Here's a pretty cool video on Daniel Quinn and his ideas about how we are going to be able to save the world.

This video is about food and population growth.

This video was shown to me by Vitor, it was super inspirational, so I thought I would share it with all of you :)

I have always found it interesting how native and indigenous people are so involved in a community, their daily lives are built through close-knit connections. There has been a drastic change from then until now. When the elder came to speak to us in class, he mentioned that our idea of a man today is someone who can bench press 300 pounds, has a nice truck, nice clothes, and just acts like a hunk. There is a disconnect of emotion. Men today tend to suppress their actual emotions because in our society being emotional as a man is not going to get you anywhere. Who came up with the idea that men aren't allowed to cry? If men weren't supposed to cry then they wouldn't have been given tear ducts just like everyone else. Our whole idea of being a man has become so screwed. I witness this disconnect on a daily basis. For instance, last night, a guy goes up to a girl and says hi and just starts to talk to her, he wasn't even flirting. Then Mr. Man has to go up and say "hey you're talkin' to my girl, back off." Then the next thing you know its a battle of who is the bigger man, punches start flying, people get hurt, police get called, its absolutely ridiculous. It accomplishes nothing. Being a man entails so much more than muscle, it entails humility, compassion, loyalty, affection, determination, honesty and so many more things. If only our society could accept that the way we were made, is the way we should be allowed to live and that only real men cry.

Dear class, I hope everyone enjoyed our speaker on Wednesday, I think he has a really amazing story. It is amazing how people are placed into our lives and inspire us to do greater things. I think that the biggest issue in this world is how money driven people are. Materialistic things drive people against one another, after all, it is a fight to see who can reach the top, who can live the American dream, and if a friend is in the way, then you have to take them out in order to get to the top. There is a loss of community because of money hungry people, there is such a focus on money that people forget how to really live, how to appreciate the PEOPLE around them. That, should be our first step to bettering ourselves, to finally understand that the material things do not really matter, and as soon as we can do that, I think we will feel a closer connection to the life around us.

Check this out! I found this video on YouTube of actual glacial receding footage throughout the expanse of a few years. I actually didn't listen to the whole video, but if you just want to check out the video footage it starts at 12 mins and ends at 14 mins 30 seconds. It really is unbelievable.

Here are two pictures of Portage Glacier. The picture on the right taken in 1950, the picture on the left taken in 2002. In case you cannot see, the picture of the glacier taken in 2002, is hiding way back up in the mountains the the upper left side of the picture. In the 1950 picture, it is blatantly clear where the glacier is, since it fills up the entire space between the mountains. Ladies and Gentlemen, within 52 years, this glacier has receded to less than half its size when the picture was taken in 1950. Only 52 years!!! The loss of this glacial water is detrimental to our ecosystem and everything living around the glacier. For all those skeptics who claim to believe that there is no such thing as global warming, are obviously living in a parallel universe to mine, because these pictures are hard fact that there is such a thing as global warming. If someone does not believe so than I personally think that they are in denial. This glacier has been around since the beginning of time, and the idea that it has almost completely vanished in just 52 years is really just heartbreaking. We are killing our mother and their are signs of it everywhere, no matter where you look there are signs of deprivation. At this rate, it wouldn't surprise me if this glacier was completely non-existent in the expanse of 20 years. It is proof like this that we need to use to convince the people of our world that we are killing our mother and it needs to stop now. The destruction of our mother will only bring about the destruction of ourselves.

I looked up fight for peace in youtube and found a pretty interesting song with some interesting viewpoints so I thought you might like to check it out.

I have recently been informed about the debate on whether or not firearms should be allowed on campus at UAA. I find it interesting that in an environment made for scholarly endeavors and the pursuit of higher knowledge, that there would be a need for firearms, but there is. At least once a month students recieve e-mails of roberies, armed roberies, car break-ins, etc. As the Second Ammendment states our right to keep and bear arms, we are, according to the most fundamental laws that we have built our country on, in violation of these laws at UAA. UAA bans the carrying of any firearm on campus, therefore breaking the second ammendment. Personally, I do not believe that firearms should be allowed in school due to the fact that weapons only cause harm. But when thinking about our current situation with the world, we understand that chaos is eminent, people will steal, people will kill, and people will use weapons against us, so we should be able to protect ourselves. To argue for this petition, I would say that the people who are doing damage to our community by using guns, already do so against the law, attacking people who, by obeying the law do not carry weapons and have no means to protect themselves. By allowing the carry of firearms on campus, we are allowing the responsible people to protect themselves against the people who have already been carrying firearms. By allowing firearms, we are letting more responsible people use them, and therefore probably making the illegal users of the weapons think twice before trying to rob someone. But still, this is a vicious cycle, you cannot create peace by causing war. That is where Ishmael comes in; this country has been fighting wars for hundreds of years, violence fighting violence, it is a scary fact that now, not only are we fighting wars against different countries, but we are fighting wars amongst ourselves. As Takers, we steal and fight with our brothers, and if firearms are allowed at school, we are now fighting fire with fire. But what else can we do? Without the ability to protect ourselves, we are all vulnerable. So yet again, us Takers continue on the same path of fighting guns against guns instead of fighting for peace, which is an oxymoron in itself, FIGHTING for PEACE. But in our world, nothing comes free.

Watch this video! It is a portrayal of average Leaver VS Taker scenarios... except in this video, the Leavers win. Although the Leavers lost initially in our society, will they eventually win in the end?

By the way if you haven't seen this movie, I highly recommend that you do watch it.

As you can see, I have been a little behind on my blog posts. In being behind on my blog posts, I can actually relate it to Ishmael and everything we have been discussing in class. As a Taker society, we say that we would never want to go back to the way of the Leavers because we have it so EASY. But is life as a Taker really all that easy? As far as our access to food, yes I would say we have it easier. As a Taker society, we can make one phone call to Taco King at 4:30AM and get the taste of authentic Mexican food within 30 minutes living all the way in Alaska. But is the way we live easier? In the sentence prior to this, I just mentioned at the touch of a button we can have food, but how removed and impersonal can you be from your food before it becomes to far?
           Look at the 2 pictures I have pasted to either side of this page. The picture on the left represents a Taker "village" and the picture on the right represents a Leaver village. If I were asked which picture seems, not easier but clearer, I would undoubtedly choose the picture to the right. The picture on the left looks chaotic and full of "stuff" whereas the picture to the right seems clean, nature in its pristine form, untainted by our society. Have you ever taken a day, or even an hour, and allowed yourself to get lost in your thoughts in the woods? It is so peaceful, is it not? Have you ever been stuck in traffic, talking on your cellphone, and trying to merge lanes as you are running late for a class? Frustrating isn't it? When some Leavers see our world, they think how stressful, and they cannot believe how long we have survived this way without going crazy.
           As Takers we rush from one destination to the next always rushed and everything always hectic. Because we do not have the time to sit and have meaningful conversations with the people we should, we give them a quick text or phone call instead. By doing this we miss out on the importance of actually interacting with people, and our cell phones and computers become our way of communicating, completely removing us from the emotional interactions we need. Computers and cell phones have allowed us to contact people at a much faster speed, but while doing so, has eliminated the personable nature of interacting. As humans, we are designed to need human interaction in order to survive on an emotional and mental level. In the Leaver culture, people depend on one another for everything. Their lives revolve around their families and the people around them, they are connected. In a Taker society, everyone learns that you must be an individual, that individualism is the only thing that will define you. Therefore, if you make it, you made it on your own, if you don't, you failed on your own. The little bit of reassurance you have for yourself is the text message a friend may send telling you it will be okay. There is a loss of community. Somewhere between the fine line of technology and actual face to face interactions, we have gone very wrong.
            So, my explanation for being behind on my blogs? I am a Taker which ensures a life of stress and a busy monotonous routine. My computer has been broken and when I finally get the chance to come to the library to study and get onto the computers, I finish my other homework, check my facebook and e-mail, and when I get around to it I write a blog. But I am a Taker what else is expected? Children are born with cell phone in hand, facebook app already downloaded and already a competition of who has the most Cyber friends. Sound ridiculous? Look around, we are all living in this world.
            Maybe I am happy my computer is broken, at first I didn't know how to live without it, but day by day I am seeing how it only contributes to my stressful life. I almost feel free not having to check my computer every two seconds, it is really liberating. Hopefully, one day everyone will see how ridiculous this all is, and maybe day by day we can all learn to be free.

*Last paragraph contains a lot of sarcasm as far as why I have not written any blogs yet. My computer is actually broken and I have been very busy. But there is no excuse and it is not because I was too busy checking facebook. Just giving an example of what the average excuse would be. I don't really have one :)