Burial Practices

This is a project I did for English:

Burial Practices

We will always remember past kings or great heroes whether they had a great temples or not. The Inca had a very religious burial practices and afterlife. Like the kings of Egypt, important Incas were mummified and typically buried with their rare objects and provisions that would be needed for the journey to the afterlife. Their long list of burial possessions even included, on some occasions, freshly sacrificed humans, for slaves to serve them in the afterlife.1 If an Inca, rich or poor, had been a good Inca, the warmth of the Sun awaited. Bad Incas got an eternity or more in the cold, damp earth. There would not have been many “bad” Incas, since prisons were unheard-of and there was no need for thieving in a society of plenty. 2

Egyptian kings were the only people who could afford a pyramid. It took hundreds of slaves and rock to build a pyramid. When the Egyptian civilization was just starting out they built labyrinths underground, but as the years went by they got bigger and higher off of the ground. The pyramids have stood for thousands of years, although slightly diminished. The tombs use to have lots of jewels and riches to be taken into the afterlife, but over thousands of years many have been looted and are now empty. There are many different building styles of the pyramids including the step pyramid and the true pyramid.3

In The Lord of the Rings there are many different examples of burial customs. Like the deep pit/tomb that Rohan sends their past kings into. Also the closed rooms/tomb that Gondor puts their past kings into. But for the common soldier death in battle was honored. The wining army usually burns the dead of the losing army and buries their own dead. Sometimes if hast is great, and you have few casualties then you do what you can, and float them down a river like in chapter 5, of book 2 .

Footnotes:

  1. Inca Burial Etiquette – http://latinamericanhistory.suite101.com/article.cfm/inca_burial_etiquette
  2. Ibid
  3. Overview of Pyramid Construction – http://www.touregypt.net/construction/

Fictional Prank War

This is a fictional story I wrote for English using google docs:

Prank War

It had been an interesting day at school, they had been introducing a couple of new programs. I was now thinking how this would change my day so I fumbled  with my key to open the door. What happened next was so unexpected I jumped and dropped my backpack.
I picked up my backpack and the noticed my sister on the ground laughing. Then I realized the big red bouncy ball laying on the ground at the edge of the carpet and figured out that she had dropped it on my head from the stair way. I started laughing at that point to because I was so consecrated on my thoughts I didn’t even notice her. I was already thinking of how to get back at her for that one.
Even though I thought of many ways to get even it soon passed out of mind. Today hadn’t been as bad as I thought it would be, but it was still a change of schedule and had kinks that needed to be worked out, it was good over all though. When I walked in the door today instead of a thonk on the head it was a trip at the feet. I landed on a pillow, she obviously did’t want to do any permanent damage, then I noticed the trip wire made out of a jump rope, she had really thought this throw.
I then asked her, “Are you just trying to tick me off because if you are you are doing a pretty good job or did someone dare you to do this to me?”
She then said through gasps of laughs, “No, I just enjoy playing with you and messing up your concentration. Is it working?”
“Yes,” I yapped at her, ” and you know what, I am going to get you back for this one just wait.” I then picked up my stuff and walked up to my room. But just before I looked away I caught a smug look on her face. This was going to be a long war, a prank war.
When I got up to my room I flung my backpack in a empty corner and sat on my bed. I did’t have any homework today, which was unusual because I almost always had a packet to work on or a chapter to read. But we had just graded it today so I was good. I had a lot of ideas but one seemed the least ovice and the easiest.
Right when I got home I activated my plan. First, instead of going throw the front door I would go around the back, check. Second, enter throw kitchen and sneek up on her, but my mom was making cookies so she would be here-.
“BOO”
She earned another point, I didn’t win this battle. Grumbling to myself I grabbed a cookie. They were chocolate chip, my favorite, but I didn’t care I was in a bad mood. I didn’t even hear my mom asking how school went, I was already thinking of new ways to get back at her. This was not over yet.
My mom noticed that something was wrong or upsetting me so she came up to my room. She asked about it so I told her, I told her about the ball, jumprope and finally about my attempt to get her back at her.
“Then right when I thought I had everything planed out you backed cookies so she wasn’t there and she got me,” I told her.
“I’m so sorry,” she told me, “but I think I know how to help you.” I looked up then from where I was laying on my bed. “Here’s the plan…….” I smiled at it this might work.
There was one thing my sister was afraid of, being laughed at. My mom explained to me that she was doing a presentation for the entire school tomorrow. She was also doing a powerpoint and if we replaced that with a slideshow of baby pictures she would never mess with me again.
The plan ran smoothly and I never had any problems with her again. I thought I saw her pass some money to a friend, but I might of be mistaken.
By: Alexander Fryer

The Voice of Saruman

Here is a english assignment I did:

The voice of Saruman is very hard to resist, and if you don’t you’ll soon find yourself agreeing with what he is saying; and thinking that it is very wise. Even though the group is very pronounced with their thoughts and beliefs they still have a hard time resisting the voice of Saruman.

Saruman first speaks to Théoden, when he talks to him he gives him a very high and honorable title. Saruman then goes on to ask why he has not come before, and as a friend. He says he has wanted to speak with him to save him from ill counsel, even though Théoden has attacked him and wounded him he will still talk with him and save Théoden from his ruin. Théoden opened his mouth as if to speak, but said nothing. He looked up into Saruman’s eyes and seemed to hesitate.

Then Gimli spoke up against Saruman and pronounced his words evil. But Saruman was not ready to speak to him yet and passed him off continuing to press onward to Théoden.

Saruman then asked what Théoden had to say to his words and if they would have peace with him and unite together in counsel and fight together. But still Théoden had no answer. No one knows if he strove against anger or doubt.

This time it was Eomer who spoke out, and tried to tell Théoden why they had come and try to wake him up. But Saruman then cast him out saying he was a serpent and to remind him that he had only won a battle, not a war. Saruman tries to talk Théoden into his council yet again, and what he has to say. Théoden then surprised every one by saying yes we will have peace; yes we will have peace when you are dead! Saruman then lost control of his wrath.

Saruman turned to Gandalf and said he was sorry for his shame. But Gandalf was not tempted by his words and asked what more he had to say since their last meeting. Saruman said sorry and that he had lost his patience and for him to ascend to the tower and come talk. The others thought he would do just that and were afraid he would leave them. But then Gandalf laughed and broke the spell and said he would not come up but asked if he would come down and try new things.

A shadow came over Saruman’s face then went deathly white but before he could conceal it they saw the anguish and doubt leaving Orthanc. Then he mocked him by asking, “Will you come down?”

Gandalf responded by saying he need not fear for his skin because he did not want to kill or harm. He has the power to protect him but was giving Saruman a last chance to leave Orthanc free, if he chose.

Saruman said that it sounded good, from the point of view of Gandalf the Grey. But then he asked, “Why should I go anywhere, and where shall I leave to?” “What do you mean be ‘free’, there are always conditions?”

Gandalf responded by saying just look out your window and think how you have lost all your servants, and when I say “free” I mean free from bondage or chains: to go where you will even to Mordor if you desire. But you will first give me the key to Orthanc and your staff.

Saruman still said no and was ready to leave but he came back as if against his will. Gandalf stated that he was not done yet and he revealed himself as Gandalf the White, and took away Saruman’s color and his place in the council. He then raised his hand and broke his staff. Saruman fell back away from the window.

George Frideric Handel

Here is a german assignment that I did:

George Frideric Handel was a great man and composer. He was born on Feb. 23, 1685 in Halle, Germany and died on Apr. 14, 1759 in London, England. He lived to be 74. Handel was raised by his mother, Dorothea Taust, and father, Georg Handel, who was a barber-surgeon for the Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels. Handel never married but he did have a deep relationship his aunt. Even though his father wanted him to become a part of Workers’ Compensation Attorneys Florence, SC, he still became a musician. At the age of twelve he was apprenticed to Friedrich Zachau as an organist at the cathedral of Halle. Later in 1710 he became the musical director to the elector of Hanover.

Some things that made him famous were his English oratorios. The Messiah in 1741 was the most well known. Also his opera, Renaldo, was popular in England. He was London’s leading composer and among the most important opera composers of the Baroque period composing 40 operas. Today he is known better for his English oratorios than his Italian operas.1

A number of noticeable musicians influenced Handel. Handel’s master, Friedrich Zachau, was an organist and had a great influence on him. Handel also went to Naples, Italy in 1706, where he met Alessandro Scarlatti. Scarlatti’s works exercised a strong influence on Handel.2 Handel’s influence on later generations was great. His operas and oratorios are appealing. His contrasting textures, carefully timed use of dynamics, and beautiful melodies make his music full of compositional technique.

Handel toured Italy from 1706 to 1710. There he visited Florence, Venice, Rome, and Naples. Even though Handel is German he moved to London in 1727 and made it his home and even became an English citizen.

Bibliography:

1. English encyclopedia
2. Bach And Handel (Their Influence On Future Composers)- http://ezinearticles.com/?Bach-And-Handel-(Their-Influence-On-Future-Composers)&id=1126027

Lego Eragon

While searching for lego eragon stuff, by the way I found nothing, I ran across theses videos on youtube. It acts out Eragon the book in five parts but he has so many videos its hard to find the others but the next one is usually the first one on the related videos.

If you have read Brisingr, you might be able to help me on one of my projects! Do not click this link unless you have read Brisingr, spoilers included!

Fun playing in our record Oklahoma City snowfall

We shared a live webcast over Ustream yesterday on Christmas Eve of our front yard, as a record-breaking 14 inches of snow fell on Edmond and Oklahoma City! We recorded two segments during the day. The “Peaceful Christmas” Pandora channel was streaming as the audio channel for these webcasts.

18.5 minutes: Playing in the snow during the day

2.5 minutes: Playing in the Christmas Eve Snow at Night (with our camcorder’s “Night Shot” feature enabled)

Today we enjoyed a bit of sledding and more playing in the snow in our front yard. This was an image of PURE delight on Rachel’s face as we got ready for another sled run together!

Christmas 2009 - 097

If you’re wanting to order a hat like mine in this photo, I’m sorry to disappoint you, but this was a custom creation I made several years ago when we lived in Lubbock using a stocking cap and a puppet. 🙂

Christmas 2009 - 117

Here is the Flickr slideshow of all the images we took on granddaddy’s camera yesterday and today. His Sony camera ROCKS. Someday we’ll get a camera that takes images this good! We’re fortunate he’s willing to share with us now!

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iPhones Enhance Learning By: Alexander Fryer

This is a paper I wrote for school.

iPhones Enhance Learning
By: Alexander Fryer

Some schools are buying iPhones for students hoping to enhance learning. Apple came out with the iPhone in 2007 and is in its third generation.1 Digital learning consultant Wesley Fryer comments, “Modern cell phones offer a variety of capabilities, which are being used effectively by educators in different schools to support curricular learning objectives and boost student achievement.”2
For example, you can use a free service by Poll Everywhere to conduct a classroom poll. Thirty people can respond to and vote on your poll by texting their information in. There are many useful applications that you can use for learning such as: a graphing calculator, flash cards, and a dictionary. The iPhone can also be used for converting measurements, and taking notes in class. The camera is a useful tool for recording data. There are hundreds of educational applications being created each day.

The iPhone has a built-in iPod. This means that you can watch videos or listen to recorded lectures as podcasts. “Lectures are the worst possible learning format,” said Associate Dean Brian Brooks, according to the Columbian Missourian. “There’s been some research done that shows if a student can hear that lecture a second time, they retain three times as much of that lecture.”3 This will require teachers to record their lectures, but if a student will remember and retain the information it will make the extra work pay off with better test scores.

As a result there are many educational applications, and you can remember lectures three times better the second time. So, contact your school principal and technology director and tell them that you want iPhones in school!

Footnotes
1. Wikipedia article iPhone
2. Teach digital: Cell Phones for learning
3. Columbian Missourian: School of Journalism to require iPod touch or iPhone for students

Lots of Fun at Fright Night 2009

One of our favorite October traditions here in central Oklahoma is going to “Fright Night” at Frontier City, a theme park located on I-35 in Edmond. Generally we go later in the month, but this year we needed to go early because of travel schedules. As usual we had a great time, especially watching the show, “Dead Man’s Party.” In the third video below, you’ll see Sarah get up on stage and dance as the construction worker in the song “YMCA” by The Village People. We stayed and danced after the 2nd show– we actually saw it three times! This was a lot of fun! It’s also great that when you order your tickets to Frontier City online in October, they are half price. It’s still expensive at $17.50 each, but much less than “normal” price.

Each of these videos is 90 seconds long, which is the maximum length permitted by Flickr. Some of these songs and the acting in the performance was a little scary, but “a little scary” in moderation can be fun and even healthy. It’s definitely a lot of fun to have a chance to dance like this as a family. We don’t get these opportunities very often!

I shot these videos with my iPhone GS. I apologize for the distortion in the audio at some points. The sound was definitely VERY loud where we were sitting!

This visit to “Fright Night” marked the first time both Sarah and Rachel chose to ride a rollercoaster! We actually all rode the “Steel Lasso” three times, and it was a lot of fun. This was the photo of Rachel and Mom on their last ride. Rachel was pretty excited by the experience!

Rachel and Shelly on the Steel Lasso Rollercoaster at Frontier City

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Hobbit Room

At my school in english are curriculum is The Lord of the Rings and we just read the part when they meet Tom Bombadil in the Fellowship of the Ring. We had to do a project on one of the scenes and make a miniature on it, I did the scene when they looked into their room at Tom Bombadil's house. This is the passage describing the scene and pictures of my project are at the bottom so you can see how I did:

Its walls were of clean stone, but they were mostly covered with green hanging mats and yellow curtains. The floor was flagged, and strewn with fresh, green rushes. There were four deep mattresses, each piled with white blankets, laid on the floor along one side. Against the opposite wall was a long bench laden with wide earthenware basins, and beside it stood brown ewers filled with water, some cold, some steaming hot. There were soft green slippers set ready beside each bed.

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Watch and Respond

Alexander: Since you were not able to join Sarah and I to watch President Obama’s speech today “live,” I’d like you to watch the speech and then compose a response you can either post here on Learning Signs, record as a video on YouTube, or record as an audio message via AudioBoo. Let me know if you need help with either option 2 or 3. 🙂

Also check out Sarah’s response, and the comments others have left for her there. She may need to record a follow-up video to answer some of those questions!

Alexander quoted in the Boston Globe

Today at the Apple Store in Oklahoma City, I’ve been playing with the new MacBook Pro laptops and using Google’s new “show options” features. Alexander asked me to Google his name, and in doing so we discovered Carolyn Y. Johnson’s March 7, 2007 article for The Boston Globe, “Space for everyone: Social networking websites, once purely teen territory, attract all ages.” Alexander doesn’t remember being quoted for this article, but I do! I gave the reporter his mother’s cell phone number so she could interview him about his use of websites like Club Lego and Imbee. Here’s the quotation of Alexander from the article:

Alexander Fryer is interested in more basic forms of play online. The 9-year-old from Edmond, Okla., began using social-networking websites two years ago, before he could even type, frequenting club.Lego.com to build his own virtual projects.

“It’s been exciting because you can see how many people have actually seen what I’ve done,” he said.

Today, the third grader uses ClubPenguin.com, where every child has his or her own penguin and igloo, and has tried out Imbee.com. His father, Wesley, said both sites offer a safe social-networking experience in contrast to the MySpace page, which has been criticized for allowing young people to post revealing personal details.

It’s important to monitor and manage our digital footprints online. I don’t think I ever read this article when it was originally published in 2007. It’s amazing to see how much Alexander has continued to learn online (as have his sisters) since that article was written two years ago!

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