Planet Earth

Congratulations on the end of the year everyone! The world is yours this summer. Go out and explore all it has to offer!

Name Search

I found that when searching my last name on www.publicprofiler.org/worldnames/ I found that my name is most common in the U.K. and is also common in Australia, USA, and New Zealand. This makes sense as I am half British and all of the countries with the highest numbers (besides the UK) were all at some point in history colonies of the British Empire. So it looks like I have some very distant relatives across the world.

You Tube Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElpzfM5knYA&feature=related

Here included is a clip about the December 26 tsunami that struck Indo-China in 2004. The tsunami took a huge deathtoll, and caused massive destruction on a wide scale across southeast Asia. In this clip you will learn about many geographical features in the area, and the potential hazards from natural disasters in the area.

Bizarre Foods...

What kinds of strange food have you eaten? There is so much out there all over the world, not all of it pleasing to the eye, but there is no denying... you've got variety!

Probably the strangest food I have ever eaten is calamari. I personally think it is delicious, and it is a popular staple in far eastern cuisine as well. Many people from the west may have an aversion to it because of the texture of it (its kinda chewy), and also because though it is becoming popular, its not a very common thing to come across calamari at a western restaurant.

At the G-20 summit in London this April, 20 countries were included. They are as follows:

-Argentina -Australia -Brazil -Canada -China -France -Germany -India -Indonesia -Italy -Japan -Mexico -Russia -Saudi Arabia -South Africa -South Korea -Turkey -United Kingdom -United States of America

Seen here are the leaders of the twenty member countries in London for the 2009 summit. They are working hard to devise solutions to the global economy's woes, and the word is that the going is successful.

Google Earth...

Here we have a rotated view of the earth over the southernmost tip of South America, and the northernmost tip of Antarctica. South America is the closest continent to Antarctica, with the distance between these two tips at little over 600 miles. I just found this interesting because South America is almost always seen as a lush tropical place, but you never hear much of the sub polar regions to the south, where the world's most mysterious continent is a boatride away.

"Slumdog Millionaire"

I found this movie very entertaining, and informative. It portrays life in India as very hard at some points in the movie. As Jamal is taken and begins to tell the story of his life in the slums, we are taken back and see all of the hardships that affect so many people there. Overcrowding, unsanitary conditions, gang violence, and poverty among others. Life definitely can be hard there, but I like to say that the greatest lessons are learned in the worst tragedies, and this movie definitely fits the bill. Jamal is fathered by his brother in the movie, with only his guidance at a young age, and as time passes he finds his true love, and then tragically loses her. There was also the glitzy side of the movie though. Some scenes in Mumbai show the hustle and bustle of a city that is the up and coming hollywood. Some scenes in the movie show the fantasy world of television, where a boy from the slums becomes a millionaire. I think this movie shows how different things can be anywhere you go. In the West, we live with a strong central government and a good quality of life for the most part. But some things we take for granted are hard to come by elsewhere. In India, and indeed many places in the Eastern Hemisphere, there is overcrowding in citys because of the massive population in China and India, and poverty is also a big issue. The movie also shows the differences between cultures in the west and in India.