Term 3 Blog #100

when i got back from the grad concert, it was 11 PM. i studied science for one hour, reviewed everything, and now im gonna go to bed. soo hungry!! chao

Term 3 Blog #99

WOW BLOG NUMBER 99!!!! CANT WAIT TILL 100!!! YOU KNOW, THIRD TERM ENDS ON EXACTLY MY 100TH BLOG!!!
i wonder what i'll name my blogs after i finished with third time. maybe summer 2007 blog number __? but i think i shall leave this site, save everything onto my grade 8 CD, and that will be all. i want to preserve my documents on the computer. it turns out that i dont have a lot. only 100 mb. my CD can save 700 MB. darn. oh well, i'll have my grade 8 CD nonetheless.
i really wish i dont have to do my piano lessons this week. i didnt practice at all. im gonna study for the finals hard. i already am. tmw's the last day that i could study for science and socials! better prepare! i think im alright tho.. gonna review more, make sure i noe it without thinking too much.
you know what? the hardest thing i find to remember is that the independent variable is that one that you manipulate or change. its confusing! the word "independent" means that it doesnt have to rely on something right? that makes it sound like its that varible that im observing. actually, as im writing this now, i think i get it.

Titanic

aww isnt this so sad?? "nothing on earth can come between them" (not even death) sob sob. my heart aches.. :'( and leonardo dicaprio isnt nearly as good-looking anymore.

Term 3 Blog #98

studied science and socials. i could never imagine how much science i forgot. gonna review more. i'll promise to write looooong blogs during the holidays to compensate for these short blogs.

Term 3 Blog #97 (Multimedia Blog #26)

kimi ni aishiteru yo.
heh heh heh heh nobody understands me.. except japanese people. oh i dont noe many people who are japanese, and chances are, they're not gonna read my blog. its multimedia day..
this is so cute isnt it?

Term 3 Blog #96

i went to mrs.ferrario to get some review papers today. boy they are hard!! i finished them today (except the crossword),and i sorta memorized my french thing. sort of... gotta review it tmw morning.
do you think "the unit of money used in an area" is currency or "any unit of exchange used as money" is currency?? i dont get it...
oh darn i gotta gotta study socials and science. and english. these are the only things that i actually have to study for. theres two days (weekend) which i shall skip piano and chinese school. lets see... i'll spend half of tmw doing science, and half of tmw doing socials. i dont think english will take long tho. i'll just spend an hour doing it on both saturday and sunday. on monday and tuesday, i shall just review science and socials. actually, if i review science, i think its gonna be quite easy cuz i memorized everything before.

Bonus Questions For Google Earth

What is the difference between an island and a continent?
A continent is a large land mass, meaning its is HUGE.

When does a peninsula become a cape?
UM i donno

What is a liquid isthmus?
i donno

Why is there a mid atlantic ridge?
its a mountain range that was caused by tetonic plates pushing each other

How deep is the deepest deep sea trench?
Mariana Trench: 10,916 meters deep

Who was the first family to go to the bottom of the sea, and the top of the atmosphere?
I donno

Does every river create a delta?
probably..

What tectonic plate does Vancouver sit on?
Juan de Fuca plate DUHH

what is the closest volcano to Churchill School? it might be dormant?
not sure..

which single land mass is divided into two continents and one sub continent?
North America, Central America, South America

Are there any fresh water oceans?
i donno.

Term 3 Blog #95

hmm im gonna skip japanese, chinese, and piano this week. AGAIN. wat a sorry thing to do. but i really gotta review.

Term 3 Blog #94

i have been studying LIKE CRAZY here. although i finished my science test this morning, and it was quite easy, i still need to study A LOT for socials. oh and guess what? theres an english test tmw. noooo. poetry test. im bad at analysing poems. extremely bad. heres my situation right now:
French school - GOTTA MEMORIZE THE PASSE COMPOSE RULES ARRGH
Socials Finals - I forgot all that went on in Russia (thought thats only one section), and im forgetting what went on in India after the Mongol invasions.
Science Finals - i dont need to study for chapters 10, 11, 12, but i need to review chapter 1 to 10
French Finals - EASY PEASY
Math Finals - EASY PEASY
English Finals - review poetry terms, grammar, everything we learned (which is much), plus, my English folder is a wreck. i dont noe if im missing some papers. i'll get some clarification with mr hauck about the finals tmw.

Term 3 Blog #93

i dont think i'll get an A in science this term. im only getting an 81.5 right now, and ms kot is writing the final exam. i had a test un units 10, 11, and 12 on thursday, but i cant expect to do better on it than 86% because i never have. besides, im better at biology than physics.
ms hu finished marking our scavenger hunt maps today. she said ours wasnt original because we used to exact shape of the eye. thats bad. 19/25 means 76% ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh HOPEFULLY I GET BETTER ON MY TEST ON THURSDAY. AND MY OIL BROCHURE. AND MY PENUMBRA AND UMBRA LAB. AND MY FINAL EXAM.
the english grammar thats gonna be on the exam didnt turn out to be that hard. it was only hard cuz mr hauck was rushing through it i think. i looked at some practices online and practiced for about an hour. i think i got it down now.
as for socials, theres still a LOT OF STUFF that i need to memorize. i mean, i looekd over it, but most words dont stick to me until i read them over 3 times and try to memorize it. especially the names. i mean, how am i supposed to remember tuglak shih...uhh something. hes ...dddarn i dont remember what he did even. oh wait!! hes was in india...doing something. oh i looked it up its firuz shih tughlak and he was one of the delhi sultans. REMEMBER!!!!!!! next year, im just gonna memorize everything according to schedule. about one chapter and a bit more per month should do it.

Term 3 Blog #92

more social studies-memorizing and science-studying. english too now. arrrghh so MUCH. YOU KNOW WHAT?? I HATE THIS. i guess im gonna study day and night now. ooommmyygoddd!! theres also a science test on wednesday. as well as a math test. oh i can hardly wait. -_-" YOU KNOW WHAT? THIS IS DRIVING ME NUTS. I CANT TAKE IT ANYMORE. theres also the strings rehearsal factor to worry about. its 2 hours per day one!!! its more than the time i use to play piano.
ohh its one of my hard weeks. i'll get through it somehow.

Term 3 Blog #91

ahh non!!! l'examin final c'est loin~!!! 11 jours pour etuidier. ce n'est pas assez trop de temps pour etudier. j'aime pratiquer mon francaise dans cette blog. si vous voyez queque chose pas correct dans cette blog, dit moi<--???
je dois etudier pour l'anglais, l'histoire, et les sciences. il y a beaucoup de chose que je dois etudier. est-ce que vous pensez ma francaise est bon? meilleur que hier?

Term 3 Blog #90 (Multimedia Blog #25)

samedi, le 2 juin, 2007
je suis desole. je m'excuse. je n'ecris pas mon blog pour 3 jours. ma ordinateur..c'est une ordinateur que ne travaille pas. vous sait quoi je parle? non? vous etes stupid.

Term 3 Blog #89

ive always known that dani was a little unkind, but amy...i think dani had a lot of influence over amy's behavior over this school year. ever since she became friends with dani, she's been a little meaner. there was a little bit of maliciousness in her voice, as if she thinks shes so great and all that.. i had an encounter with her as i walked home from school:
dani: you look so sweaty.
me: i had langara
dani: what was ur time:
me: i dont wanna tell.
amy: that means that she got bad
what's wrong with her?? she said it as if i werent there. i felt so angry :@ so i said
"amy, u can assume i got a bad time. assume all you want."
YOU BRAT i never thought i'll say this about amy, but shes just getting a little full of herself.

Term 3 Blog #88

u noe what? i feel as if i had died. of course, i will never suicide, but THE EXAM IS IN TWO WEEKS!!!! IM DEAD ALREADY!!!

Term 3 Blog #87

ahhhh nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo EXAMS IN TWO WEEKS. IM GONNA SPEND ALL MY FREE TIME STUDYING, EVEN IF I DONT WANT TO.

Term 3 Blog #86

studying for tmw's exam on the eye:
cornea, aqueous humour, iris, pupil, lens (convex), ciliary muscles, vitreous humour, chloroid coat, retna, blindspot, fouea, optic nerve, fat, musscle, sclera...ahhh why dont i remember sclera???? sclera sounds like mascara. mascara..mascara...sclera...sclera.
i once had mascara,
it was applied on top of my sclera.
i think that should make me remember it.

Term 3 Blog #85

watched ms universe. JAPAN WON!!!! yeah-hah. tho she wasnt as pretty as the others. but still, i LIKE JAPAN!!!!!! :D :D gonna sleep now. sorry for the short blogs lately.

Chapter 7: India, China, and Japan

Chapter 7 Section 1 Review
1. Identify: Delhi sultanate, Tamerlane, Urdu, Babur, Akbar, Taj Mahal, Vasco Da Gama
Delhi sultanate – The empire built by Muslim rulers who established a capital at Delhi, and included most of India
Tamerlane: The leader of the Mongols who overran northern India
Urdu: a combination of Persian and Hindi written in Arabic script
Babur: the leader of the second time the Mongols invaded India.
Akbar: the grandson of Babur who tried to unify the empire by following a policy of religious toleration.
Taj Mahal
Vasco Da Gama
2. Define: sultan, purdah
Sultan : people who organized a government that resembled those of the Maurya and Gupta empires.
Purdah: the practice of secluding women
3. Describe two advantages Muslim invaders had over Hindu forces
The Muslims rode on horses while the Hindu cavalry rode on elephants. The Muslims troops were extremely well-disciplined.
4. List three differences between Hinduism and Islam
Islam- one god, Muslims: multiple gods
Muslims- equality of all believers before god, Islam – caste system bas on inequality
Islam – strict obedience to laws of the Koran, Hinduism – tolerated many beliefs
5. What attitude did Akbar take toward Hindus?
Akbar appointed Hindus to high office, forbade the destruction of Hindu temples, and lifted the nonbeliever tax.
6. How did the Mogul emperor react to the activities of Christian missionaries?
He sent armies to end their activities.
Chapter 7 Section 2 Review
1. Identify: Diamond Sutra, Li Po
Diamond Sutra – The first printed text: it is a Buddhist text
Li Po – a famous poet during the T’ang dynasty who was a Taoist
2.
a. In theory, who could qualify for the Chinese civil service?
In theory, anyone could qualify for the civil service.
b. In practice, who usually entered the civil service?
Sons of officials or wealthy merchants usually entered since they were the only ones who could pay for the expensive education needed.
3.
a. Describe block printing
The Chinese carved characters onto wooden blocks that were inked and pressed onto paper.
b. Who probably developed block printing? Why?
Monks probably invented block printing from inventions such as paper and use of stamps.
4. What subjects interested T’ang and Sun poets and artists?
They were interested in human emotions, nature, and one’s place in the universe.
5. How did footbinding affect Chinese women?
They crippled women very much.
Chapter 7 Section 3 Review
1. Identify: Kublai Khan, Marco Polo, Cheng Ho.
Kublai Khan – a grandson of Genghis Khan who completed the conquest of China and established the first foreign dynasty in China
Marco Polo – one of the foreigners who visited China and stayed to serve Kublai Khan
Cheng Ho – A Chinese admiral who assembled 63 ships, which carried over 27 000 sailors, soldiers, and civilians who traded, collected, tribute, and gathered information about sea routes.
2. How did Kublai Khan try to keep the Mongols from being absorbed by Chinese culture?
He tried to limit Chinese influence on the Mongols by setting up a separate law code for Mongols and allowed only Mongol nobles and foreigners to serve at court.
3. What effect did the building of roads have on China?
It increase trade and travel.
4. Describe the Ming sea voyages
These voyages visited southeast Asia, India, Arabia, and East Africa and traded, collected tribute, and gathered information about sea routes.
5. What restrictions did the Ming put on Portuguese traders?
Ming first refused to let foreigners land, and then they were restricted to Macao. Afterwards, trading was restricted to only one city, Canton.
Chapter 7 Section 4 Review
1. Locate: Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu, Sea of Japan, Heian
Hokkaido – The northernmost region of Japan
Honshu - the largest region of Japan, in the middle
Shikoku - a little region tucked under Honshu
Kyushu - the southernmost region of Japan
Sea of Japan – the sea right between Korea and Japan
Heian – Kyoto!!!!
2. Identify: Shinto, Yamato, Lady Murasaki
Shinto – The Japanese religion
Yamato – The Japanese royal family
Lady Murasaki Shikibu – a great master of Japanese literature, wrote one of the world’s first novels
3. Define: archipelago, clan, kami
Archipelago – a chain of islands
Clan – family groups that trace their ancestry back to one person
Kami – spirits, god (ALSO PAPER)
4. Describe one advantage and one disadvantage of the geography of Japan
Advantage: seas kept foreigners from invading
Disadvantage: Japan is mountainous, only 20 percent of the land is suitable for farming
5. Why did the Yamato rulers have the respect of the people?
They claimed to be of divine descent.
6.
a. List three aspects of Chinese culture the Japanese borrowed
Language, Noh Buddhism, studied its government, history, philosophy, arts, and sciences
b. List one Chinese idea the Japanese rejected.
The idea of Civil Service Examination did not fit into the idea that everyone’s place is inherited
7. How did women contribute to the development of Japanese literature?
They kept dairies and composed poetry.
Chapter 7 Section 5 Review
1. Identify: Hideyoshi, Tokugawa Ieyasu, Zen, Noh, Kabuki
Hideyoshi: powerful general who established the foundations for a unified nation
Tokugawa Ieyasu: person who seized power when Hideyoshi died. Japan enjoyed peace and prosperity during his rule. He created a strong central government
2. Define: samurai, shogun, daimyo, bushido, haiku
Samurai – nobles descended from early clan chiefs who were like warrior knights.
Shogun – Chief general who controlled taxes, issued laws, and commanded the samurai who had pledged to serve him.
Bushido – The way of the warrior which stressed loyalty and unquestioning obedience to one’s lord.
3.
a. What was the highest class in Japanese feudal society?
Emperor
b. What was the lowest class?
Merchants
4. What values did the samurai code deemphasize?
It stressed loyalty and unquestioning obedience to one’s lord.
5. Give one example of how the Tokugawa shoguns limited the power of the daimyo
They limited the power of the daimyo by making their families spend every year in Edo (Tokyo), but he himself has to spend every other year in Edo. This discourages the daimyo from organizing revolts.
6. What two cultural traditions influenced the arts in Japan?
Zen Buddhism – devotion to nature in flower arrange, landscape gardening, tea ceremony, which reflects peace, simplicity, and love of beauty.
Kabuki theatre – violent and emotional dramas

Chapter 7: India, China, and Japan

1.
a. How did Hinduism influence life in India?
Caste rules ensured a stable society, a council of elders made all important decisions in villages, and local Brahman priest influenced the council.
b. What effect did Muslim rule have on India?
The Delhi sultans were assembled, and there was a period of peace and economic prosperity. However, Hindus had to pay a heavy tax and there were conflicts between Islamic and Hindu beliefs.
2.
a. How did Akbar try to unify the Mogul Empire?
He lifted the non-believer tax, married a Muslim princess, appointed qualified Hindus to high office, forbade the destruction of Hindu temples
b. How did his successors change his policies?
His successors ended his policy of religious toleration. They closed Hindu schools, destroyed temples, and reimposed the nonbeliever tax.
c. What happened as a result of these changes?
There was a fierce resistance among the Hindus which struggled to overthrow the Moguls.
3. Describe Chinese achievements in each of the following areas:
a. Government: they invented the examinations for civil service to recruit talented and royal officials in the imperial court
b. Technology: they invented the printing press: both block print and movable type
c. Arts: there were many poets who based their poems on emotions and nature. There were also artists who sat at one place for days to try to capture the mood and then paint the scene without once glancing at it.
4.
a. How did foreign trade affect China during the T’ang and Sung empires?
The Chinese were exposed to many new products such as peppers and dates. Also, they learned about new seeds and farming methods from their contacts with the foreigners.
b. Why did trade become even more extensive under the Mongols?
The Mongols built great highways across their empire so that trade and travel increased.
c. What attitude did the Chinese take toward foreign trade by the 1500’s?
The Chinese closed off all their ports and did not allow foreigners to land. Later, the foreigners were kept under close supervision in Macao, and later, Canton.
5.
a. How did Chinese culture influence the Japanese
The Japanese adopted the Chinese characters as well as Noh Buddhism. They borrowed Chinese styles in art and literature. Nobles studied Confucian and Taoist philosophy.
b. Why did the Japanese borrow some Chinese ideas and not others?
The Japanese tried to adopt the idea of Civil Service Examinations, but this didn’t fit into their idea that a person’s place in society was inherited.
6.
a. What type of government did the Tokugawa shoguns establish in Japan?
They established a strong central government and organized a government bureaucracy to supervise taxation, finance, and justice. And they preserved the feudal order.
b. How did they limit the power of the daimyo?
They limited the power of the daimyo by making them stay every other year in Edo (Tokyo) while their families remained there every year so that they could not organize revolts.
7.
a. How were Buddhist teachings brought to Japan?
Zen Buddhism was brought to Japan by Chinese monks.
b. How did Buddhism affect Japanese society?
Zen Buddhism stressed on one’s love for nature, which complemented the Shinto idea of respect for the forces of nature. Both men and women learned flower arranging, gardening, and tea ceremony (which was meant to reflect peace, simplicity, and love of beauty)
For Further Thought
1. Analyzing.
a. How did differences in religious beliefs contribute to clashes between Hindus and Muslims in India?
The Hindus believed that the cow was a sacred animal while Muslims believed that it was food. Hindus believed that music was important, while Muslims believed that it was an offense of god.
b. In what ways was there a peaceful blending of the two cultures?
Urdu came to be (it’s a combination of Persian and Hindi written in Arabic script), Purdah, the practice of secluding women, was adopted, and Muslim mosques were often designed and built by Hindu architects. Hindu artists also painted works that illustrated Persian stories.
2. Applying Information
a. How did Chinese and Japanese attitudes toward foreigners change in the 1500s and 1600s?
They rejected the foreigners to trade in only one city of the country. The Japanese restricted them to the port of Nagasaki while the Chinese restricted them the Macao, and later, Canton.
b. Why do you think their views of foreigners changed?
The Japanese shoguns didn’t like the way that Japanese Christians were pledging obedience to some far-away pope, and they later feared that the Europeans were going to conquer Japan, so they limited their trade with foreign countries.
The Chinese probably thought they had enough to go on without any contact with foreign countries. They probably thought that they were superior to all other countries and didn’t need to be influenced by their cultures.
3. Analyzing a Quotation
A Japanese saying states: “The rice that Hideyoshi cooked was eaten by Tokugawa Ieyasu.” Do you think this saying accurately describes what happened in Japan after the late 1500s?
I don’t think this saying accurately describes what happened in Japan because Japan also flourished under Tokugawa Ieyasu. For example, cities like Edo (Tokyo) grew quickly, and there was peace and prosperity under the Tokugawa shoguns.
4. Comparing
a. Describe the structure of Japanese feudal society.
The Emperor held the highest rank in society, but had no political power. The Shogun was the actual ruler who imposed laws, set wages and prices, and controlled taxes.
The Daimyo were landowners that controlled large estates.
Samurai Soldiers pledged obedience to the Shogun and Daimyo
Peasants and Artisans provided food and weapons
Merchants traded these products to gain money, but they had a low social status.
b. How was Japanese feudalism similar to feudalism in Western Europe?
The Daimyo = the lords, samurai soldiers = knights, peasants = serfs, artisans and merchants were basically the same.
c. How was it different?
The emperor of Japan held no political power, but in Europe, the King had most of the power. The merchants were ranked higher than peasants in Europe, the they were below peasants in Japan.
Developing Basic Skills
1. Using visual evidence
Study the painting on page 119. Does the painting express the same feelings about nature as Li P’s poem?
Yes it does.
2. Map Reading
Map on page 122 and maps on pages 197-198
a. What was the extent of the Mongol empire?
i. It covered almost all of Asia except northern Russia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam
b. What countries today are located in the lands once ruled by the Mongols?
i. Afghanistan, Persia, Russia, Korea…etc.
c. Why do you think Genghis Khan divided his empire among his sons and grandsons?
i. Because he wanted to be FAIR. :D :D :D
3. Using Diagrams
Diagram page 127:
a. Who held the highest status in Japanese society?
The Emperor
b. Who had the lowest status
The Merchants
c. Why do you think the daimyo had so much power and influence
They could change laws, governed the taxes… did everything.
d. What does the diagram tell you about the structure of Japanese society?
It is very much like the status of feudal Europe.