Jared Diamond

According to Jared Diamond, his research has shown that it is geographic luck that determines whether or not a civilization grows prosperous. He believes that there is a direct correlation between animal and plant domestication and the ability of a culture to advance. Great civilizations have been known for greater advancements in technology and larger population growth. He discovered that it was because of animal and plant domestication that led to these great civilizations. However, these two variables depended greatly on the geography of the land. This factor was determined to be all luck. Civilizations that had to hunt and gather their food took more time and energy than civilizations who could farm and easily produce their food. The environment was a crucial factor in determining specific local foods. Some regions of the world could only grow certain produce that wasn’t nutritious. This food lacked necessary nutritious value, which didn’t allow civilizations to grow in the number of people. Farming was another key aspect that led to larger civilizations. Farms that could grow nutritious and beneficial food would have the opportunity to provide healthier food to their people. Farming could also provide a larger quantity of food allowing more people to be fed and therefore growing the population within a given civilization. The domestication of animals also allowed for such goods as milk (high in protein), skin and fur for warmth, leather and hide. Large animals could also be used for different things such as farming. Therefore, regions with larger animals had the opportunity to use these animals to their advantage. In conclusion, geographic places with fertile land, the right plant domestication and animals made it easier for civilizations to grow. These factors seemed to hugely contribute to and impacted whether or not a civilization would grow and prosper in size. When a civilization became larger in size they would then continue to prosper and have greater advancements in technology.

Speaker on Afghanistan

The presentation that I attended was about life in Afghanistan. Roy Glover was the key note speaker who spoke about his time as a public diplomacy officer in Afghanistan. He began his presentation talking about his life and how different events affected his career path. He also explained the detailed process of how he became a public diplomat. His duties as a public diplomacy officer were to work with the people of Afghanistan and to inform them of certain U.S. policies. Mr. Glover also worked with the news media to try and promote U.S. interests with the people of Afghanistan. Another part of his job was informing Washington about what people thought about different U.S. policies. Roy Glover worked in a couple different countries before being sent to Afghanistan. He talked about the extensive bidding process that people go through to apply to work in different countries. He was granted access to work in the U.S. embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan. While he was in Afghanistan he spoke about how life there was very secluded and protected. In his PowerPoint, he showed many pictures of where he lived. His living corridors were very small, similar to that of a freshman dorm room. Mr. Glover was there during the war and spoke about how that influenced his work and lifestyle. He talked about how much security was there and the many different precautions they took. He lived inside a community surrounded by large cement walls with guard posts protecting 24 hours, 7 days a week. Mr. Glover didn’t have many opportunities to go out and experience the culture of Afghanistan because of the many limitations due to security. Even though he was limited in his ability to really explore Afghanistan he was still able to share with us what life was like to live in Afghanistan during the war. It was also interesting to hear about how his duties as a public diplomacy officer shifted day-to-day depending on what was going on in the world. It seemed like a very interesting job because every day he woke up not knowing what was going to happen next. It was interesting to hear personal stories from someone who was exposed to the war and how it affected his life and job.

Images courtesy of: http://www.apakistannews.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/kabul-map.gif and http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200709/r176882_674459.jpg

Genocide Presentation-Reflection

Dr. Kennedy’s presentation on genocide was very eye-opening. Genocide is a very dark and depressive subject, but needs to be talked about. I thought that the way Dr. Kennedy presented the information was very illuminating and interesting. She began her presentation by making the information relevant and easy to relate to by telling a story, comparing her daughter and another girl her same age from Rwanda. This story was very sad, but it got the audience’s attention about the subject. It is very interesting to compare and contrast the two girls. They were very similar individuals, however the major difference of course was where they were from. It is scary to think that anyone of us could have been subjected to those conditions. We are very lucky to live in a free country where genocide does not take place. However, like Dr. Kennedy said we have an obligation (being humans) to help to try and prevent things like this from happening. It is very sad to think that genocide can still happen in the world today. Throughout the presentation Dr. Kennedy provided the history of genocide in which she gave statistics, pictures, locations, and prominent figures associated with each tragedy. She also provided reasons and insight to why certain regions of the world were subjected to genocide. I thought that her presentation was very moving because she did more than just give out facts and statistics about genocide. Dr. Kennedy was able to share the stories of the people of Sudan and show us the faces of those who have suffered from these horrible conditions. Seeing the faces of the people who were impacted by these conditions makes it more powerful and has a greater impact to me. Dr. Kennedy ended her presentation with a powerful message that genocide needs to be stopped and there are things we can all do to help prevent genocide. One of the major things that we can do to help prevent genocide is to create awareness of this issue. By informing the public we can create a stronger argument for the government to act and to get involved. We can all make a difference in this world and if we can come together as a nation I believe we can help to put a stop to genocide. This can help to save the lives of those who are enduring this atrocity.

Environmental Destruction

Deforestation is a leading cause of global destruction. Eliminating forests not only hurts the ecosystem, but it can also affect humans and climate change. When people remove trees from various forests they take away the habitat of many living organisms. This does not directly affect humans, but it could in the near future because many of the animals that we depend on rely on other organisms that are dying out because their habitat is getting destroyed. One must look at the food chain and realize that if we keep eliminating certain organisms that it will eventually affect human beings. Forests are also important for their nutrients that they provide. There are many resources that we use that come from forests. One important example is medicine. If we were to keep destroying forests, we would lose our valuable resources in which we depend on for making medicine. Another important way forests contribute to the world is that they can directly affect the climate. Trees can determine the amount of rain a certain region gets. This process has many positive effects on the ecosystem and is a key part in determining the climate of a region. There are many more ways in which trees and forests help support the world, which is why we must stop deforestation. Deforestation has been proven to negatively impact the environment and is one of the factors that could eventually lead us to global destruction!

This photo was found at http://www.etff.org/2009/images/deforestation-sep09.jpg

Related Article-http://deforestationarticles.blogspot.com/

5 Themes of Geography

Eden Prairie, Minnesota

Location
i. Absolute--44° 51' 17" N / 93° 28' 14" W
ii. Relative—About one hour and fifteen minutes South East of St. Joseph, MN. Eden Prairie is located southwest of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area.

Region
i. Physical— Eden Prairie is located in the interior lowland of the United States. It is considered a suburb of Minneapolis. There are over 11 counties in this region.
ii. Cultural—Eden Prairie is made up of a diverse mixture of nationalities. The majority of Eden Prairie’s population (approximately 60,000 people) is made up of white, Christians. What makes Eden Prairie interesting is the impact of the different nationalities that make up the remainder of the population. EP is positively influenced by the Somalian culture and several others. Another interesting fact regarding the makeup of Eden Prairie’s population is the fact that over 70% of the population is under the age of 45 yrs.

Place
i. Physical—Although, most of Eden Prairie is developed, EP does offer over 15 lakes, 170 miles of multi-use trails, 2,250 acres of park land and is home to several wildlife areas and woodlands.
ii. Human— Many corporations have headquartered out of Eden Prairie, ie. (Best Buy, Starkey Labs etc.) We are also well known for our largest private golf course, Bearpath, which was designed by Jack Nicklaus. However, we are probably most known for being home to the Minnesota Vikings headquarters and practice facilities. The City of Eden Prairie, Minnesota has been recognized as a great place to work and raise a family for many years and is currently one of MONEY Magazine's "Best Places to Live" in America. Flying Cloud Airport, located in Eden Prairie, provides convenient access for personal and corporate aircraft. Eden Prairie possesses dozens of hotels and award-winning restaurants as well as a super-regional shopping center that draws more than 13-million visitors per year.

Human Environment Interactions
i. Eden Prairie is a very developed city. This development has occurred in a fairly rapid amount of time. Less than 50 years ago, Eden Prairie was considered an agricultural community made up of mostly farm and prairie land. Although, there are many parks, wildlife areas and woodlands still present in this community, much land has been used and wildlife areas destroyed in order to develop its housing and business industry.

Movement
i. The majority of people from Eden Prairie get around by the use of automobiles. There is a transit station located in Eden Prairie, which is used for people to get to the downtown area and surrounding cities. Goods are usually transported by semi-trucks. Ideas travel by word of mouth and various advertisements such as billboards, TV (Eden Prairie channel 6), radio, Eden Prairie newspaper (Sun Times) and an Eden Prairie magazine.

Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown

This movie was an adventurous, exciting foreign film that was about the theme of romance. The movie was about a female character, Pepa, who tries desperately to find her boyfriend because of news she has to tell him. However, it was not only about her journey to track down her boyfriend, but it also included love triangles. These love triangles were seen throughout the movie between numerous characters. The movie begins with Ivan saying romantic pick-up lines to several different women. From the beginning the viewer assumes that Ivan is a ladies’ man and probably likes many different women. The film explores the idea of romance. Ivan and Pepa share the same job in which they are voice over actors who re-make foreign films. It is assumed that their careers are what connected them and led them to having a relationship. It is also ironic that the scene they voice-over is about marriage and love. This sets up the romance theme that is farced throughout the entire movie. The majority of the movie is about Pepa trying to track down Ivan to tell him some kind of news, which she has learned from the doctor. While she searches for him there are a lot of other side plots. One in which creates many love triangles. Ivan’s son (from his previous marriage), Carlos and his snobby fiancé are introduced into the movie because they are looking to buy Pepa’s apartment. While they are over looking at the penthouse, Carlos’s fiancé drinks Gazpacho, which Pepa previously laced with sleeping pills. Pepa originally meant for Ivan to drink the Gazpacho because she wanted him to stay. Ivan was a man who was always on the move so in order to keep him in one place she spiked his favorite soup with sleeping pills. However, Carlos’s fiancé was the first to drink it and while she was knocked out Carlos hooked up with Pepa’s good friend Candela. This created the movie’s first love triangle. Candela was an old friend who was on the run after being used by recently arrested Shiites. Candela was afraid the police would arrest her for being associated with these recently captured terrorists. Carlos recommends Candela see a feminist attorney. After being approached by Pepa, the attorney wants nothing do with Candela’s case. This creates a lot of tension between the two females. Towards the end of the movie it is discovered that the attorney was seeing Ivan. This created yet another love triangle that director Pedro Almodóvar uses. The two share a deep moment of serenity and try to forget about the crazy day they experienced. It seems apparent that they are both going to ditch their cheating boyfriends in an effort to find true love. Pedro Almodóvar uses the role of women as the focal point in this movie because he believes that women make better characters. His approach was very obvious throughout this movie because it seemed like there were many interactions amongst women. However, it is interesting to note that the subject of all of the drama is the result of men. Throughout this movie men are seen as using women to get what they want. This behavior is clearly portrayed through the characters of Ivan, Carlos and the male Shiite. The drama that follows is seen primarily through the female characters, which Almodóvar uses because he thinks women are more dramatically interesting. This European film maker also created interconnecting love triangles in which the man left a woman for another woman. This created much drama and tension between certain characters. This constant change in partners made the audience very aware that one of the points the movie wanted to make was that love is not always a definite thing ~ relationships change. It was interesting to see that the father and son character were both examples of the men who were in the middle of each triangle. It seemed that the father played a role in teaching the son about relationships. Ivan was made out to act very impulsive, which was also a trait displayed in Carlos. Overall, I really enjoyed this movie because of the comedy and the fun that was being poked at the characters that were involved in the love triangles. The movie did a good job intertwining all of the relationships among the characters. It was certainly not a story that I would have taken seriously, but the adventure and thrill made this movie appealing.

Antonia’s Line

This movie was very different from any of the films that we have seen in class. This wasn’t one of my favorite movies, but I thought it was an interesting view of romance and marriage because it was from a different perspective. The perspective of love was different because it was taken from a foreign country, different culture and it took place many years ago. This viewpoint was not at all like the other films that we have viewed in class. Love, family and happiness were present without the presence of many men. It was a movie that definitely addressed the strength and abilities of a woman to stand on her own. There were many aspects to this movie that I found fascinating. I thought that the movie was about the constant cycle of life and death. This was signified through the timeline of the movie. It viewed many generations of a single family. Life was shown through the abundance of children displayed throughout the movie. The idea of children and fertility was a significant theme to the first half of the movie. The film first introduces Danielle as the child of Antonia who is a creative and artistic little girl. Danielle soon grows up and wants a child of her own. Then her child Therese had a baby of her own with her partner. There was a reoccurring theme of the presence of children and how each interacted within the village. However, Danielle had an unusual situation because she did not want a husband to go along with the baby. This also seemed to be a common theme throughout the movie. At the beginning of the movie we also see that Antonia declines a man to be her husband. These examples allowed the movie to show the strength, both emotionally and physically, that the women had. They overcame many obstacles throughout the film. It seemed that men were not a necessary aspect for some of the women. Danielle used a man for his reproduction ability. This movie was seen more as a Utopia for women. It featured all females from the same family. It showed different generations of family and how things changed over time. The filmed showed an importance of carrying on a family by becoming pregnant. However, as the movie progressed, children we featured less and less. The second half of the film explored the idea of death. As time progressed so did the people of the village. It seemed that over time there were fewer births and more deaths. As the village people grew older, there was a loss of happiness and self-worth shown through some individuals. Finger, was one character who displayed these emotions. It seemed that he couldn’t find a meaning in the world he lived in. He believed that if he ended his life that it would help the lives of the other people. Finger was tormented by his feelings, which led him to commit suicide. In this film, the idea of marriage seemed irrelevant because it didn’t seem necessary. There really was no affect of the institution of marriage on the individuals seen within this village. This film portrayed a different type of romance seen within relationships. Compared to other movies, the relationship aspect was very different from the others we have seen in previous movies. Some of the relationships shown in this film were based off pleasure and companionship, rather than love and security that are a part of the institution of marriage.