Dec 28, 2013
Dec 14, 2013
World Economies
Economy is a
system in which money is transferred, obtained, or given. It is important for a
country to have an good economy so the country can have enough income to
fund businesses and fund their own expenses. The economy also tells if the
country's living standard is good or bad. These are called economic indicators.
The following list contains the 4 indicators.
GDP ( Gross
Domestic Product)- the salary of the average family in a country
High for good
country
Literacy Rate-
percentage of people who could read and write in country
High for good
country
Life Expectancy-
how long an average person is expected to live in a country
High for good
country
Infant Mortality
Rate- number of deaths in 1,000 births
Low for good
country
There are 3 kind
of economies.
Free Enterprise
System- economy in which anybody can start a business and receive income, and
production of goods are based on the people, not the government, government
regulations protect the workers and consumers.
Socialism-
economy in which there are high taxes, and it operates for the welfare for all.
Communism-
economy in which it is SUPPOSED to be good, by all goods and services are
shared equally, the government owns all businesses and tells what the
businesses can produce and sell, they also tell the prices, and no private
property is allowed, but healthcare and education is free because it is
government funded.
Governments of the World
I
A government is
a system that rules or governs a country. The 2 major government groups are
unlimited and limited. Unlimited government is when the government has high
control over the country, and citizens have few rights. Limited government is
when the government has limited control, there is a constitution, and citizens
have basic rights.
The following
list has
some of the major kinds of governments that fall into unlimited or
limited.
Democratic
Governments (have constitutions) limited
Presidential
Democracy (Federal Republic)- a democracy ruled by a president
Parliamentary
Democracy- a democracy ruled by a prime minister and a bicameral
parliament
Constitutional
Monarchy- a democracy ruled by a king or queen with a constitution
Communistic
Governments (have no constitutions) unlimited
Theocracy-
government ruled by religious leaders
Single Party
State- government ruled by a single political party
Dictatorship-
government ruled by a single leader
Absolute
Monarchy- monarchy ruled by a king or queen, in which the rulers have full
control
Anarchy- no
government in country
Aug 19, 2013
Swindle
"Readers will enjoy the page-turning adventure, the
quirky characters and the revenge factor. This book is destined to become a
favorite read-aloud for librarians and classroom teachers. It is a must-have
for middle school libraries." - Children's Literature. Probably this is the best way you can
describe the book 'Swindle' by Gordon Korman.
Plot of the Story: When 6th grader Griffin Bing finds a
valuable baseball card and he goes to a shop to sell it. When he gets home he realizes that he
has been swindled. The worker who worked there only gave him a fraction of the
money it was worth. So Griffin calls some of his friends to steal back the
card. And in return they each will split up the money evenly. Now, they have to
over smart the swindle. The gang of friends has to overcome an aggressive mean
guard dog, state-of-the art military security system and so on. In addition to
that the most devastating challenge is they are just 6th graders and cannot DRIVE! Will they be
successful or will they give up? To find out read the book. But I have some
better news to know about the story; you can watch the movie which will be
aired on Nickelodeon Channel. You can find about it HERE.
Aug 15, 2013
The 39 Clues: Cahills VS. Vespers
The plot of the
story: When thirteen year old Dan Cahill and his older sister Amy, thought they
could come back and settle down from the clue hunt, but they were wrong. A shadowy
organization called the Vespers has kidnapped 7 members of the Cahill family.
There is only one way to get them back. The leader of the Vespers, Vesper 1, told
Amy and Dan that he would release the hostages if they completed a series of
ransoms. These ransoms are no easy tasks. They involve stealing priceless
artifacts and finding objects that haven’t been found in years in only a matter
of days. What happens if they don’t accomplish the ransom? The failure of one
ransom costs a hostage’s life. Will they succeed? Lives are on the line. To
find out, don’t miss The 39 Clues: Cahills VS. Vespers.
Aug 12, 2013
The Potful of Wisdom
The stories of Birbal always have been my all-time favorites.
Today, I am going to share one of my favorite stories. This story is special to
me as my great-grandpa used to tell my mom and my mom told this story to me. Hope you’ll
enjoy it too.
One day, an envoy from the court of the kingdom of Ceylon came to
Emperor Akbar’s court on an unusual mission. He announced, “I have been sent by
my king to ask you for a potful of wisdom. You have very wise men at your court,
so my king’s request will be fulfilled here. ” Everybody including Akbar was
surprised by this strange request. Was it ever possible to accomplish this
request? Emperor Akbar knew only Birbal could solve this mystery. Birbal had
proved himself to be the most reliable minister at the court, time and again.
So Akbar ordered Birbal to take care of this matter. Birbal assured him that the
king of Ceylon would have his potful of wisdom. But to finish this task he asked
for some time-perhaps a few weeks. The envoy agreed for this.
That evening Birbal sent for his attendant to bring a few clay pots
with narrow necks. When he came back, Birbal told him to follow him to the
pumpkin patch. Then Birbal carefully placed the pot over a pumpkin flower. Next,
he directed the attendant to place the other pots the same way. When he
finished placing the last pot, Birbal said, “Keep an eye on the pots and don’t
let them be moved. I’ll have them collected later.”
After few weeks the Emperor asked Birbal if he had finished the
task. Birbal replied, “I should be able to have the pot filled in a fortnight.”
A fortnight later, he came to the pumpkin patch to check on the pots. He was
very pleased to see the pumpkins were as big as the pots. He was very satisfied
with his attendant’s work. Later Birbal had the envoy summoned to the court. He
informed that the potful of the wisdom is ready. The next moment his attendant came,
in carrying a tray with a pot in it. Birbal presented the pot to the envoy and
enunciated to the envoy, ”You may take this to your king. But our valuable pot
must be returned empty and intact. The fruit of wisdom that it contains, to be
of any value, must be removed without a scratch!” Birbal also added that they
had more if the king needed any extra wisdom.
The envoy asked the Emperor
permission to leave and returned to his country. He offered the potful of
wisdom to the king and informed the king of Birbal’s message. When king took a
look of the pot, he just found a pumpkin inside the pot. He realized that there
is no match for Birbal. He admired Birbal a lot.
Back at the court, Emperor Akbar eagerly wanted to eye Birbal’s pot
of wisdom. To his surprise, it was just a pumpkin inside the pot. He was very
pleased with Birbal. Once again, Birbal saved the Emperor’s honor!!!
Aug 6, 2013
Winter The Dolphin
On December 10, 2005 a 2 month old dolphin was found off the coast
of Mosquito Lagoon trapped in a crab trap. Jim Savage , a fisherman, found the
dolphin and decided to free it. After he freed the dolphin he called Fish And
Wildlife Conservation Commission. The rescue party came and took her back to
the center. Since the dolphin was found in the season of winter, they decided
to call her Winter. Winter was placed in a holding tank. But the unfortunate
dolphin lost her tail because of the rope that was wrapped around Winter's tail
when she got trapped. All that was left was a stump. So
Winter worked in her new condition by moving the stump from side to side ( a dolphin's
tail usually moves up and down ). Although this method of swimming may be
useful for the dolphin, it prevented her muscles from growing properly. A
prosthetic limb maker, Kevin Carrol decided to help Winter by making a
prosthetic tail. When the tail was completed they put it on Winter. Winter had
to be retrained to swim the correct way as dolphins should swim. However,
Winter can only wear her new tail for a hour or less each day because if she
wears it too long, it will damage her skin. Today, Winter is very healthy and
happy at Clearwater Marine Aquarium at Florida.
The movie, 'Dolphin
Tale' is inspired by Winter's story and the real winter plays herself in it. I
really like movies based on true stories. Because of this movie, I get to
know about Winter's fight for survival visually. What I like the most about
Winter is she didn't relinquish the fight. It was really hard for everyone as
nobody was certain about her fate. But there was a miracle and Winter's story
has a happy ending. After all,we do love happy endings, don't we ?
You can meet
Winter HERE.
Masters of Disaster
by Gary Paulsen
"Lets face
facts: we may be the most boring twelve-year olds on the planet."
This is how Henry Mosley delineates their life to his best pals, Reed
Hamner and Riley Dollen. Eventually, he convinces them to go on extreme
adventures. This leads them to attempting craziest ideas like riding a
bicycle off a roof, camping out alone in the woods, trying to solve a
hundred-year old murder, inside a bull riding ring and much more. I'm not going to
ruin your hilarious experience by describing all of it. Henry always
comes up with the scariest ideas, Riley researches things , and
dreadful Reed has to do Henry's ideas. I hit my funny bone after their
mishaps.
I can totally relate
to characters and the plot of this book because me and my friends always do
crazy stuff. The incidents in the book remind me of our real life disasters.
I've read this book multiple times, and every time I find it equally amusing.
What I like the most about this book, is that all three friends crack me up a
lot. Gary Paulsen brings humor and disaster all in one book. Don't miss this
funny ride with mastermind Henry, researcher Riley, and dreadful Reed !
Amazon: The Deadliest Rain Forest On Earth
The Amazon rain
forest in South America is the largest rain forest on Earth. It covers 2.124
million sq miles (5.5 million km²). This rain forest contains the Amazon river,
exotic animals, and majestic views. But what you don't know that Amazon rain
forest has some of the world's most dangerous animals on the planet.
Let's get to know
more about these wild beasts of the jungle, if you dare.....
BULL SHARK : This
shark have the ability to live in
saltwater
areas and freshwater areas. They live in the Amazon River.These sharks will
attack humans who are swimming in the river but the animal mistakes them for
prey or is just curious. These sharks can grow up to 7 - 11.5 feet (2.1 to
3.4 meters) and weigh up to 200 - 500 pounds ( 90 - 230 kilograms ). These creatures
also live in the Mississippi River.
ELECTRIC EEL : The
electric eel can discharge electricity by using cells called
electrocytes which can release up to 600 volts. Even though this animal
looks similar to an eel it is mostly related to carp and catfish. These animals
are nearly blind so they create 10 volt charges that helps them notice their
surroundings. Electric eels can grow up to 6 to 8 ft (1.8 to 2.5 m) and weigh
up to 44 pounds(20 kilograms).
FRESHWATER STINGRAY
: It is very surprising to see a stingray in the Amazon River. Like other
stingrays, it has a poisonous tail that can cause pain and even death. They can
also can camouflage with the riverbed.
ARMY ANTS : These
ants very destructive. They don't stay in one mound, they move continuously and
set up temporary homes. An single ant bite is equivalent to a wasp bite. Their
bites can send a full grown man into shock. They can take on any animal bigger
than itself.
These are only few
of the dangerous animals you will encounter in Amazon rain forest. If you see
any of these animals, it's always wise to move slowly away from them before
it’s too late!
Denali : Alaska's Frontier
Denali National Park is a place full with exotic nature, rare
views, and is home to North America's tallest mountain, Mt. McKinley, or as the
natives call it, Denali which means "high one". Denali National Park is
very large. In fact, the park itself is bigger than the state Massachusetts!
This park is divided into three sections. They are the taiga, tundra and
alpines.
Denali is well known for
its diversity of wildlife. Most of the
exotic animals thrive
in the lowest region- The Taiga. You can meet moose, beavers,
The alpines covers
half of the park , is at highest altitude and extremely dry. In Denali,
crevasses can be a hundred feet deep and wrong step can be last. Only one
creature lives here, ice worm. They are adopted to live in cold temperature,if
temperature rises above 40F, Ice worms starts to melt ! The higher up in the
alpines, temperatures drops even further. The only one creature can withstand
this- the humans.
Almost 1,100 people
try to scale Mt. McKinley every year. Though, only half make it to the top !
The outer limit of
Denali is the highlight of all. Well above the wilderness and in to the
thermosphere an aurora borealis occurs.
The Denali is the perfect spot to view this dazzling display of light.
In the lower level
of the Denali Visitor Center is a place where you can express
what Denali means to you. Here is my most favorite thought shared by past
visitors,
"Denali means
new adventures, experiences, sensations, sights and knowledge. My job as I
leave this beauty is to let it change me and my treatment of the world."
And that's what true
Denali is... !
Australia's Deadly Wildlife
Australia is the most popular destination nowadays. Even though,
for travelers it's paradise getaway , but it's also home to some of the most venomous
and deadly animals of the planet. These creatures can kill you in mere seconds.
Let's take a look of Australia's deadly wildlife :
BOX JELLYFISH : Box
jellies aka sea wasps live primarily in the coastal region of Northern
Australia. The smack is nearly
invisible and their venom
is considered to be among the most deadly in the world, containing
toxins that attack the heart, nervous system, and skin cells.
SYDNEY FUNNEL WEB SPIDER
: You can describe it as most deadliest spider in the world. It produces highly
toxic venom in large amount and has large dagger like fangs to inject.
It has a bite strong enough to break through a human toe nail.
SALTWATER CROCODILE : It
is the world's largest reptile. They are camouflage attack predators , So can
be extremely dangerous. An average size saltwater crocodile has a bite
force of 5,000 pounds.
BLUE RINGED OCTOPUS
: It's a pretty creature to look at, but don't attempt to touch
one. Despite its small size, it is considered to be one of the world’s
deadliest venomous animals .The toxin in the southern blue-ringed octopus’s
venom is 1,000 times more powerful than cyanide.
These are only a few of
the many deadliest animals you encounter in Australia. If you already have
other creatures on your list, feel free to share!
How To Train Your Dragon
Everybody knows about the
popular movie that DreamWorks made, How To Train Your Dragon. But did you know
it was based on a popular book series? The How To Train Your Dragon
series was written by Cressida Cowell. However, the story for the books is a
little more interesting.
Though there is a big difference in the plot of books, there is no war between humans and dragons. Instead, they are
friends and allies.
When Hiccup the heir to the Viking tribe catches his first
dragon, it's a disappointment. The dragon is very tiny and it is a common
dragon. Since the creature has no teeth, Hiccup calls it Toothless. Toothless
is extremely hard to train. So Hiccup tries various methods to train his
dragon. Like for example, for everything fish Toothless catches Hiccup will
tell him a joke because dragons like jokes a lot. Even though Toothless is
stubborn, he has saved Hiccup's life multiple times. Hiccup and Toothless have
gone many adventures that include villains, new dragons, and his friends
helping him on the way. So far my favorite adventure is when Hiccup goes to
find Toothless from the evil Romans. His dragon got caught when his ship
crashed into a large Roman ship. Along the way Hiccup gets a new friend.
To find about his adventures read the How To Train Your Dragon
series!
It's Kodu Time!
I am always looking forward to playing video games with my
friends. My all time favorite video games are Super Mario Bros., Wii Sports
Resort, Poke' Park 2: Wonders Beyond, and Mario Kart. Have you ever wondered
what it's like to design your own video game? If so, here is some good news.
: Kodu is a game designing software created by Microsoft. Once your game
is finished you can publish your game on Kodu's website.
What makes Kodu different from most game designing
software?
The first thing is the price. Its free! The second
is it’s easy to understand. It's so easy that your grandma can use it!
It's easy because everything you do is visual. At the same time it's fun
also as you can make the rules of your game, create background, scoring system,
characters, and much more.
Wait... there is more. you can share your game with Kodu
Game Lab with absolutely anyone, like your family, friends, even with people on
the other side of the world. In addition to this, you can use Kodu with both a
keyboard and Xbox 360 controller.
Here I'm going to direct you to Kodu : Welcome to Kodu
Overall I like this game designing software. If you already have
created your game, feel free to share with me.
Happy Game Designing! Can't wait to find out more brilliant
ideas from you.
From Expedition: Everest to Mission: SPACE
You can get info about Disney
World from so many sources. But the only way to learn about this
unique destination is to experience it. Disney World takes you on a fabulous
journey of fantasy, thrills, and beyond our Earth. Makes everyone from child to
adult gleeful. There are never ending activities that keep you busy and you are
never get tired of it. Here are my favorite things to do at Disney World.
Expedition: Everest
This fast ride involves you going through Mt. Everest, the
tallest mountain in the world. When you go to a section of a piece of track
that's completely ripped off, your cart goes backwards faster, than it was
going forward! Then you get plunged into darkness and you meet up with the
legendary beast of the Himalayas, the Yeti. This ride is slightly scary but
still its worth it to ride it.
Kilimanjaro Safaris
This safari is the same, if you were on a real one in Africa. On
the safari you get to meet up with some animals such as crocodiles, elephants,
giraffes, etc. You even get to meet up with lions. Don't worry, the lions won't
attack you!
Maharajah Jungle Trek
In this trek you get to meet up with some animals in Asia.
There are fruit bats, birds, Komodo dragons, and tigers. The tigers,
really handsome animal !!
DINOSAUR
Take a journey 65 million years again the time of the dinosaurs.You get to encounter
dinosaurs, and one mad carnivorous dinosaur! This ride is slightly scary.
Rock 'n' Roller Coaster
This ride is the fastest ride in Disney World. There are loops,
turns, and drops. This is the most thrilling ride, in my opinion.
Fantasmic
This show is a must see. The show is the story of Mickey
defeating the evil monster that all the villains from the Disney movies
created. But make sure you avoid the wet zone in the cold winter nights. If you
have to sit in the wet zone bring a poncho or a rain jacket.
Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
This tumultuous ride is different than any other ride I
experienced. Instead of a normal track, you drop several stories so fast, that
you can't feel your seat!
Toy Story Midway Mania !
On this ride, you need to have quick reflexes. If you are a toy
story fan, you will giddy over this game with Woody.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
This coaster takes you back to the age of cowboys and Indians!
There are deeps, dives and curves that blitz you.
Splash Mountain
As name indicates, you can guess, this is wettest ride. At first
it moves slow and easy going and you think it's gonna be kiddy ride but wait,
it plunges 5 stories into river soaking you wet.
Space Mountain
This is indoor roller coaster that takes you beyond the earth.
It zooms you through space. Only the drawback- seats are uncomfortable !
Test Track
What I like about this ride is that you get to make your own
car. Then you get test the car on several things. But the best part is saved
for last, when you whats its top speed!
Mission: SPACE
Become the first people to land on Mars! This ride is virtual.
There are two teams. There is Green Team where there are no special effect, or
the Orange Team which does have special effects. I like the Orange Team better
because you actually can feel that your in space!
Dancing With The Sharks
My last visit to NASA turned
into a pleasant surprise. I would have never imagined that I will watch "a
shark show" at the space center. In Seaworld they don't have any
shark shows. I was so mesmerized by the show so I couldn't resist the urge to
recommend this show to you.
In this show there were real life
sharks! The sharks were nurse sharks and they only attack people when they are
threatened. The co-host of the show explained that the main host will be diving
in with the sharks. He informed us that the diver (the host) has encountered
some problems with sharks.
For example one time the diver got
bitten in the head once but it wasn't that bad because these animals have
small teeth. But the diver still dives because the sharks were rescue sharks
and the government doesn't allow them to be released into the wild so the
sharks had to rotate between zoos and rescue foundations. When the diver dived
in the tank with sharks, I was tense because I thought the he was going to get
ambushed by a shark! But luckily he didn't. Then he did something hilarious. He
grabbed a nearby shark and pretended to dance with it!. He also ride on the
sharks, pretend to play music on(shark as) guitar etc.
When he came out he got a shark
tooth. He was feeling generous that day, so he said that he would give everyone
a shark tooth. I really believed what he said but it was a trick! He said that
you have to get the teeth yourself and for that you have to enter in the shark
tank. The show was really awesome and remember, the next time you visit NASA
make sure to see the shark show first!
You can get more info about this
show HERE.
There are also other
absolute must see attractions at NASA , about those I'll write sometime soon.
So keep reading...
The Worst Case Scenario: Deadly Seas, You Decide How To Survive!
The Worst Case
Scenario series gives the reader a different reading experience, instead of
reading the book from beginning to end, there are choices in the book which
have multiple options and you must choose the right one or you might go to the
wrong ending.
In the Deadly Seas book by David
Borgenicht and Alexander Lurie with Mike Perham, sailing consultant, you are
the youngest group to sail across the whole world! You encounter real sailing
problems, such as health issues, wildlife, and storms. There are total 33
endings those leads you to wrong path,but there is only one ending to ultimate success! This book was really confusing ( making the right choices) for me. So many times I went to the wrong ending, but this made me more ambitious to find out the successful ending. I was so desperate to see "Congratulations! You have achieved... THE ULTIMATE SUCCESS."
and I finally did it !!! It was
totally an adventurous journey.
There are other books in the series
like Amazon, Everest, and Mars. I will write about these books soon.
Websites I Really Like
Everybody has different hobbies. Now
a days there are so many options to select from. I like to play games on my
laptop. So I'm writing this post about my favorite websites. I will write more
in my next post.
Since the Harry Potter books and
movies have ended, J. K. Rowling decided to create Pottermore, a website that
allows you to travel through the books. Each book contains scenes from the
chapters and allow you to collect items. You can even go to Diagon Alley to buy
supplies for your journey,you get chosen into the 4 houses (
Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw) and you get your own wand. Go
to Pottermore.com to get started!
Chess.com is a website that allows
you to play chess against the computer for free or you can play someone across
the Internet. There are tournaments you can enter, learn, watch videos and
solve puzzles. There are apps for this website on Chrome Web Store, iPhone, and
Android devices.
This is my favorite website for
playing games. There are different game categories and are quite easy to
understand and play.
My Videos
These are some videos I created. Hope
you will find them interesting and entertaining!!!
My first video is about unsolved
mysteries I thought of. These are scientific mysteries.
The second video is about my favorite
real life pranks!!! I read all these pranks in Prank star by
Tim Bugbird and I like these pranks so much I couldn't resist myself to share
with you all.
So N'joy these videos and
comments are welcome.
