect to them. That is completely backwards than it should be. Take Rebecca Nurse, for example, who was considered the top woman in the town because of her ranking, her Christian attitude, and her knowledge. She becomes one of the convicted, even though she was obviously not a witch. It never seemed like anyone pointed a finger at the ones who accused people. In my opinion, Abigail was the witch, as she was the accuser for everyone, and she did some very bad things. Innocent people are killed for guilty people's doings because they could basically hand it over. This story is based on real events, too, and if our leaders are going to do that to people, with the not giving proper justice, then our whole view of morality and society is completely flipped. It does not make sense that those who did it can get off the hook by blaming others--people who did not do a thing--and those people would then be convicted. Arthur Miller sure was right when he wrote this story, as it pertains to the HUAC and their false justice. It is also mostly correct for what did happen in Salem, as people were falsely accused as witches. I am sure that those people who treated them like they did were not happy when they found out the secret meaning behind the story. Hopefully some day people will stop their witch hunts and come to their senses.

HUAC and Joseph McCarthy

Senator Joseph McCarthy was very outspoken about Communism, and it seemed like he wanted to accuse people if the slightest bit of information was found out about them. About those lists that he claimed to have: how could that be possible? Why would he have a huge list of Communists? It's not likely that any of those people were even Communists, he just persecuted them because he thought that they were Communists. It is just like in the Crucible, and it makes sense that Miller would try to explain what they were doing through the analogy. No one in Salem had actually ever been seen doing witchcraft, other people just blamed them of it. It was not fair or just for either story: people were being falsely accused and then executed or jailed. Also, if they confessed that they had seen others doing it, they got off the hook and those other people would be accused. It makes no sense: this is completely opposite of what justice should be. It looks like McCarthy was racist and biased in certain aspects, and of course he did not want his good name soiled, so he accused people falsely. That is so unfair and unconstitutional, what they did. Adding someone to a terrorist list or the black list just because of what they thought? There was no proof of anything. It looks like the witch hunts have not stopped, either, and that many are being falsely accused and convicted of nothing. All someone has to do is point the finger and they are off the hook but another is on the hook. That sure is how justice should be around here (sarcastically).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4N46jLdhCU&feature=related

Fire and Brimstone Sermon

Think of how easy an ember blown from the fireplace can start the dry wood house on fire. It is just as easy for God to blow us down to Hell where we would start on fire. I tell you, unless you are in the saving grace of the triune God you will not be saved. All you unconverted are in God's wrath, and the only thing that keeps him from blowing you to the flames of Hell is his grace. Every day you make the Lord angrier until he can barely contain his wrath anymore. You do not know the height of your deeds. You know that it makes the Lord angry, and yet you continue to sin fervently.

His wrath burns against you, and there is nothing that you yourself can do to stop it. You have already been condemned. You provoked him so much, yet he holds on to you only to prolong your despair. The flame has blown, it has caught, and it is too large to extinguish now. There is not a thing that you can do, for even if you did, he would still punish you, and you deserve it, because you provoked him to extreme anger.

However, the Son, the one who mediates for us and the Father, he has left himself open. For without him you will surely perish in God's wrath, but God has given his Son so that you may be saved. If you only confess to what you have done he will spare you. If, though, you do not listen to the will of his Second Chance, his Son, Mediator, Savior, then you will truely be condemned to Hell by the Great Judge.

Squanto

Squanto was the "mediator" between the colonists and the Wampanoag tribe. He was the best speaker of English in the tribe, and he seems to have taken a liking to helping out the colonists as soon as he came. He established a treaty between the Natives and the Pilgrims to bring peace with both of them. However, the treaty seems to be more towards what the Natives can't do and their punishments if they do those deeds as opposed to the Pilgrims. He seems to take great responsibility for his tribe, and he feels that whatever the tribe does unfairly to the Pilgrims should be done back to the tribe. He seems to be the one to make sure that what is said in the treaty is carried out. If anyone was to be met in the Americas, Squanto was the perfect one. He helped them make peace with the Natives and showed them the land and how and what to eat. Also, he stayed as a mediator between the two groups until he died. That shows some serious commitment to his job and how serious he thought about the colonists.

Journals of Discovery

In the story of The General History of Virginia, the relationship with the Native Americans changes as the people there live there longer. Originally, the Natives are quite hostile towards the newcomers, and they organize attacks against them that end up with many being killed. Also, the colonists are equally as hostile, as they do not try to negotiate anything in the beginning. All they do is build a fort to keep away from the Natives and fire their guns at them whenever they see them in the area. However, John Smith ends up with the Natives, as they capture him. The next part isn't clear whether he was threatened by the chief and saved by Pocahontas, but it is clear that the chief negotiated a trade with Smith. This trade was that the Natives would supply the colonists with food if they gave the Natives two large cannons and a millstone. Pocahontas was the one who brought the food every time.

Native American legend

It looks as though the Native Americans use the moon as a calendar, and they gather special "moon plants" only during a full moon. I find it intriguing that they infuse prayer into their plants to honor them. It is also amazing that they can identify plants with just touching them! They use these plants with their prayers to enter into the Plant Nation, and then they make those plants into medicinal healers. They even say that the Plant Nation can be honored by outsiders who pray. It's interesting to see that the signature has "Human Being" in the name.

http://www.xploreheartlinks.com/nativeamerican.html#The%20Moon%20of%20Gathering%20Plants