U.N.

On October 7, 1942, the British and US government announces the establishment of the United Nations. During the time of World War II 26 nations all agreed to unite to fight against the axis powers. (The charter was later drawn up in 1945). This was a great idea after the League of Nations and still holds today with many more countries around the world admitted. It provided unity in many parts of the world and provided a forum for a global organization to tackle problems. This affects so many people in that it has representatives from every country associated addressing and representing their own people including us from the United States. I appreciate this union in that foreign policy is now better conducted and resolution is easier to reach. Although it is certainly not as effective as it was before I believe that as long as the organization exists it still puts a certain mental safety in people's minds. The world is definitely a better place than it was decades or centuries past and now everyone is globalized meaning less conflict. There is not as much violence and countries work and help each other. If there is disaster somewhere in the world other countries are always pitching in in relief efforts.

what if

On this day, October 8, 1983 a moderate earthquake shook central New York up as far as Canada. It measured a surprising 5.3 on the Richter scale. At 6:19 in the morning, busy and bustling Manhattan residents felt or were awoken by the effect; waves were being generated in water beds and things began falling off of shelves in homes among other things. The last earthquake of any comparable size had occurred nearly forty years before and it measure a 5.9. This was obviously a negative historical event, as it caused fear and could have had potential for lasting damage. Internationally speaking, this event really didn't have much of an impact at all, and the national impact was minimal. I'd say it put officials and citizens alike on edge though and most likely was an exigence for them to reiterate safety procedures for such natural disasters, and to better fortify their cities for similar or more significant future occurrences. I think this event is important though because it's just one of those highly unexpected things that you can never be too prepared for, and most of the time citizens aren't adequately prepared for random earthquakes in areas in which they are quite uncommon. People were so fortunate in this situation because the earthquake didn't cause any devastation. It makes you stop and think about what "could have been," or ponder, "what if" and it makes you grateful for what actually happened instead. If this earthquake had possessed a greater magnitude, it certainly would have affected our country in a more broad and encompassing way. We just have to be prepared for anything and everything for the safety and security of our country and its people.

“A Competitive Race to Conquer Space”

On October 4th, 1957

On this day, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik I, the very first made-made object in space. This act inaugurated the “Space Age”, with the United States steadily falling behind. The threat of the Soviets’ rocket and satellite technology heralded the beginning of the “Space Race” between the two nations.

The first U.S. satellite, Explorer, was launched a year later. By that time, however, the Soviet Union had already boarded a dog on Sputnik II and sent it into orbit. By the 1960’s, the Soviet space program had crafts containing people, and made efforts to orbit and land on the moon. We were not able to rival these achievements until the late 60’s with the launching of Apollo 11 and the successful lunar landing.

This event was positive, seeing as it fueled the American space program to expand beyond its horizons and independently develop this state-of-the-art technology; while it was also negative, due to its contribution of the furthering tensions during the Cold War.

This led to an immense impact on the entire world. Sputnik I could detect radio-signal distribution, meteoroids, and the density of the upper atmospheric layer. This relay of information fueled further advancements in other areas of science. There was unprecedented funding for research and education, which resulted in a great number of government spin-off technologies. Additionally, this “race” initiated the environmental movement- color pictures of Earth taken from deep space became icons depicting our planet as a fragile “blue marble” amidst a black void.

I definitely have an appreciation for the effort to compete in such a dangerous field, and produce such remarkable results.

You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown

Lucy, Linus, Snoopy, Woodstock, Peppermint Patty, the Kite-Eating Tree, the Great Pumpkin, the "wah wah wah wahhh" that signified adults speaking, and even Charlie Brown himself. What name ties all of these images together?

"Peanuts".

"Peanuts" was first published on October 2nd, 1950, with the first cartoon consisting of, "Well, here comes good ol' Charlie Brown! Good ol' Charlie Brown, yes sir. Good ol' Charlie Brown...How I hate him!" Pretty profound, huh? The comic strip about "good ol' Charlie Brown" evolved slowly but surely into the household name it is today.

The publication of that first strip had not only an influence on the world of comics, TV, and entertainment, but on myself as well. Ever since I was little, I have watched "A Charlie Brown Christmas", and every year I laugh at the same jokes and the same innocence that make the premise truly magical.

Today, "Peanuts" is revered and respected as a groundbreaking comic strip and a story with characters that are relatable to past generations and generations to come.

A Tradition Started

On October 5th, 1921, Major League Baseball's World Series was broadcasted on the radio for the first time ever. This was a great thing because baseball is America's pastime and the sport that everybody loved to keep up with. The best part about the MLB was the World Series, people would want to keep up with it all the time. This let people listen to every play of the World Series. It was a technological advancement and a great new way to listen to the World Series at the ease of one's radio. This event had a big impact or influence on the nation for the most part. It is America's pastime after all and this made it more accessible to the masses. I definitely appreciate this event b/c I love the sport of baseball and being able to listen to it on the radio is a great thing. We can now watch it on TV too, but of course that wasn't around then. It was a move for technology and sports accessibility for America and the citizens' beloved sport.

First Time Didn't Work

My three prompts are:

1) Do you believe that arts (art, music, drama) should be incorporated into school?

2) Do you think people should have hobbies? Why or why not? What kind of hobbies do you have?

3) If you could travel back to any time period in history, what would it be?

I choose to write about Prompt #1.

All of us, at one point in our life, has most likely played an instrument, taken an art class, or acted in a play; and, chances are, they have had a profoundly good impact on our lives. But more and more school systems are taking the arts out of their curriculum, so the big question in all of this is: "Should the arts remain in schools?".

I, personally, think that arts are a vital part of the school system. Just think about it: who wants to be completely academic? If one were to be completely academic, consider how boring they would be. For an example, imagine a cake. And imagine that this cake is very, very delicious, but lacks one important thing: icing. A cake without icing still tastes good, but what sets it apart? What makes it taste better than other cakes?

This "icing" in our lives is the arts. Without the arts, we too would be a dry, boring, tasteless cake, without any distinction from the others. But with the arts, that gives us a distinguishing mark. And, hopefully, they will continue to do that for a long time.

Questions for Pondering

1. If you had a million dollars what would you do with it?
2. If you could live anywhere in the world where would you live?
3. If you could win an award of any kind what would it be?

Question One

If I could live anywhere I would live in San Francisco. I choose San Francisco because it has a perfect combination of the factors I deem important. First, it is a major Metropolitan center. It hosts a variety of activities that big cities have. It attracts all of the major music acts, it has theater and is a center for the arts. Second, it is only a two hour drive from the Sierra Nevada. The Sierra Nevada is an excellent mountain range because it hosts some of the best terrain for all outdoor activities. It has great skiing, hiking, kayaking just to name a few. Third, it located on the pacific ocean. It has great beaches and great surfing. Since it is a massive metropolitan city, it will never miss any of the the best concert tours. No more will I have to sit by passively as my favorite acts pass by little Lexington, just out of my feasible reach. Finally, San Francisco has what I like to call the Chill factor. I do not like to generalize large groups of people, but there is a great, easy going feel in many people who live on the west coast. San Francisco offers everything necessary any more, which is why it would make a great place live.