Possibly the best blog ever

Mayan 2012 End of the World?

2009-10-18T13:26:00.000-07:00

The news last week had an interesting article by Fox News, on the end of the Mayan calender. As you all probably know, December 21, 2012 is the end of the Mayan calender and marks the end of the world. The Mayans were excellent astronomers and mathematicians. The date is merely the date when various cosmic bodies align. The question is how did this idea of the end of the world prophecy regarding the Mayan? It is a distinctly western idea that the world should end when this ancient cultures calender ends. This article is amusing but there will be a significant scare around December 2012 that the world is about to end. Just like Y2K people will take to the hills, run up credit card bills, etc. This article makes us ask social questions that we will only be able to ponder over until the date approaches. Is there a way to prevent this mass panic that will most certainly occur? Probably not, but December 21, 2012 is not the end of the world.... maybe.

Who Really owns Yodeling , Cannibalism, and Facebook?

2009-09-14T18:09:00.000-07:00

The concept of blogging is very interesting. A spill of ideas often unorganized, represent a change in American culture where information about anything is so readily available. Information so readily available in fact we feel inclined to give our ideas freely to the world. The question arises of who owns these ideas, or better yet this culture that we have created. Social networking sites like Facebook and Myspace give people their own space on the internet to say almost everything about themselves. What activities they like, their favorite foods, and some post even what they are doing this very second with the advent of Twitter. Information once dominated by face to face contact is contracted out to a program on a machine. People who engage in this practice have their own culture. They have their own language. "LOL u r sooo cool". They have their own etiquette, and they even have their own customs or traditions. This seems to be only a first world culture in the sense that only financial elite can own a computer. We can expand this to all cultures when we ask the question, who exactly gets credit for this, and what are their rights? Culture belongs to those who have created it. There are obvious cultural divides among different cultures so giving credit to these peoples seems correct. With opinions and scholars wishing to harasses, examine, or explain cultures we come into a grey area of morals. Can we discredit another culture for their traditions? Can another culture mock or be superior to another, or more developed? Cultures often are directly opposing. One tribe or nation may tolerate cannibalism while others view it as completely immoral. Cultures will fight each other over tradition. This does not argue who owns culture but the rules we have when examining it. Academically we examine culture as we would a rare plant, moon rocks, or Ebola. Examining a culture without passing judgment and giving credit to where credit is due is at the heart of the scholar. The scholar looks for facts or strongly based theories, while the non- academic (who does not belong to the scholars culture) form opinions and degrading remarks. There is a place for both of these. If a culture did not fight for its truths, than there would be only one culture. Napoleon said it best when he said, "Men will fight long and hard for a bit of colored ribbon." Culture belongs to that culture, but that culture will be judged by all others.

Introductions

2009-09-09T19:18:00.000-07:00

My name is David Gardner. I was born in Fort Wayne, IN, to an English major, and a chemical engineer. Growing up was at least, interesting. I was raised in a strong Christian home, and was brought up on traits of honor, integrity, like all good Christian men. My life up to the point of high school was completely average. I played club soccer until middle school, played golf as a freshman, and took up the hobby of target shooting as a senior. It was uneventful until my junior year when I attended Richland Collegiate High School. When I arrived at school the first day I knew that I was finally around people who had at least some understanding about what it took to succeed in life, and could see past the trials of youth. Richland Collegiate High School is a charter school on the Richland College campus, where students take all college courses. Unlike AP courses or duel credit, we were completely submerged into the academic atmosphere of College. I graduated with a high school diploma in one hand, and an AA degree in another. I currently attend Texas A&M University at Galveston which unlike the other Universities that simply carry the Texas A&M name, Galveston is a sister college with curriculum dedicated to the sea. I am a Maritime Studies Major, and I plan to minor in Maritime administration and a track in environmental law. I plan to go into Naval Intelligence to help me accomplish my end goal of becoming an FBI Special Agent.