Saturday, September 28, 2019

Venice

Venice was built on 118 small islands off the coast of Italy. The islands are connected by different waterways and canals. Venice used these waterways and canals instead of roads, and instead of using cars, they use flat-bottom boats called gondolas. Gondolas are driven by gondoliers. Gondolas are used for transportation in Venice. Venice is even well known for its beautiful art and architecture. The most famous style of art in Venice is Venetian Gothic Architecture. A very important center for art is known as the Venetian School. Music is also a very important part of Venice. Opera was also very important in Venice. Antonio Vivaldi was a great composer who came from Venice. Marco Polo also lived in Venice. Also, out of all the first cities with a printing press and established business, Venice was one of them. A carnival in Venice has been held since the 12th century. Throughout the carnival, everyone wore a mask. They even had a contest to see who had the most beautiful mask.

The Hundred Year's War

The Hundred Year's War is a series of peace and battles that lasted one hundred years. It started when Edward III of England's uncle (the king of France) died. He was the closest heir to the throne, but because of a rule in an old, ancient law code, the descendant from woman can't claim the throne, so Edward III can't claim the throne since his mom is his uncle's sister, so instead, Philip VI of France became king instead because he was the closest heir from the male line, so he became king.

The Hundred Year's Was is separated into three different parts: The Edwardian Era, which lasted from 1337-1360, The Caroline War, which lasted from 1364-1389, and The Lancastrian Era, which lasted from 1415-1453. The Hundred Year's War was very influential.

The first battle recorded in the hundred years war was known as "The Battle of Sluys" in which it was a ship battle and the English severely won. After this victory for the English, Edward went on and captured Caen in just one day. After that victory, Philip met him at the "Battle of Crecy"; however, England won the battle too. They even captured the city of Calais. Having Calais enabled England to keep soldiers in France. After a plague called the Black Death, both England and France got a new king. France got John II for a new king. England god Edward, the Black Prince, for a new king. Edward, the Black Prince, led an invasion at Gascony and won. This battle was known as "The Battle of Poitiers. During this war, John II of France was captured by the Englis, so his son, Dauphin, ruled in his father's place.

The first peace treaty of the war lasted from 1360 all the way to 1369. This treaty was known as The Treaty of Bretigny. Charles V succeeded John II of France when he died in 1364.

The first peace treaty ended with tax disagreements in Aquitaine against France. After Edward III of England and his son both died, Richard II became king of England. Henry of England continued the war after a second peace treaty that lasted from 1389-1415.

The Battle fo Agincourt was a major victory for the English. Agincourt was a small, muddy field, which gave the English the upper hand. 400 Englishmen died compared to about 6,000 Frenchmen. The Treaty of Troyes brought about peace again and agreed that the heirs of Henry would be given the French throne.

Joan of Arc was a peasant girl who lived in France. When she was twelve, she began to receive visions of saints, and it took her a while until she realized the saints were telling her to lead an army and drive the English out of France and to help the king take back his country. Joan tried three times to have a conversation with the king to help him retake his throne, until one day the king let her in and she convinced him to take back France, but before she led an army, she needed to be tested by some priests to see if she held the correct religion and orthodoxy, and she did. To reform the French army, she made them go to church, treat civilians like they want to be treated, and stop swearing. Joan won many battles and drove the English out of France and even encouraged Charles of France to be coronated and he did.

During a battle, she got captured and was executed by being burned at the state as a heretic. She is still well-remembered today.

Beans and Seeds

Beans and seeds are very healthy for your body. Some beans and seeds come in a rich variety and in minerals and vitamins. Our bodys need iron, potassium, vitamin C, K, A, and a lot more minerals and vitamins to survive.

Fruits, vegetables, and lots of other plants have enzymes that replace the enzymes that we lose every day, although plants lose enzymes when they're cut from their source.

Inorganic fruits have been sprayed by chemicals made by people to keep bugs off it and is quite unhealthy. Organic fruits are very healthy and are full of enzymes.

Seeds and beans are very healthy for your body. Here are a few: Alfalfa beans have just about every vitamin and mineral that can keep you alive; and yet, they are just over one millimeter long! Adzuki beans are rich in produce. Mung beans contain iron, vitamin C, and potassium, which is very healthy for your body. Sesame seeds are often known to be put on various food choices, and again, another very healthy seed.

I did a project and if you're going to do it, you'll need a glass jar, a cheesecloth, a rubber band, and of course, seeds or beans. If you are using very small seeds or beans, cover the bottom of the jar, and if you are using very big beans or seeds. Then fill the jar half full with water. let it sit for a while and then drain it. Keep up this process until the beans or seeds start to sprout.

Honey is also good for you, especially wild honey. Bees make the honey that we have now from nectar. Wild Honey has been known to have antiviral, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and antifungal. It has also been known to heal a lot of people and is a great medicine.

Water

You need to drink a lot of water per day to stay healthy, but how much water should you drink per day? Well, first you need to determine your weight and then divide that number by two and then that number is how many fluid ounces you need to drink each day. Your body is also very close to being made of 70% water. There are also many ways to lose water including sweating, talking, breathing, etc. Bottled water is very unhealthy compared to tap water, which is way healthier than bottled water. We could dring too much water and could become fatal. Water can also heal heartburn, arthritis, back pain, and a lot more. My mom likes lemon water because it has vitamin C and keeps your body from getting sick and helps your liver get all the poison out of your body. I'm thankful for water.

Sugar

Sugar is very unhealthy for the body and the brain. Sugar is so unhealthy, in fact, that it is probably the largest cause of sickness, pain, and disease on earth. Sugar comes in various types of food and candy. There are also different types of sugar, including Glutose, Maltose, Dextrose, and a whole lot more. Sugar is hard to resist because there are chemicals in your brain that when you taste sugar, you become addicted to it. Sugar also feeds the cancerous cells. Sugar is also hard to resist because it is in many things you buy fro the store. Some of the things we buy from the store that have sugar in them are BBQ sauce and jelly beans. They both have corn syrup and other bad sugars that are very bad for your body. My mom and dad don't let me eat a lot of sugar, although a little sugar every now and then won't hurt you.

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Signaling Devices

If you are lost in the woods, forest, rainforest, etc. you will need a signaling device. There are many signaling devices, including automatic signal devices, manual signal devices, and short duration signal devices.

Automatic signal devices are devices that send a signal which another one picks up and tells it where the person is, that he needs help, and stuff like that. There are Electronic Position Indicating Radio Beacon, or for short, EPIRBs.

Manual signal devices are things like signal mirrors, whistles, flashlights, signal fires, flags, and laser flares. Signal mirrors are my favorite and are great during the daytime. Their reflection from the sun can be seen 50 miles away! That is farther than a whistle could be heard! During the nighttime, laser flares are great.

Short Duration signal devices are something like flares and smoke signals. They don't last long but they are also great signal devices. They are not good during windy or rainy days, so I prefer getting a signal mirror or a laser flare.

Sharp Stuff for Trekking and Camping

Trekking is hiking for a long time. Even for a few days! An ax would not be a good idea if you were trekking, because it is heavy and bulky. A survival knife would be a great idea if you were hunting in case you needed to skin an animal or something. A multi-fool would be perfect for trekking in case you needed lots of different tasks to be done, for example, a knife to split kindle for a fire, bottle opener to obviously open bottles, a ruler in case someone needs to measure something. I prefer the micro multi-tool from Leatherman.com because it isn't that heavy.

Camping is just as much fun as trekking, but I prefer camping. This time, bringing an ax is a great idea! it can split wood very quickly, especially the extreme performance axes from Fiskars.com These axes come in different sizes, but they have a superior blade design. It has more power at impact and it is virtually unbreakable, so I highly recommend buying one of these. Like in the earlier paragraph, a survival knife and a multi-tool are still a good idea to bring as I told you earlier.

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

Journey to the Center of the Earth

“Journey to the Center of the Earth”, was written by Jules Verne. The book is science fiction and is one of my favorite books. The story begins with two people in Hamburg, Germany, Professor Hardwigg and his nephew, Henry. When Henry helps his uncle crack a secret code, they decide to follow the clues from the decoded message and try to reach the center of the Earth! They go to the Heil railroad which will take them to the harbor, so they can get on a boat and sail to Iceland. There they would attempt to go down an inactive volcano called Mt. Sneffles and travel to the core of the Earth.

It was at least a seven day voyage to get to Iceland. It was windy and overcast, but they made it to Iceland safely. They start their journey to Mt. Sneffles the day after their boat lands. On the journey to the volcano, they meet Hans, who ends up guiding them on the journey.

It was cold outside when they reached Mt. Sneffles. Their descent into the volcano was extremely long. When they reached the bottom they enter the caverns under Mt. Sneffles. By then, they were ten thousand feet below sea level. Later they enter a coal mine in the caverns.

After they got out of the coal mine they were right under the ocean floor. Soon they ran out of water, but thankfully they found some more not long after. Now they are twenty-one miles below the surface of the earth!

The next day, Henry gets lost! He falls down a deep hole and passes out. When he woke up Hans and the Professor were looking for him, and finally found him. When they continued their journey they discovered an underground ocean which Professor Hardwigg named “The Central Sea.” They also found a forest of mushrooms with mushrooms that were forty feet tall!

Hans begins to build a raft so they are able to cross the sea. When it is finished they begin their underground voyage on The Central Sea. By now the temperature is much warmer. They catch fish that are extinct on Earth, but not in the Central Sea. They even watch a sea monster fight!

When they land the raft on an island they explore a forest and find a cave. The cave was full of bones. They quickly leave the cave and find a herd of enormous elephants. While they were going back to the raft, they find a rusted dagger, not belonging to any of the three men. They realized that this was the same path that the first explorer, Arne Saknussemm, had taken on his journey to the center of the Earth. They find a boulder blocking a cave by the dagger and they wanted to get inside. So, they tried to make the boulder explode to get inside the cave. Well, they do blow up the boulder, but they were taking cover on their raft and the explosion made them drift out into the sea.

They drifted into a shaft and began rapidly rising. The water was boiling, the walls were burning, and worst of all, they ran out of food. They were in the shaft for at least one day. The water is getting hotter every second.

It turns out that the shaft they were in, was actually part of an active volcano! They were shot out of the top of the volcano located on the island of Stromboli off the coast of Italy. From there they catch a ride back to Hamburg, Germany. I loved reading “Journey to the Center of the Earth”! I have only seen the movie, but the book was more interesting. I loved all the adventure and the excitement that the characters had on their journey. It would be amazing if any of this were to ever happen!