Death is near, very near.

6/23/1910

Dear Journal,

      Today has been a very tough day at work. Three men died from a dynamite explosion and twenty others have malaria. My boss said, "only three, that's good for one day." Everyone is getting sicker with each passing day that we're here. I feel really lucky to still have my health while my friends are in bed with yellow fever. I'm only here because the Americans pay better than the people in Antigua. It's very dangerous to build this canal and death is all around us. The workers are tired of physical labor and we all need a break. I can't wait until we're finished here. I really want to sit in my hammock on the beach and just relax. Sharks aren't nearly as scary as what I have to deal with here. At least I can tell my kids that I helped with and survived the building of the canal. 

Twitter for the Queen

BigQueeny- I went to the Legislature's closing ceremony today and now I'm going to the 'Iolani Palace to speak about the new constitution I wrote. Hopefully everything goes as planned!
2:23 P.M. 1/14/92

BigQueeny- There are a lot of people at the palace today showing their support for me. It's getting close to the time when I need to discuss my plans for the new constitution with the Cabinet.
3:54 P.M. 1/14/92

BigQueeny- I had a big argument with my Cabinet. They wouldn't sign the treaty and they said I should wait until later to implement it. The Cabinet said that it could be used against me. I'm really upset about this, but I'll live.
5:22 P.M. 1/14/92

BigQueeny- I was informed of the Committee of Safety's plans to overthrow me. I want to avoid any and all deaths from occurring during this crisis.
10:36 A.M. 1/15/92

BigQueeny- My "loyal" Hawaiians showed up to give my support, but when Lorrin Thurston asked to the crowd to give power to the Committee of Safety, they all cheered! I couldn't believe my own people would do this to me!
7:43 P.M. 1/16/92

BigQueeny- I gave up the throne today. It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. I wrote to the U.S. president, asking for help so I can reclaim the throne.
8:30 P.M. 1/17/92

BigQueeny- I spent my niece, Princess Ka`iulani, to Washington to ask for help from the United States government to help me regain the throne. I know she will do her best to get the President's help.
9:15 P.M. 1/17/92

http://www.hawaii-nation.org/soa.html

Queen Marie Antoinette's Imperialistic France

The common tale of the “the little people” being controlled by the powerful people is timeless. So timeless, that in fact many modern movies have used this same underlying theme. While most would think that these types of movies would generally be war movies, some historical fiction chick-flicks have even adapted the historical topic of imperialism into the stories of today. Just as the United States presented itself to the world as a super power, gaining new territories right and left, the characters in imperialistic-type movies take control of other weaker characters. In the film Marie Antoinette, Marie Antoinette, of the royal Austrian family, marries Louis XVI of France and becomes part of the reason for the French Revolution.

            Marie Antoinette is forced to marry Louis XVI when she is fourteen years old due to her mother’s desire to strengthen ties with France. She doesn’t really want to be with Louis in the first place. It was expected that a royal couple would bare an heir to the throne, though Louis and Marie haven’t done so. Tensions between the people of the French court and Marie rise because of this. Marie’s mother warns her of the importance of having an heir. Marie’s ability to stay in France depends upon it. Over time, Marie and Louis have three children. Marie and Louis become king and queen of France after the death of Louis’ grandfather, the French king. Marie enjoys the lavish life of royalty and the parties that accompany it. She takes interest in men other than her husband at these parties and begins an affair with a Swedish count. France’s financial situation is beginning to look bleak because of Louis and Marie’s out-of-control spending. Marie spends lots of tax dollars on gambling, shoes, clothes, and wigs. The French working class is frustrated with the way the government is being run. These people are starving. The French people march to Versailles to revolt and the royal family must leave to go to a safer location.

The last scene of the movie is of Marie Antoinette’s destroyed bedroom.

            In imperialism, a greater force overtakes or controls a weaker group. In Marie Antoinette, the French royals, Louis and Marie, oppress the working class in France by taxing these people heavily to fund their own extravagant wants. In Karl Marx’s terms, the royals acted as the Bourgeoise and the commoners were the Proletariate. The Bourgeoise gave the Proletariate jobs and depended on them to do their dirty work. The upper class abuses the taxes its citizens pay by spending them on frivolous items. If the queen and king wanted something, but they didn’t have enough money to pay for it, more taxes would be placed upon the commoners. The royals neglected to take care of their people. The commoners were mistreated and didn’t have a say in their government. People can only last so long under pressure before they break. Eventually, the commoners would have had enough of the oppression and would fight against their controllers, just like what happened during the French Revolution.

            Oppression, unequal distribution of power, and heavy taxes all contributed to the theme of imperialism in the film, Marie Antoinette. Imperialistic countries neglect the people they gain from the newly conquered land and force these people to change to benefit the country. In France, the royals wanted the commoners to change their lifestyle so that they could afford to pay more taxes, even if that meant going hungry. Marie Antoinette’s supposed famous line “Let them eat cake” was said after someone questioned how the people of France would be able afford to buy bread. This definitely shows how little the people running the French government at the time cared about their citizens.                                                  

Image Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/80/Jacques_Bertaux_-_Prise_du_palais_des_Tuileries_-_1793_.jpg

Swine Flu Mass Hysteria

         I'm sure everyone reading this blog post remembers the 2009 Swine Flu paranoia. The media just used this topic to strike fear into people so they would buy their newspapers to read more. The newspaper article "Hundreds of Schools Closed from H1N1" causes parents to think, "If I send my child to school, then he or she will get the Swine Flu and possibly die!" At that time, people were so afraid of "being next" to get the Swine Flu. Reporters used sensationalism to make the problem seem much worse than it really was. 1. People get the flu every year and thousands of people die from the flu every year, not just during the year of the Swine Flu. 2. The flu virus is always changing, so every year there is a new strand of the flu going around. Just like in the Spanish-American War, reporters used emotions to get people to pay attention to and buy their newspapers. In the case of the Swine Flu, children and families were used to sway public opinion.

Communist Manifesto and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

        The two distinct groups in Karl Marx's Communist Manifesto are the Bourgeoise, the upper class, rich people and the Proletariate, the working class. The Bourgeoise need the Proletariate to do their work for them and the Proleteriate are worked like slaves, trying to survive. Both social classes exist in the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. In the movie, Charlie's family struggles to make ends meet and lives a life in poverty. His family is an example of the Proletariate. Charlie gets the golden ticket in his candy bar and is invited to go to Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. All of the other children that also go to the factory are from well-off families (the Bourgeoise). These children are spoiled, stubborn, and unappreciative. The spoiled children's behavior gets them into trouble while at the factory. At the end of the movie, Charlie is the only child left from the tour and is given Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. 

Blogging: A Curse Or A Blessing

Many students complain about boring homework assignments. “It takes too long, it’s stupid, and I’m never going to use this” are common sayings that accompany groans when homework is assigned. I believe blog posts are a unique way of completing homework assignments. Blog posts enable students to express their mind, complete homework with a more flexible schedule, and gain a better understanding of what is being taught in the classroom.

            Blogging allows students to present their views in a casual, yet educational manner. When students can apply what they already know to their homework assignments, they take a greater interest into completing their work. Through blogging, students don’t have to be judged by how their answers complement the teacher’s viewpoint. As long as the blog post is related to the topic and is complete in structure, the student can take the blog topic and run with it. It is important for students to have the experience of presenting arguments and debating topics. Students learn to respect the views and opinions of others when given blog topics that have opposing sides to them. Oftentimes, students aren’t given the opportunity to voice their opinions enough in school. Teachers have traditionally given out homework that consisted of reading some pages out of a textbook and answering questions about what the student read, writing essays, and needlessly memorizing vocabulary words. Blogging takes students out of the orthodox setting of schoolwork and puts them into an environment that is very well known to the average teenager: the Internet.

            Teens these days are much busier than the adolescents of years past. With sports practice, part-time jobs, other after-school activities, who has time for homework? The use of blogging for homework assignments has opened up a door to a more lenient homework schedule. By breaking up coursework into small pieces each day, students have the ability to fit homework in along with other paramount obligations. Most teens are already on the Internet every day, so why not do a bit of homework as well? Maybe students will feel like the blog post they are completing isn’t really homework since it’s on the Internet. Since the assignment is on the world wide web, homework is now portable. During a few spare moments, such as rides in the car, the time before dinner, and in the commercial breaks of a favorite T.V. show, homework can be finished on a cell phone, laptop, or iPad. Students can complete the post a little at a time and before they know it the homework is done.

            Some students may not understand what was discussed on a particular day in class. Blog posts can reiterate what was said during class in a more down-to-earth style. Students are able to use blogging as a way of helping one another comprehend a concept from class. By having pupils complete homework that has original, plain-English questions, students can formulate answers that show an increased understanding of the course material. Teachers may not have enough time to answer all the students’ questions or have the opportunity to go in depth on a certain notion. With blogs, ideas and thoughts that weren’t able to be brought up during class time can be communicated between students, thus expanding the insight of all of the students involved in blogging.

            Blogging for school assignments has many pluses to it. Students gain flexibility, expression, and comprehension by completing blog posts for school. Blogging, when the questions are interesting, is much more appealing than the typical homework teachers across the nation have given to their students for centuries. I think students are able to learn and relate more to history with blogging.

Image Source: http://www.davidmaybury.ie/journal/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/blogging.jpg

My favorite is...

I liked comparing historical fiction and history in the blog post about The Beatles. The Beatles is my favorite band in entire world, so naturally, I would love to do a homework assignment about them. Blog posts like this one and the blog topic about "Gunsmoke" urge students not believe everything they see on T.V. History is oftentimes changed to gain higher ratings and more profit in Hollywood movies and shows. When students can relate to a show, song, or movie concerning history, they may have a greater interest in the subject. It also could make students more likely to do their homework if they had an assignment they could write about  from experience. I'm glad that the class is doing these kinds of homework assignments instead of the typical textbook work. Blog topics allow flexibility, creativity, and unique homework assignments.