Rainy Day Spent At the Library

The weather did not agree with us on our trip to the NYPL last Friday. Nick, Jorge, Helen, Hema, Dino and I walked into the library with a sense of insecurity. We stood there for a while not knowing what to, before we gained the courage to continue. I honestly thought the library was bigger, I mean it was big, I just thought that since the building looked huge from the outside I kind of expected bigger rooms with ceilings of a much higher altitude. As soon as we walked in I had this feeling we were being watched. This was true. At the moment we were the only group of college students walking around. I noticed how some other visitors stared at us, expecting us to cause a riot or drop a shelf full of books. I think there were times when we were a bit too loud. Especially Helen. :)

Anyway, we took our own personal tour of the library. First we went to the first floor, obviously, then we went to the second floor, then back to the first floor, then once again to the second floor, then to the third, we made a quick stop at the second again thanks to the elevator, and finally we left via the first floor.

We spent a major part of our time on the third floor. This is where we really explored the material. We were asked to leave some of our belongings behind. As the curious and adventurous students that we are we immediately started to touch everything our hands could. There was some material though that we were not allowed to touch. A kind and pleasant old dude told us in the most polite way to stop touching after he noticed we were turning on an instrument.

Overall it was an interesting experience to say the least. As we left, the weather continued to disagree with us. I caught a minor cold which added more pressure to what I later would a call a very bad weekend. We walked to the subway. I walked a little quicker than the rest of my exploration team since I was the only one without an umbrella at the moment. We entered the subway and we took separate ways.

Another week, another blog

Since we have been given the liberty to write about anything this week I am unsure of what to post. I will type whatever comes to mind so please be advised that if you do read this you may find it to be a complete waist of your time.

On my way home today I ran into a guy who said handball was not a real sport. Obviously this guy has never played handball. Handball is a sport. If tennis and volleyball are sports, then so is handball.

I am currently sitting next to the television watching news on channel two. Seriously, watching these news is a pointless. It seems that the stories that got the most coverage were the Britney Spears escape from the cameras and 4 kittens being saved from a weather disaster. Is this really more important than the devastating cyclone in Myanmar? I don't think so. It's cool that the ferries here in NY will now connect to all 5 boroughs.

In soccer news, Real Madrid became the champions in the Spanish league. If they hadn't won this Sunday, Real Madrid would've gone against the most popular team, Barcelona and have become the champions right in front of their biggest rival's face. This Wednesday there will be a classic match of honor against these two teams. In the Mexican league, this year's tournament did not follow the annual pattern. America, the most famous and richest team in the Mexican league achieved the lowest point ranking with their coach. Their biggest rivals Chivas, currently hold the number one position in the tournament. Viva Chivas!

Element, the skate company came out with a new type of deck. These have been out for a while. "PUSH", is a revolutionary upgrade to lighter, yet stronger, decks. These decks cost about 90 dollars! If you happen to feel like purchasing these new decks, don't they are a waist of money. I personally believe that if your going to purchase element decks get the fiberlights. They are cheaper and worth it. But if you are like me and don't have the cash to purchase expensive parts, just get a blank. They are almost as good. Most of them have decent pop and impact.

I think I currently need help with staying away from GTA 4. This game is intense. I just got it for the 360 and I can't seem to stop playing it. One of my friends beat the whole game in just 3 days. I'm not as good a video game player as him but I think I finally understand him when he gets hooked on a game and plays nonstop for hours. Another fun game is definitely Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Sadly I think that's the only fun game for the Wii.
I hope you didn't read all of this, I hope you just skimmed through it really fast.
DO NOT forget mother's day. Every mom deserves a gift.

Green is the best color

GO GREEN! Before this cluster I had never really thought about going green, but now that I've received all this information I think I should. From what I hear though it does sound a little difficult. I think that at my home my family has gradually been going green without even noticing. One example is that we now use florescent light bulbs, not because we found out that they were better for the environment. We switched to florescent because my dad heard that they save you money on your electric bill. But what I think really helps is that we barely have the lights on. I think my family could go nocturnal if we wanted too. We also always turn off the home computer when not in use.

It has also been a very long time since since we've had the need to go purchase batteries. Duracell? I haven't heard heard that word in such a long time. The only thing I believe that still runs on those types of batteries in my home are the remote controls for the T.V. and stereo. Still though, they a last a really long time. Remote controls don't use up too much energy. My dad also really likes plants. I think thats great. But sometimes i think he goes overboard. There are times when i feel like i'm in a jungle. We all use the train or bus to get to our destinations, except for one uncle of mine who almost always prefers to pay more for a cab. My family does recycle as most does everyone. I hope everyone does cause you get fined if you don't. Gotta separate garbage and stuff. All the kitchen stuff is metal, no plastic.

after looking for info on a greener world here are some things I think should definitely be considered to make the world greenr

-legal DVD/CD manufacturers should take some tips from the bootleg competitors and just sell their cds without the hard cover case.
-you know what? forget cds. The year is 2008! We have mp3, mp4 and lot of other untouchable formats in which we could view media.
-we should only use elevators if we really have to. Elevators use electricity too. Not only are the stairs the healthier route but many times also the faster one. If you race the elevator down you usually win. I'm not too sure you'll win going up without running.
-Cars. Don't use them unless you really have to. Use the train or bus. Walk or ride a bike to your destination. Ride a donkey if you have to, just leave cars as a last resort. And if you really have to use a car, try riding a hybrid.
-No paper. Less writing and more typing. Yes to more e-mails, and text messages. No to paper signatures. No to paper receipts. Yes to typing your credit card number on your computer. Yes to typing in your social security as well. Yes to identity theft. OK so maybe no paper isn't possible in our near future, but we should try to use less of it.
-Always try to go for solar powered gadgets and lets try to make more items solar powered. Almost all calculators are now solar powered. Lets try solar powered remote controls, leaf blowers, microwave ovens, flashlights, electric toys and anything else we can think of. And when there is no sun then we can always go to wind power. And when there is no wind or sun we humans can always figure something out, we just have to try.
-I also think that we should stop buying those super expensive products that come covered with so much material that is not neccesary. Has anyone ever seen those Pepperidge farm cookies? Those things are not only expensive but they come in paper bags with foil inside and inside of that the cookies are located in these little tiny paper trays. This is a waist of material. I assume that what most people really want are the cookies, not the bag or foil or tray.

Hey a greener world is just better. It looks better, smells better, tastes better and just overall feels better. So lets do the Dr. Smith thing and try to "go green". Even if we can't go green all the way we could still do little stuff like not litter. If we do change the world now and make it better we'll be able to tell our kids and grand kids some highly exaggerated stories just like our parents told us. And remember to tell them you had to walk uphill from and to school.

American Museum of Natural History

Wednesdays trip the museum was interesting. Our group worked real quick-like. This is the third time I have visited this museum. This time it was different because there was no teacher to lead us around. I really don't understand how teachers, especially elementary and intermediate school teachers, can take a large group of kids on a trip without going crazy. They have to constantly listen to their babble and keep an open eye in case anyone does anything stupid or strays away.

Greenhouse gases greatly affect the climate of the world. Greenhouse gases include water vapor, carbon dioxide, ozone, methane, and nitrous oxide. Greenhouse gases are a natural thing and have been kept up to level to allow the world habitable, but recent human activity has drastically changed this.


This is an ice core. It is one indicator that can tell us what the world's climate was like years ago. Layers have formed in the ice core, some darker and some lighter. Counting layers in the ice core is one way of determining it age. Air bubbles that trap dust and oxygen in the ice core help record changes in the layers of the ice.

Other sources of information that are used to record climate are ocean sediments and tree rings. I would have taken a picture of these as well but once I put my camera away I completely forgot I was carrying one. In tree rings, just like in ice cores, layers are used to determine the age. In general, a tree produces around one layer per year. Ring widths and the measure of ring density provide climate information. Since tree growth is greatly controlled by the climate one can tell whether a tree enjoyed good climate during a certain time by observing the tree rings.

Using a graph that showed the average global temperature and carbon dioxide over the past century, my group saw that as the carbon dioxide levels rose the the global temperature rose. Using a carbon cycle diagram, the group basically came upon the conclusion: more fossil fuel burned=more carbon dioxide= higher global temperature.

After finishing our work in the Gottesman Hall of Planet Earth we proceeded to exploring other parts of the museum.

Here are some other pictures that were taken of other areas of the museum. These were taken when I remembered I had my camera with me. There would have been more but unfortunately I made the mistake of putting my camera away again, and once again I ended up forgetting I was carrying a camera.





And to answer Dr. Smith's question, I found the museum more believable than the film. Even though the museum was more believable, I think the film got to me more than the museum. In my opinion I think its because the film made it seem like such a bigger problem than what the museum said. The museum gave you the facts, it didn't constantly keep telling us we were going to die.

Gnosticisisim-can't even spell it right.

OK this is one difficult topic to discuss mainly because I don't think I understand it. I looked it up on wikipedia but it that's where all the confusion started. So I decided to Google it and check out other sites. Little luck. This gnostic thing is confusing. What I do understand is this.
Gnosticism comes from the word gnosis meaning to know. Gnosticism started out based on Greek philosophy. Gnosticism teaches that matter is evil. Also like many religions it claims that there is one divine superior being. There are also other divine superior beings, including an evil one known as the demiurge, but they are not as divine as the main one. Gnosticism was a big hit during the second and third century. It was well known probably because it accepted and complied with most other religions.
Gnosticism is a lot like allegory of the cave. Gnosticism claims that we live in a material world that is a prison, much like the cave and the matrix. The bodies we travel in are material or matter, therefore considered a bad thing. In this world we cannot be saved unless we obtain knowledge of some sort. I don't understand if Gnosticism is a religion or a religious movement. Wikipedia calls it a religious movement. It seems to have all the properties of a religion.
I'm certain the makers of the matrix looked into gnosticism before the movie was made. The comparisons are numerous. I just wish I could find some aside from the one where we live in a controlled prison. In the matrix, the allegory and gnosticism, knowledge is the key to one's freedom or salvation.
OK so if we were to put all three together gnosticism, the matrix, the allegory I think it would be something like this. We are all living in a material world that is evil yet we do not know it. We are trapped here. There is a good god and an evil god(which would be the remaining humans not attached to the matrix and the AI) Only by obtaining the knowledge can we be set free. When we see the sun we realize the truth, but in gnosticism we already know the truth that we are living in a caged world. They contradict.
Gnosticism is getting me pissed now. So confusing. It is similar to the matrix and allegory cause it says we live in a world that is a prison. We are trapped. According to Gnosticism the world is our matrix and our cave.
This is it. It tried and now my eyes are starting to feel weird. Probably because I'm not used to staring at the computer screen for so long. If I miraculously get an idea I'll post it up some other time.

The Cave Allegory

I am writing this blog in the middle of my ENG class while Dr. Smith is speaking. I know that what he is saying is very important but since I have to regulary have to post something and it is part of my grade and since I haven't posted for about 11 days I should do it now. Sorry Dr. Smith if you are reading this. I did pay some attention though, I'm pretty good at multi-tasking.

I somewhat mentioned the allegory of the cave in my last post. The allegory of the cave has alot to do with the matrix. This allegory tells of two persons stuck in a cave with their backs against the exit. They have been here ever since birth. With their backs facing the light that is emanated from the sun, they only see the wall and the shadows of anything that passes between them and the sun. Time passes and both of these persons grow up believing this true life. Finally after years of living like this one person is set free. This person turns and walks out of the cave. The truth is realized. Should this person go back and free the still stranded partner? Would the escapee be doing the stranded one a favor?

This allegory was used by Plato, the greek philosopher. Wow Plato did alot of work in the academics. Thanks to him we have advanced so much. Thanks to him I have to post this blog. He pretty weird I think, alot like that Noam Chomsky guy. But maybe they are cool, cause weird people are cool.

The Matrix Review

Yeah so we're like supposed to write a review. So i'm guessing very few of us here has ever written a review about a movie. Well to start off I've probably watched this movie like 20 times. No, I'm not a big fan, its just that this movies has been out for quite some while and it is frequently aired on a whole bunch of channels. I've watched it in english and spanish, with and without subtitles. This movie has actors such Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne and some other famous people. I'm not to good at remembering actors name. I always seem to remember their character's name but not their real life name, but since I remember one of our proffessors saying that we should remember the actors name, I'm gonna go check on wikipedia right now.



Yeah so the other important actors names are Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, and Hugo Weaving (I just copied and pasted their names). I'm not a huge fan of sci-fi films but overall I would say I do like them. Anyway I believe The Matrix should be watched at least once by everybody. Alright to get the facts out of the way, this movie takes place in the future, around the year 2199, to be more exact. Neo(Keanu Reeves) or Mr. Anderson believes he is a normal person living in the year 1999 working for company as a computer something. He does however have this weird feeling that something is wrong with the world. He doesn't know what it is though. After this weird people wearing sunglasses on a cloudy day show up and fast-paced action occurs. He is then shown the reality. Neo discovers that his whole life had been a lie. He was living in a program called the matrix. A program that was used to keep people under control so that their bodies could be used as batteries to benefit other sentient beings.



This movies gets you thinking. You know, that real life isn't real life. On the day we saw the movie in class when i got home i checked out the Allegory of The Cave on wikipedia. I was suprised because this is pretty much the same thought that ran through my mind after having watched the film. Say you found out that the life you have lived so far has been nothing but a lie. You were revealed the truth. After the truth was done hitting you like a fat guy bodyslamming a chihuahua, would you want to go back to living like you were before? Could you go back to living like you were before?

I think the idea of the matrix could be put into many different settings. Like say i think here in the U.S. we all live in a fantasy world. Almost all , if not all, bits of information we recieve goes through some sort of filtering system. We don't receive the whole truth. Why not? Will something huge occur if we do? Is it because they don't want us to worry? We are told that we should be happy and the things are being taken care. We are told that the bad things occuring aren't as bad as we think they are(Our current War). We aren't told the complete truth. Why? Is it because we are being protected or is it because we are being kept under control? There are so many secrets being kept from us. They are covered up by putting other issues in front of us. Iraq isn't the only place where people are dying because of U.S. intervention. Darfur isn't the only place where children are raised with fear and are forced to fight. Cuba isn't the only place with a dictator that treats his people like so.

Oh and did anybody see President Bush do a little dance in front of the cameras on T.V? It was while he was waiting for Mckain to appear.

perdido?

the reason i put perdido is because i am completely lost in what i want to do in the future. for non- spanish speakers perdido means lost. Hopefully at the end of this semester this name will not be relevant.

First Entry Ever

Whats up. Name is noel modesto. First entry and theres nothing i want to write now, so hello and thats it.