The Cherry on Top of a Mud Pie

So basically I feel like the entire project it falling apart. I know that that sounds very pessimistic, but I can't help it. It doesn't feel right to blame my group mates for our... problems. I think that the reason we aren't working well together is because we don't really click when it comes to work. It is a foreign theory to me because we are all such close friends. Anyway, I don't want to spend this entire blog entry complaining about all the work we are behind on. Instead, I want to tell you about this amazingly, fantastic website I found. I actually just found it because I was curious. Cammy said something about number symbolism in her part of the script. I guessed the name was pretty self explanatory, but I was still curious to know what it was. Anyway, long story short, I found this crazy cool website that goes in depth about all things related to number symbolism. I figured a lot of this information relates to our topic. It might be a good chunk of information to add to our script. The URL is:

http://www.dartmouth.edu/~matc/math5.geometry/unit4/unit4.html

I don't know if there are any other groups that would need a website on number symbolism. Even if you don't need it for your project, it is actually really interesting so check it out!

Cammy (not Cammie)

Well Cammy is my other partner. So I think that it is only right that I critique hers as well. I think she made the same mistake as Kayley and I. I am starting to wonder if this is a very popular thing? I noticed that a lot of other people are doing the same thing. I wonder if it is a miscommunication thing... or just a case of the lazies. Probably the later. Except for me of course. I really didn't understand the prompt.
One thing I noticed is that a lot of people are using the blogs as a place to complain and just, sort of justify why they are not doing a good job on the project. My only advice for Cammy is to make sure and add URLS and go in depth about the information you found that might be helpful to other groups.

Kayley's Blogging Skillz

Kayley does the same thing I do. She talks a lot about the process and not a lot about the specific websites. That is the only thing she needs to improve on. The whole URL part. The rest is really descriptive. But, just like I said with Kerstin's blog, sometimes the details aren't that important. I hope she got a good grade though. Because you can tell she worked really hard. Just add the information about specific websites and you will be good to go! Nice job, Kayley.

JV's Blog

Where do I start? I see what JV was trying to accomplish. He probably kept the blogging page open as he worked and made new entries as he worked. The theory is a good one, unfortunately, I think that if you are going to be a lot of small entries every day, you still have to make them more than one sentence each. When Spencer said that you are welcome to do more than one blog a day, I don't think he meant that you can do a 3 one-liners. That is kind of like cheating. Also, none of the entries have any substantial information. The majority of the time, each entry is some sort of complaint or proclamation of failure. That is not the point of these entries. I think that there is a lot that JV could improve on. For starters, entries that are more than 15 words.

Kerstin's Critique

I really liked Kerstin's. I think that is mostly because she does the exact same thing I do. (It makes me feel like less of a blogging-screw-up.) No offense Kerstin! I noticed that she (like myself) doesn't put the URL of websites she talks about. Ok, now I am scrolling down lower and it looks like she does. So never mind. Scratch that. I think that she did talk a little too much on the fine details. She had a long blog about what she did every minute of the work time. I think a brief overview is good enough. However, details are a good way to bulk up a blog entry. So overall, Kerstin did a very good job. Not exactly a shocker.

Critique of Alecs

I think that his last blog was kind of meak. I thought that the basic idea was good. (getting across the fact that the website was "heavenly") But I thought it lacked a bit more description. He said the website covered US policy. US policy of what?
I liked that it was clear that his group reads each others blogs. He was talking to Marissa. That shows that they are a very organized group. However, I think it is important to use proper English on our blogs. I know that sounds very prissy, but other teachers and students are reading these and I think that it is important to get a good impression across. Other than that, the link worked, which is good. So, good job!

Uh Oh Spagetti O

Well, I realize now that blogging is serious business. I got a very bad grade on the blog check and it is my new goal to blog as much as I can. I was doing some last minute research to bulk up the script and I found this website on the Central American tribe, the Toltecs. It was really helpful. It had lots of information on their culture and history. If you guys need info on tribes in Central America, this is a great website. The URL is:

http://enloehs.wcpss.net/projects/candc/merg/adtmerg1/adtmerg1.html

Another good website is:

http://www.religion-cults.com/Ancient/America/Hispano-American%20.htm

I know the website name is a little cryptic but it covers everything. It doesn't go that much in depth but I think it is a good place to start.

Does anyone have suggestions for an expert source who knows about Native American architecture? All my tries have come up with dead ends.

expert problems

today i finally got in contact with someone who could be an expert source. sort of. his name is ken and he works with the museum of man in balboa park. apperently he is the go-to guy for my topic. hopefully this will turn into something because so far i have come up empty handed when i comes to an expert source.

pigtails and a tiara

Well I have made a lot of progress with the expert source for the Beyond the Border. During class on Friday I found a FANTASTIC source. Her name is Lynn Paxton and she is a professor at Idaho State University where she teaches Native American architecture. I found an article on her innovative teaching subjects online. Apparently she is really passionate about Native American architecture. Perfect Right? Well I thought so. So I bookmarked the website (which also had her phone number on it), and I plan to call tomorrow. (I know teachers hate it when you call them on weekends.) When I am going to call is going to be a problem, I don't get home till 7:00 or 8:00 and by then its already 9:00 or 10:00 in Idaho. I think. I guess I will have to call her during lunch or class or something. That would be good. Then Cammy and Kayley (my group mates) could be there too. That is the official update for the Mexico project.

As for the Mayan artifact project, well there is bad news. Unfortunately, not having my own car, or my own license for that matter, can sometimes cause difficulties. There was no time for my mom to take me to the store for supplies so I am going to have to make due with materials I have at home. For the poster board, I am using an old poster board from an eighth grade project. I am just going to use the other side of the board and maybe, if I have time, I will cover the old project with a large piece of paper or something to make the back look nicer. I don't really know what I am going to use for the artifacts. I wanted to make a necklace and either a painting or drawing of a ritual bloodletting on a stone or old rock. I originally wanted to draw it on clay but I don't think I have any spare clay sitting around. Maybe I will see if one of my classmates has any extra clay. But I prefer that they don't know how embarrassingly unprepared I am. And that is it, that is the 411, the dish, the fat to chew.

I know I have missed the last few bloggings so I hope that this overly gigantic one will make up for it. Just in case I will try to make the next one just as huge. Nighty-night.

Everything Included

Today in class I mainly worked on organizing my information and making sure I had 5 URLs for my bibliography. I got everything I need onto one piece of paper so that is good. I really want to get my expert source for my group but I don't know when I should do it. I think it would be best to do it during Spencer's class because I don't get home till 6:30 or 7:00 on most nights after sports. I want to get a person from the art museum in Balboa park but I will have to do some more research before I can even know if there is anyone there who can help me. Today I also found what I am going to do for an artifact. I found this really cool Mayan necklace but it is really small so i figured i would try and paint this picture of ritual bloodletting onto a piece of clay. I just need to get materials.

Oy Vey!

Well today is the first officially day of posting and i am sad to report that I did not do any research tonight. However, I did do research over the weekend for our mini-project and I hope that counts for something. I found a great website with the URL www.indians.org/welker/maya.htm. If you are studying the Mayans this has a lot of good general info. Also, I am pretty sure that if you go to the home page, there will be links to Inca and Aztec pages. Study on kids! Study on.