SXU World History 102 Section 2 Blog

Fashion and Today’s Society….

jrocks1 — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 22:52:34 +0000

From what I remeber as a kid fashion wasn’t that much of big deal, yeah you had the big hair do’s and the huge bell bottom jeans with the clog hoppers. Which by the way is back in style, but it made sense, it represented the 60′s-70′s look. I chose this topic because awhile bag when we were reading Ghilsen, in one of his first letters he talked about the woman and how he liked the way they were dressed. He said they wore Bonnets on their heads, or silk scarves, with dresses or whatever they chose to wear that day. They weren’t so concerned about their fashion sense, they were more concerned about their beauty and whats with in. In their culture if you let anyone see your true beauty then you would reveal yourself. It was considered again their religion to reveal your true beauty. Now-a-days, people are so open with they way dress. Some dress promisciously, some dress conservative. I guess what I am trying to say is that people should be more concerned with their beauty within, not what they have to flaunt. To me the first impression or how you act is what others will see you as. So if you dress trashy then they will most likely they will not respect you. But if you dress casual, then people will respect you more as a person. Basically, how you percieve yourself is how others will percieve you. And I will always stick to that saying, because thats what my grandmother taught me while I was growing up. And trust me she was a wise and respectable person.

Jenn Rocco

Hotel Nikki Beach Mexico – great experience

dagnyte123 — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 20:32:54 +0000

Four weeks ago i went on vacation to Mexico with my other two best friends. We left on thursday morning and came back on monday night. We stayed in the hotel called Nikki Beach ( Me Melia) in Cabo San Lucas. The service and the view was amazing. Hotel had four different restaurants (including 2 outside patio restaurants), amazing pool with white leather beds around it and the bar inside the pool. Also spa, lounge/club (Passion) was located in the same hotel.

First night we decided to go and check out the lounge/club. The design at the lounge/club was very interesting and modern- red walls and white marble all over the place. It had outisde (VIP) seating and inside tables for the guests. Very good looking crowd and excellent service. Most of the guests were visitors that came form Europe and United States.

Next day we decided to go to the outdoor pool. The view was absolutely gorgeous. We were able to see the beach, which was located outside the pool on a lower floor, sailing boats and happy visitors all over the place.

The hotel was kind of pricey but definitely worth the money! If you are planing to go to Cabo San Lucas for your next vaction i would recommend to stay in this hotel you will enjoy and have a great time ….

A Broken Promise / Veteran Unemployment

gcsrg — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 12:55:14 +0000

This post covers two topics. The first is an article which discusses President Obama’s recent failure to make good on a campaign promise to recognize the nearly 1.5 million deaths of Armenians who were living in the Ottoman Empire during World War I, as genocide. This post was covered earlier by Aimee, but here my point is a broken promise. In our house we teach our children that a promise is a promise and it must be kept. If not you’d better have a darn good reason why not. My argument is not directed at Mr. Obama in particular, but rather towards all politicians who campaign on promises and never keep them. The article states that, “Armenians and most historians regard the deaths as state-sponsored mass killings, or genocide, while Turkey insists the deaths were the result of a civil war coupled with disease and famine.” It goes on to say that during his campaign, Mr. Obama promised the Washington D.C. based, Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) that he would recognize the deaths as genocide, after which the group supported him delivering huge blocks of votes in swing states and tens of thousands of dollars in campaign donations. But in a press conference on Monday, April 6th with Turkish President Abdullah Gul, and in a later address to the Turkish Parliament, Mr. Obama declined to recognize the deaths as genocide. As a result, the ANCA is urging its members to contact the White House and urge Mr. Obama, “to be a man of his word and honor his pledge to recognize the Armenian genocide.” (See link below).

http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/obama_armenians/2009/04/07/200573.html

The second topic comes from a door which Dr. Norton opened in class one night in which we had briefly touched on racial issues right after WWII. We had discussed American soldiers returning home from the war to find that there were no jobs for them while African Americans held many jobs. This resulted in racial tensions and many uprisings against the African American community. When I saw an article on Friday, April 3rd in the Chicago Sun-Times, Business Section, entitled, “Everybody’s fighting for positions”, it just fit. This article touched on American soldiers today, returning home from the war and not being able to find employment. Indeed, the article numbers shows that the unemployment rate for veterans is almost double that of civilians. Interesting to see how history repeats itself, and this seems like it would be an interesting story to follow to see if history will further repeat itself and if tensions will again arise between veterans and singular groups who might have employment. Any ideas which groups might be targeted? This article also reminded me of an absolute must see movie entitled, “The Best Years of Our Lives”. This is a multi-academy award winner which portrays the lives of several American soldiers and the difficulties they encounter upon returning to society here in America after WWII. (See link below).

http://www.suntimes.com/business/1509190,CST-FIN-military03.article

The Key to Learning about Culture is through your STOMACH!

rvenus11 — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 05:56:57 +0000

As I was searching for a topic to write about for this blog, I kind of wanted to talk about food. One of my favorite things to look for in dishes are ones that mix different cultures into one. I came across these recipes for Indo-Chinese cooking. They are dishes that were originally Chinese cuisine but were turned into Indian favorites. One of the recipes on the website was for a very appetizing dish called Gobi Manchurian. It was a Chinese dish that became a very popular Indian side dish made from cauliflower or “gobi”. It is a spicy dish that is sure to send anyone’s tastebuds to a path of sure heaven.

To make Gobi Manchurian you need:

1 medium Gobhi (Cauliflower)
3/4 cup Flour (Maida)
1 tbsp Corn Flour
Salt to taste
1 Chopped green chili
11/2 tbsp Garlic Paste
11/2 tbsp Ginger Paste
1 cup finely Chopped Onions
Finely Chopped Coriander Leaves
1/4th tsp Ajinomoto
2 tbsp Soya Sauce
2-3 tbsp Tomato Ketchup
2 tbsp Oil

With these ingredients, you create a paste out of the flour (maida), corn flour, salt and water. Add ginger and garlic paste to the mix. When this is done, dip the florets of cauliflower into the paste and fry them till they turn golden brown. In a pan, add oil, ginger, garlic paste, chopped onions, green chili, ajinomoto, soy sauce, and tomato sauce with the deep fried Gobi. The dish should be served hot.

I encourage those who love food and cooking to try this dish. The full instructions to make this dish can be found on: http://www.indianfoodforever.com/indo-chinese/gobhi-manchurian.html

“Fast and Furious”

msekula — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 20:11:33 +0000

This past weekend I went to see the new movie “Fast and Furious”, overall it was a good movie and it was nice to see all the original cast.

This movie was about revenge and about the drug cartels that transport heroine to America. The climax of this movie was to find and arrest the main drug-smuggler who was been known for his violent behavior, the one who controls the entire operation. I enjoyed the movie however; it made me think about the reality that is happening right now in Mexico. We have been hearing about the war against the drug cartels for quite some time now and the movie was an example of reality. Seeing this movie made me think about all the innocent people that are right in the middle of this war. In the movie, everyone in Mexico knows the main drug-smugglers name (Arturo Braga), they all are frightened of him and no one wants to come in his way. I know this is just a movie, but is it like this in reality as well? In the movie, the drug cartels seemed they have the power of authority and no one can stop them from pursuing their mission. The drug war has been nothing but horror in Mexico, the drug cartels have been terrorizing innocent residents as well as the visitors. I am glad they are trying to stop drug trafficking but in the meantime I think there is too many lives at risk. The illegal drug industry has been around for centuries and it will not stop that easily.

Mexican Drug Violence Spills Over Into US.

johnblue17 — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 17:14:00 +0000

I have been reading up on the ongoing drug violence in Mexico. It seems that the drug violence In Mexico has spilled over into the United States. It is reported in Phoenix that there has been a sharp increase in kidnappings and home invasions. There were a reported 350 kidnappings and home invasions the past two years, and they were directly connected to drug gangs in Mexico. I, personally, don’t find this very surprising. I have done reports and research about Mexico when I was in high school, and I remembered reading that Mexico is very much known for its connection with drugs and drug cartel. An example of the violence that is going on is when a heavily armed group of men broke into a house in Phoenix and randomly killed a person. The police believe that this break in and murder was directly related to a Mexican drug organization. Atlanta area police found a 31 year old man beaten, gagged, and chained to a wall in a quiet neighborhood in a suburb in Georgia. They later found out that the man owed a Mexican gang a reported $300,000. I don’t know about any of you guys but I thought this kind of stuff only happened in movies. These kinds of crimes remind me of the movie Scarface. This issue is definitely serious because it’s scary to think that this could spread deeper and deeper into the United States and cause a problem not only with the Mexican government, but also with the United States government.

drug war in mexico

football22 — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 22:04:04 +0000

Drug war in Mexico

I have been trying to stay up on this topic ever since it started for the main purpose that I want to become a police officer, so this topic really interests me along with staying up to date with what is going on in the world around us. As of may 8 of 2008 Commander and Commissioner Edgar Milan Gomez who was the acting chief at the time was found dead with eight bullets in his chest. In 2008 there have been 170 local police officers killed by drug traffickers. There have been more than 5,000 in 2008 which is a 117 percent increase over the 2,477 killings in the same period in 2007. “The majority of the killings have occurred in the border states of Chihuahua and Baja California, where traffickers have sought to wipe out rivals on the streets of Juarez and Tijuana, and in Sinaloa, this is home to the most powerful cartels in the country. So what does the president of Mexico Felipe Calderon, who instigated the massive increase in drug war violence, have to say about all this? The president has vowed to stay the course, portraying the violence among gangs and attacks on the police as a sign of success rather than failure.”

Breakfast and Turkey..I was hungry.

gruzwalski08 — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 22:01:10 +0000

This morning I was quiet hungry and I decided to look up Turkish foods and recipes. Mind you I am always hungry no matter what time of the day, but anyways I found quite a variety of food. Well, since it was in the morning I immediately was looking for breakfast foods first. The first thing I found was this type of bread called simit which is ring-shaped bread covered by sesame seeds. I suppose that everywhere in Turkey one can find it being sold since I found it was a popular kind of food. The next food I found was called gözleme, which is a kind of pancake that is often the basis for the light dinners at home. This food is generally served with spices, yogurt, and many more. As for coffee they really do not have coffee, but they have something like it called kahve. Historically kahve it was the Ottoman Empire that brought the coffee habit from its possession. All in all I was thinking just about food and not exactly coffee but more like a cappuccino and really wanted some breakfast food. I did find Turkish food interesting and appetizing. I really would like to visit Turkey and try the food one day.

A Great Movie

mg74401 — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 20:26:14 +0000

Hey there, I am a first time blogger and I probably would have never written one if we didn’t have to do it for class. Well anyway, I have recently seen the movie, Slumdog Millionaire. This was an excellent movie that probably goes on my top ten list of favorite movies. It takes place in India in the slums of Mumbai. To try not to ruin the plot, it is about an 18 year old orphan who gets the chance to be a contestant on the TV show, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. He is accused of cheating from doing well in the show. He then tells his journey which includes his brother and the girl he falls in love with. His experiences from his childhood and how he grew up helped him answer the questions. He falls in love with a girl and loses her and won’t stop till he finds her.

The movie won 8 Academy Awards and I was glad the movie did so well. So, get out and go see the movie. You will not be disappointed. Here is the trailer from youtube, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIzbwV7on6Q. Hope you enjoy the movie.

Tuition

eddie1977 — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 00:34:14 +0000

I was paying some bills and looking at my Saint Xavier University Tuition statement debating how I was going to be able to pay it off. Different payment plans entered thought, along with various methods of earning money which led me to the idea of selling myself to the University. I would think there is some way in which the University could utilize my talents so that I may work off my debt. Maybe I could be a concubine, just like in the Ottoman Empire, for one of the people in charge of the administration. If so, I would REALLY prefer to serve a female over a male. Hopefully I have a say in that decision.

I have to produce $4800 dollars and pay St. Xavier University so I may register for the up coming semester. I do not have loans, and I do not have grants. This is coming out of my pocket. Ouch! When I thought about it, SXU is running somewhat of an encomienda system. The Spanish Crown would entrust the conquistadors and soldiers with the responsibility of teaching the Indians in Spanish and Christianity. In return, the Indians would provide tribute. The Spanish settlers could not own the Indians, but they could own the land they lived and worked on. This led to the forced labor of the Indians. When you think about it, SXU is forcing labor out of me to pay them a “tribute” or as they call it a “tuition” for instructing me. They are entrusted with providing knowledge and faith to the students in return; the student has to pay a “tribute” or as the University calls it, “tuition”. So just like the Indians were fearful of what the Spaniards may do, I too am fearful of what SXU may do to my credit rating if I do not pay in a timely fashion. So I am forced to work as much as I can in order to pay this “tribute” so that I may register for further classes. Does anyone else feel this way?