Idyllwild Fauna

Gray Fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus)
Picture from:
http://wildobs.com/species/Gray-Fox

2. Is it diurnal or nocturnal?

Gray Foxes are nocturnal creatures. They are most active at night, feeding and moving from place to place. When pressured it will climb a tree or emit an odor from its anal glands. The gray fox will also climb a tree to sun itself. It has a distinctive bark that is usually repeated four or five times in a row. It will also squeal or growl. 

3. How do you identify it?

The gray fox's coat is coat color is a salt and pepper gray. A black stripe runs from the base of the tail and ends in a black tip. Another black stripe crosses its face from the nose to the eye and then to the side of the head. Like the red fox its cheek and throat area are white and this color extends on the gray fox to the lower jaw. There is a reddish patch on the side of its head below its ear. Its belly is white and a reddish band separates it from the gray sides. The legs and back of the ears are an orange color while the feet are gray. 

4. What does it eat?

Gray Foxes typically eats: Rats, mice, rabbits, fruits, acorns, birds, other small mammals, eggs and insects.

West Africa History Diary Entry

This is my second history writing piece about ancient West Africa for history. My second writing is a diary entry based on Sonni Ali Ber, the leader of Songhai since 1464.

November 18, 1491

I, Sonni Ali Ber, have been the ruling monarch of Songhai, West Africa,  since 1464. I’m obviously a fantastic leader if the people added Ber to my name symbolizing I’m Sonni Ali the Great. Even though those I’ve enslaved may disagree, I’ve done many great things for Songhai. By 1476, I controlled the inland delta region from the west of Timbuktu to the Niger and the lakes region to the south. I was raised as a part of an exclusive ruling class, a warrior horseman. I am a warrior and a man of the people!  

Picture from:
http://egyptsearchreloaded.proboards.com
Picture of Sonni Ali Ber

As the “best” leader of Songhai, I’ve accomplished a lot of things that make me proud of myself. One of the prolific things I’ve done is creating oral traditions as a magician of great power. Instead of following Mali’s Empire system of Islamic city rules over non-Islamic rural people, I mixed an unorthodox observance of Islam with traditional African religion. I am not a man of elite ruling class of Muslim clerics and scholars, I am a man of the people! I’m regarded as a magnificent military commander who carried out a strategic campaign along the Niger River. I had no choice but to retaliate against the Muslim leader of Timbuktu when they failed to provide transport for my troops to cross the river and I’m glad I made that decision. I’m proud of myself for leading my kingdom through a series of conquest at the expense of the Mali Empire. I lead the Songhai empire that took over Mali. Overall that was the greatest accomplishment I’m proud of to this very day of ruling 27 years.

Many people have been affected of what I’ve done, for the better or worse. Slaves are popular to trade around here. During the conquest of the old Mali empire I obtained three groups of peasants which I turned into slaves. The slaves were initially required to cultivate a measure of land and provide grain for the king. However, I grouped the slaves into villages and gave each a common quota to be used by the villages. Unfortunately for them, any children born to slave parents became slaves or they had to be transported to the trans-Saharan market. I’ve equally affected the people of Songahi. Depending on your parents’ occupation, you had a chance of being a slave or an average working person.

Picture From:
http://www.novica.com
Picture of African Maks

Being schooled in the traditional arts of the region, I was well versed in the forms and techniques of warfare when I came to power in 1464 in the kingdom of Songhai. I am the fifteenth consecutive ruler of the Sonni dynasty that begun in 1355. Our dynasty has been around one hundred and thirty-six years. I have been told stories about one of my ancestors, Sonni Sulaiman Mar, who wrested Songhai away from the Mali empire towards the end of the fourteenth century. Askia Mohammed Touré, emperor of the Songhai Empire in the late 15th century, made Sonhai a wonderful empire by extending his control throughout much of West Africa. In a way, he has inspired me.

Some people support me and others, such as the chroniclers, don’t. Chroniclers are the people who keep historical account of facts and events arranged in chronological order. The chroniclers believe that I, Sonni Ali, am portrayed as a capricious and cruel leader. I know that I am a great powerful leader despite what some may say. I’m known from the oral traditions as a magician of great power. For ruling Songahi twenty-seven years proves I’ve had a good amount of support. I shall be remembered for decades to come, after all the people of Songhai added “the Great” to my name. As  I continue to grow old, I hope people remember me for who I really am, not what the chroniclers dictate me to be.

West Africa History Letter Writing Piece

For history everyone chose a different ancient civilization, I chose ancient West Africa. We each had to write two different writing pieces about our civilization. My First writing is a letter wrote in the view of Professor Ahmed Baba living in Songhai.

Picture from:
http://schools-wikipedia.org/wp/a/Africa.htm
Map of the Songhai Empire

Dear People of the Future,

I am live in Songhai, West Africa. There are three main kingdoms in West Africa: Ghana, Mali and Songhai. Trading is a prolific part of our culture. We barter an eclectic amount of items from salt to slaves. Ghana is growing rich from trading gold, salt and iron tools. Mali, commonly trades salt as well as copper and is also growing rich. Songhai, however, is known for trading slaves and Kola nuts. Our dwelling consists of a lavish amount of various items. It depends on what region you live in to decide what materials you can use to build a hut or structure. Some of the materials used frequently are mud, mud brick, sticks or wood, rammed earth and stone. Our primary jobs consist of gathering plants and hunting. Women do the majority of gathering and preparing food, while the men work together to hunt larger animals with spears, bows and arrows as well as poisons. All parts of an animal that is hunted is used. All of the kingdoms are divided into districts. A district leader guides each district. Each of the kingdoms have some bureaucratic rules.

Storytelling and playing the game Oware are just a few ways we have fun here. The griots are the storytellers. Children don’t go to school to get educated. Instead, people collect in the evening to hear the stories of the griots who are responsible for perpetuating the stories and traditions, from generation to generation. Oware is an abstract strategy game played throughout West Africa. Oware is considered the national game of Ghana. The object of the game is to capture more seeds than one's opponent. Since the game has only 48 seeds, capturing 25 is sufficient to accomplish this. Since there is an even number of seeds, it is possible for the game to end in a draw, where each player has captured 24. The typical formal attire worn here in West Africa is a knee to ankle-length flowing Boubou robe, dashiki and Senegalese kaftan, which has its origin in the clothing of nobility of various West African empires in the 12th century. Our main religion is Islam since 1064 and Christianity. Ghana is a great military power. Rumor has it that the king could order 200,000 warriors and 40,000 with bows and arrows. In North America, about 200 BC, Carthaginian soldiers killed people with iron spears and stone balls shot from catapults.

Picture from:
http://africanastudiesrb.blogspot.com
Picture of Ahmed Baba

We wear masks during celebrations and religious rituals as part of our culture. Each African tribe has its own unique style of mask. There are masks worn for all special occasions. When masks are created for a ceremony, the face is formed as a mythical hero or human spirit of a deceased ancestor. Masks are worn for harvesting, weddings and initiation celebrations. We also wear masks when we engage in war. The mask holds a moral lesson to the young and when there is death in the village, we wear masks at the funeral. We are very proud of our masks; they hold a significant value to our culture. Our cuisine contains fish (especially along the coast), meat, vegetables and fruits. Most of the food is boiled or fried. Rice is also a staple food throughout the region. As for alcohol drinks, palm wine is a common beverage made from the fermented sap of various types of palm trees and is usually sold in sweet or sour varieties    
I’ve lived in Songhai, West Africa for the majority of my life. For twelve years, I was detained in Morocco for complaining about the lack of Sultan’s manner and collecting a private library of 1600 books.  Eventually I made it back to Songhai. I’m commonly known as “The Unique Pearl of his Time”. There are so many interesting aspects of West Africa. Our society and culture is truly unique. I personally wanted to address this information, therefore people like you can read this in the future and know about the true history of West Africa.

                                                 Sincerely,

Professor Ahmed Baba

Cooking with My Family Photo Essay

The meal I decide to make with my family was Enchiladas with a side of re fried beans. I chose to make this meal arbitrary. 

Below are some ingredients I used to make the Enchiladas;

To the left and right is a can
of mild Enchilada sauce. It contains the ingredients; water, dried red Chile peppers, salt. cottonseed oil, cider vinegar, Fumaric acid, garlic powder, spice, Olive oil. Th sauce is used to cover Enchilada shells and the bottom of the pan.


To the bottom and right is two pictures of Mission Yellow Corn
Tortillas. The Tortillas are used as the shell of the enchiladas.

 To the left and bottom right are some Green Onions. After you cut the green onions into little slices you use them to make to middle of the Enchilada.

 
To the left and right is a small can of Hatch Diced Green Chiles. Which is also used to make the Enchilada mix.

 To the right is a can of Rosarita Traditional Refried Beans. I used these as a side dish of the Enchiladas. 

To the left is a picture of  a bag of  Sargento Classic 4 Cheese Mexican. The cheese was use to mix with the Enchiladas and to top off the Enchiladas. 

To the left and bottom right are pictures of the
Enchilada mix. The mix contains Hatch Diced
Green Chiles, Green Onions and Sargento 
Classic 4 Cheese Mexican mixed together in 
a bowl. 


                         


                           

To the left is a picture of the Enchiladas before they were placed in the oven to cook. To make the Enchiladas I use a corn tortilla shell, spread the Enchilada sauce on it, poured on some of the mix and rolled it up (almost like a roll taco). I repeated this several times and laid them into a pan, I added some extra sauce and cheese on top and put them in the oven.

In the last two pictures there is two Enchiladas and some re fried beans on a plate with a fork. That's what I made for my "Cooking with My Family Photo Essay".

History / China

Great Wall of China. Picture from http://www.great-wall-of-china.org/

    Today I learned about the Great Wall of China. It took about 2,000 years to build and cost 1,000,000 peoples  lives. The wall was originally built in smaller parts by the 7 states of China, although Chin combined all the 7 states together and named it "China" after his home town. Also I learned that if workers were buried into the wall. Prisoners and people who were considered to be against China were forced to build to the wall.  

Jihad

 What facet of Islam did you represent?
Jihad, I presented it with Rahim, Martin and Sam. 


What are some concepts that you learned? First of all I learned what Jihad meant. Jihad represents that Muslims should fulfill Jihad with their heart and hands. Hands for good works and correcting wrongs and their heart for their struggles to resist evil. Jihad is the the spiritual struggle within oneself against sin. As well as Muslims shall obey their parents, give up bad habits and focus on education. 
  

Photo Essay: 24-Hour Diet

24 Hour Diet Photo Essay:
                     

Afternoon Snack:

To the left is a picture of two Gala apples. I ate them at about 4:03 p.m. I ate them because I like apples and they're good for you. They were just an afternoon snack before dinner.

Fish Tacos 7:20 p.m.

Dinner

 To the right is a picture of two fish tacos. I had them for dinner at around 7:20 p.m. The fish tacos had cabbage, salsa, guacamole, Halibut fish, cheese on a corn shell. I chose to eat this for dinner because that's want my mom decided to make.

Pancakes 7:55a.m.

                        Breakfast

  To the left is a picture of 4 small, miniature  pancakes. I had these for breakfast at about 7:55 a.m. They're the kind you heat up in the oven. I chose to have them since they're soft and easier to chew with braces. Also that they have carbohydrates to help give my some energy.              

Lays Chips 12:20p.m.

Lunch

   For lunch I had a snack size bag of Lays Classic chips, piece of Pineapple and a piece of Sourdough bread.  I ate lunch at 12:20 p.m. I chose to eat just a piece of bread since I have been having a lot of sandwiches lately and felt like having a piece of bread. I had Pineapple because my mom bought some the other day and I thought it nice to have for lunch. I had Lays chips because I haven't had them in a while and that them have some carbohydrates like the bread to help give me some energy.

Pineapple 12:20p.m.

Sourdough Bread 12:20p.m.

The Hunger Games Movie Review

The Hunger Games Movie vs. Book

http://www.suzannecollinsbooks.com 

    In my opinion the Hunger Games book was ten times better than the movie. If you had not read the book then the movie would seem "good", although if you had read the books, obviously the two didn't follow. Compared to the book, the movie was a huge disappointment. From leaving out little details to excluding characters, scenes and dialog, it'll  make you cringe. Personally I expected more out of the movie and looked forward to seeing some parts that were left out.

   From the beginning I felt that the Hunger Games movie was rushed and didn't give you the chance to think about it. In the book it describes District 12 filled with coal miners, black cinder streets and squat gray houses. (page 4) In the movie it seemed more like District 12 was were homeless people would go. As well as how the movie began. In the beginning of the movie they jumped to an interview between one one the game makers, while the book begins with Katniss walking up describing how Prim's cat is the world's ugliest cat. From leaving out the scene were "Haymitch ... appears hollering something unintelligible, staggers onto the stage and falls into the third chair." (page 19) to where Prim's name was called from the reaping, leaving Haymitch out when he said,"Look at her. Look at thus one..."(page 24)

http://blog.zooppa.com 

    In the book they waited until the middle of the movie to mention the flashback when Peeta gave Katniss some burnt bread. On page 30 it was mention right after Peeta's name was drawn for the reaping. Originally Madge visited Katniss and gave her a mocking jay pin.(page 38) Although, in the movie Katniss got it in the Hob, gave it to Prim for luck, in return after Katniss volunteered, Prim gave it back to her. Then again during the last visit before Katniss went to the Capital Gale visited her. "I won't! You know I won't! Katniss remember I --" Gale says, and they yank us apart and slam the door and I'll never know what it was he wanted me to remember.(page 40) But again in the movie they left that part out.

 In chapters 9-10 was when the 24 tributes had their own interview with Caesar. The book made it seem like all 24 tributes were on the stage but when it was their turn they would go up to the chair next to Caesar. When Peeta admitted he had a crush on Katniss the book described, I allow my eyes to flicker up to the screen long enough to see that the blush on my cheeks is unmistakable...I have to raise my head out of the require respect and cannot avoid seeing that every screen is now dominated by a shot of Peeta and me.. However in the movie Katniss was back stage and you didn't get to see that. Just simply things such as when Katniss and Peeta are in the elevator alone and she pushed Peeta into an urn with flowers that cut his hands, while in the movie she still shoved Peeta but it was in hall with Haymitch, Effie and Cinna really leave out expected scenes. After the Hunger Games began Katniss ran to an orange backpack. At that point a boy was there and coughed blood up on her. The movie just showed Katniss running into the boy but nothing about coughing up blood.

As well as some of the characters behaviors. Haymitch appears as if he would always be holding some kind of alcohol and calling Katniss 'Sweetheart' all the time after reading the book but it was almost the opposite in the movie. The way the book described him as being grumpy, mean spirited and rude, when the movie made him seem just unhappy at the beginning but then pretty much no strong emotions for the rest of the movie. Just like Cinna. Katniss expressed the she felt normal being with Cinna because of the way he didn't have as odd of outfits like the rest of the Capital  and became her friend. Where Cinna gave her the pin back saying she left it on the train and events like the closeness between the two of them.

http://amandla-stenburg.tumblr.com/ 

Throughout the whole movie huge parts were left out. The Avox girl was never mention, the scene with Rue was rushed to quickly, where Thresh smashed Clove with the stone, the closeness between Katniss and Peeta and the way the movie was ended. In several occasions the book interjected this Avox girl, that Katniss once before had seen her while she was hunting in the woods with Gale. From when she had first got to the Capital to when she got back she saw the Avox girl. Ever since Katniss and Rue made an alliance they shared supply such as burn treatment, leaves to heal stings, sleeping bag and food, the book really implement this, were as the movie rushed through it. One second Rue and Katniss are meeting each other the next Rue dies. The book had multiple scenes with the two of them while the movie showed them meeting and destroying the food source of the careers and then when Rue died. I think it would had been better if more time was spent on showing how the two of them became close. In chapter 21 Katniss went back to the cornucopia to get medicine for Peeta's leg when Clove knocked her down. ...some great force yanks Clove from my body and then she's screaming...Clove is dangling a foot off the ground imprisoned in Thresh's arms...Thresh brings the rock down hard against Clove's temple. None of that was seen in the movie. To the part where Katniss and Peeta followed up on their reputation that they were the 'Star Crossed Lovers from District 12'. Suzanne Collins wrote it as the two of them became very close, especially in the cave. After the two of them could both win the games and made an alliance they were always kissing each other and such. Although in the movie maybe once they did but otherwise they just seemed like they were good friends. Once the two of them won the games they had the interview with Caesar again but they did it together. In the book Caesar says,"Oh, go ahead and curl up next to him if you want. It looked very sweet." It insisted that the two of them did really love each other but the movie overlooked it and barely had anything   about it. As the book was about to end and they were on their way home they got off the train and took a quick walk. That's when Peeta realized Katniss didn't truly love him and it was just a strategy set up with Haymitch and her. The movie never mentioned such.  

http://imgfave.com/search/gale 

Honestly I enjoyed the Hunger Games book over the movie. The movie left out what I think were some of the most important parts. Although I know if they added every little detail it would be a four hour movie, I still would had appreciated if they slowed it down instead of rushing through the movie. What I think the best thing about the book was being able to understand Katniss thoughts and how she felt, in the movie there was nothing about that. I know it's hard  to make a good movie adding in everyone's thoughts, that it is a lot easier to do in a book, but I think it would have enhanced the overall movie. Still the movie was fun to see how they would do certain parts such as when Peeta and Katniss were going to be on fire. The movie was a disappointment but hopefully if they make a movie about Catching Fire it will be similar to the book.