Khmer Modeling United Nations – The first one

On Wednesday, May 23rd, 2018, Our school, Liger Leadership Academy, hosted a conference called, “Khmer Modeling United Nations.” This event has been organizing by all the Seniors learning in Khmer Literacy essential. Across the globe, Modeling United Nations conference (MUN) had been conducted in English. Therefore, Liger had conducted the first MUN conference in Khmer languageas far as I knowwith all the participation from the seniors.

The plenary session is when all the delegates gathered.

  The whole conference was divided into two different assemblies with two different topics each. The topics were about biological weapons, internet privacy, the growing billions, and air pollution control. Conducting the conference in Khmer was extremely challenging. There were many requirements for preparing and practicing. I was one of the four chairs who was responsible to the lead the debate in the assembly. I partnered with my friends, and we were responsible for leading the debates and discussion in our assembly.

Our Khmer facilitator, Sokha, the Secretary-General
My partner and I (chairs) of the second assembly.

Speaking in Khmer for the whole conference was a worthy experience. It was very similar to English since they are using fancy and very technical words. It was the same for Khmer! We had to use many technical and difficult Khmer words to communicate during the conference. Before the event was approaching, we, the chairs, were already translating the chair scripts, printing out placards of distinguished countries, guiding and helping our friends who were new to the conference through research. All of these activities we did in class before were actually enhancing many of our literary skills including writing, speaking, listening, and reading. We learned to write an open speech in Khmer standard forms, research in different Khmer resources, and write a resolution of solving the problems.

I was assisting the delegate through the event.

On the actual event, everything was in place. Everyone was dressed up professionally and ready to debate and have a fruitful discussion. Each delegate was on their role and filled with information that was standing the position of their country. During the debate, many delegates were bravely engaged with formal manner. There were difficult questions (points of information) being raised up by delegates. There were many delegates who were serious during the conference, for example, the delegate of America. He was submitting many amendments, asking questions, and even speaking for his country position. Overall, the conference was a blessing and hopefully, we are going to do it again next year.  

Here is a short video of the whole event, and I hope you enjoy it!

 

“What Do Blind People See?” – Color Optical Illusions

Have you ever wondered how a blind person see? Do they live in a different kind of universe? What do they “actually” see? Well, we have an answer now. It is not an “actual” answer, but it is an explanatory answer which it could explain how a blind person sees.  We read two different articles that explain about blind people and the optical illusions of colors. Right down below are the two questions I answered in physics class of my comprehension from the article

 

  • What do blind people actually see?

 

Blind people actually do see the thing that is indescribable. It is this nothingness that they see. A “normal” human cannot explain this nothingness because nothingness that could be explained is “how it “looks” behind your head.” Nowadays, blind people can live their normal lives like us; it is just that fact that they do not have that one sense of vision. Mr. Wächter is the subject of the experiment of the article. He is a blind man who has put on a belt whose ability can release out the vibration, which it can tell Mr. Wächter any direction. But when the experiment was over, without the belt, Mr. Wächter can still feel some vibration known as, but he was lost. “He was experiencing the same thing you do when you try to look at what’s behind your head.”

 

  • Why colors can trick us?

 

Colors can trick us when our brain tries to perceive or figure out what is the object’s color. According to Wired’s explanation, when you are concentrating on the figuration of the object’s color, our brain will neglect the background colors and light around it. Colors are also tricky when it comes to your eyes need to subtract the lighting or background colors because it is not happening rapidly. As a well-known example, some people might see the dress in white and gold while others see it as blue and black. For the people who perceive the color in white and gold, you cannot just tell your eyes or brain to neglect the right background colors and lighting. Consequently, all of these theories or ideas have become an inspiration for many artists to create the art of optical illusions. Humans know what is the optical illusion, but it takes to make us realize that it is a trick from colors.

The Physics Behind Marvel’s Superhero: Wolverine

Wolverine

Real Name: James Howlett

Byname: Logan

Place of Birth: Alberta, Canada

Citizenship: Canadian

Life Span: About 200 Years

Weight: 195 Lbs (Without Adamantium  skeleton), 300 Lbs (with Adamantium skeleton)

You must be the exotic one if you have not heard, seen, or read the “Marvel comics” or the “Marvel movies.” It was created in the United States of America since 1939 with its first release of a comic book called, “Timley’s Publication.” Throughout the time, Marvel entertainment published abundance of new and adventurous comic books including many distinguished characters especially the superheroes. Those superheroes were illustrated and put into the stories whose astonishing superpowers possibly could be explained by our modern physics whether it is practicable or impractical.

As mentioned, in the entire Marvel history, there are a lot of established fictional characters who significantly play her or his roles in the comics or movies of their mind-blowing superpowers. Moreover, you must be wondering who is the man above. Generally and as written above, his name is James Howlett  and also known as “Wolverine.” He is actually one of the top Marvel superheroes: Spider-Man, Captain Marvel, Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, Luke Cage, Black Widow, Daredevil, and Captain America. His first appearance in Marvel comics was in the “Incredible Hulk” since 1974.

Who is Wolverine?

Wolverine is a mutant (meaning his DNA is changed) with many incredible powers who has the “ability to regenerate ability to regenerate damaged or destroyed areas of his cellular structure at a rate far greater than that of an ordinary human.” People have deemed him as a “subspecies of humans (Homo sapiens superior). Furthermore, he has the powers of withstanding all types of poisons, resisting aging, and having an acute sense of seeing far distance. So you can say that he is immortal; in fact, he is mortal. He could be dead if there are potential accidents that he got injuries at the “vital organs” and loss of physical form.

Despite his superpowers, he does have abilities like other humans. He did train at many tasks as a C.I.A operative, a soldier, a Samurai, a spy, a member of X-men, and hand to hand fighter known as the “combatant.” In addition, Wolverine is also an expert in many types weapons, vehicles, computer system, explosive, and assassination techniques.  If you are a truly a supporter of Wolverine, you might notice that he could speak in multiple languages such as Japanese, Russian, Chinese, Cheyenne, Lakota, and Spanish.

Regeneration

As a matter of fact, you may experience regeneration at some points while playing your video games. The best example is Minecraft. There is a portion that you can drink to regenerate the player at a fast speed and limited duration. But for Wolverine, his ability to regenerate is overwhelmingly impressive. Regeneration is a permanent ability he has; it is inherently working when he got cuts or even in an intense situation of someone poking him with a sword.

When a normal human received a wound or cuts, it takes times to heal or regenerate which depends on the wound condition. And by means of regeneration, it is the “process by which some organisms replace or restore lost or amputated body parts,” or biologically, it is the “reactivation of development in later life to restore missing tissues.” In reality, there are actually some organisms who can regenerate itself when it lost its limbs or some other parts of their body. For instance, the salamanders, axolotls, starfish, spiders, and other types of lizards have the ability of regeneration.

Wolverine’s regeneration in the fictional comics or movies is actually a complicated one. The first explanation that can crack this enigma is related to Wolverine’s last name, Howlett; it is surprisingly a protein. According to the paper was submitted to the Journal of Superhero Mutational Science by graduate students from the University of British Columbia, stated that “Wolverine’s healing abilities have striking similarities to that seen in axolotl, an amphibian with the capacity to regenerate amputated limbs.” The Howlett protein within Wolverine is characterized similarly to the protein within the axolotls, called “Amblox.”

                                                                                 (scq.ubc.ca)

However, it clearly shows that it definitely takes sometimes for the axolotl to heal when it takes a second for Wolverine to heal.

 

How does that work? Howlett protein is everywhere in Wolverine’s body and to answer the question, it is all about an activity of Howlett within his cell. “Wolverine has a significantly elevated amount of Howlett per cell than the axolotl by a factor of 100,” but that does not explain the reason why the rate of Wolverine’s regeneration is rapid. Therefore, the students set up a simulation of observing “the rate of product formation by Howlett” compares to the rate of product formation by Amblox. As a result, it expressly demonstrates that Howlett protein has a greater rate of healing Wolverine rather than the axolotl’s protein.

Besides Howlett, there is another key protein that contributes to the regeneration; it is called, “Lin28a.” As an American digital media company, Inverse stated that “In embryonic cells where the protein is fully activated, Lin28a becomes more and more dormant as the organism ages.” This could possibly apply to one of the reasons of how does Wolverine’s regeneration works. It further explained that there is a simulation when the researchers changed a mouse genetically by injecting the substance to keep the mouse produces the Lin28a protein. It turns out that it is working. When the mouse got cut off one of its toes, it grew back with a fast speed back to a normal toe.  

Conclusion

As stated, Wolverine is one of the incredible characters in the Marvel history. His phenomenal power, regeneration, clearly surprises all the Marvel supporters; however, there is a lack of explanation of how it is actually working. It is very complex to comprehend expressly about Wolverine’s power since it is all going down to the system of his protein within the cell. The explanation of all the introduced proteins including Amblox and Lin28a are existing in this real world.

Furthermore, it seems realistic that human can be healed close to the speed of Wolverine’s regeneration by following the procedure of injecting the Lin28a protein. However, this is not reasonable since researchers, or us do not know what are the consequences. Not only the Lin28a injection seems to be unrealistic, but also the Howlett protein. After all, Howlett protein is literally a fictional protein which the author characterized it similarly to the Amblox. But for most of the parts from the explanation, it still could be possible and durable with our modernized technology and knowledge that we can have the power of regeneration as Wolverine.

 

Works Cited

Forbes, Forbes Magazine, www.forbes.com/forbes/welcome/?toURL=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jvchamary/2016/02/29/deadpool-science/&refURL=&referrer=.

“8 Regenerative Animals Changing the Face of Medicine.” DermeffaceFX7 Info, 18 Feb. 2016, www.dermeffacefx7.com/info/8-regenerative-animals-changing-the-face-of-medicine/.

Cronin, Brian. “What Was the First Marvel Comic Book?” CBR, 3 Apr. 2018, www.cbr.com/marvel-comics-first-comic/.

Dvorsky, George. “A Remarkably Detailed Fake Study of Wolverine’s Regeneration Abilities.” io9, io9.Gizmodo.com, 24 Sept. 2013, io9.gizmodo.com/a-remarkably-detailed-fake-study-of-wolverine-s-regener-1377381586.

Gilbert, Scott F. “Regeneration.” Developmental Biology. 6th Edition., U.S. National Library of Medicine, 1 Jan. 1970, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK9971/.

Goss, Richard Johnson. “Regeneration.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 22 Aug. 2016, www.britannica.com/science/regeneration-biology.

Holmes, Adam. “The Truth About Wolverine’s Healing Factor In Logan.” CINEMABLEND, CINEMABLEND, 26 May 2017, www.cinemablend.com/news/1575799/the-truth-about-wolverines-healing-factor-in-logan.’

Sloat, Sarah. “Humans, Too, Possess the Regenerative Abilities of X-23 and Wolverine.” Inverse, www.inverse.com/article/26640-logan-laura-x23-wolverine-regenerative-power-healing.

“Top Marvel Heroes.” Marvel.com: The Official Site, marvel.com/characters/list/994/top_marvel_heroes.

“Wolverine.” Characters | Marvel.com, marvel.com/characters/66/wolverine.

http://www.scq.ubc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/HOWLETT-PAPER-09182013.pdf

Bats & Echolocation

This was a small research we did during our “sound waves” study in physics class. Our facilitator, Samantha, assigned us many different topics to research on with the purpose of dot-connecting our lessons to the world information. 

BATS AND ECHOLOCATION

BY: VENGHOUR THAN & SAMNANG HOR

What is Bat?

Bats are found all around the world and there are hundreds of different species of bat. These bats are living in caves and forest, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere. Bats are mammals that have fur or hair covered their bodies and are warm-blooded. Bats are the only mammals that can fly, it’s wing has a very similar bones to our human hand and arm, connect the skin that stretched between long finger bones and the body to form the wing membrane. This mammals hunt at night by using their exceptional sight to pick out their preys. Bats prey such as insects, frogs, and small rodents. Bats have a slight sixth sense known as echolocation to locate prey by the sounds that are reflected back to them.                                                  

What is Echolocation?

The use of sound waves combining with echoes is called “echolocation.” It is to determine the location of the objects are in space mostly at night. Bats are the most standout mammals that use echolocation to navigate and find their food since they are blind. Bats’ uses of echolocation are the same as humans’ uses of eyes to see. Its process of using sound waves and echoes to survive every day is very complicating. But do not get it wrong here, there are others animals having the ability to use echolocation for the same reasons of navigation and food searching including dolphins, whales, other birds and even humans.

The Process of Bat’s echolocation

(the sonogram of the bat – ASU)

In order to echolocate, the bat is required to have three essential things: voice, ears, and echoes. Echo is “a sound or sounds caused by the reflection of sound waves from a surface back to the listener.” Down here is the picture of bat’s ear. First of all, the bat will let a chirp (ultrasonic sound); as the sound waves reach the targeted object, it will bounce back as echoes reaching back the bat’s ear. Now, the echoes will pass the ear cartilage into the ear canal. Then, it continues its way to the eardrum where it starts to vibrate, and that vibration will pursue its way to cochlea until the basilar membrane. In brief explanation, the vibration from the ear canal cannot be transported to the basilar members; it had to go through a conversion. It is all happened in the “cochlea.” If you look at the diagram down below, it is explaining how the cochlea works. When the vibration approaches the cochlea, it instantly converts into nerve impulses. Nerve impulses are the smooth flows of vibration. Then, those impulses transport to the brain for interpretation. Since bat does not live in the space with one object, it had its owns technique of knowing multiple of objects at the same time. To do so, the bat had to chirp for several times with distinguished frequencies in a different location. Therefore, when the echoes reach back its ears with different frequencies, it can figure the destination, sizes, and shapes.

Conclusion

Bat is a very special kind of animal among the others with the ability of echolocating. The object’s location, size, and shape can be figured out by its chirp. In addition, by letting a chirp, the bat can produce and hear the sound at the frequencies over 100,000 waves every second. With its complex and amazing life survival skill, it is actually the birth of many modern sonar technologies.

Resource:

http://www.bats.org.uk/pages/all_about_bats.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laeE4icRYp4

https://askabiologist.asu.edu/echolocation

https://www.google.com.kh/search?q=what+is+echo&rlz=1C1AVUC_enKH772KH772&oq=what+is+echo&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l5.3146j0j9&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&safe=active&ssui=on

 

Greek Mythology – DIONYSUS, the god of viticulture

This is the research paper that I wrote during Literacy class on Unit 4, Ancient Civilization. I hope you enjoy and simultaneously learn about all the incredible Greek god mythology and the personality of the god. 

Image result for dionysusDIONYSUS

God of Wine and Grapes

Gender: Male

Rule Over: Grape Harvest, Wine Making, of Ritual Madness, Religious Ecstasy, and Theater

Names: Acratophorus, Acroreites, Adoneus, Aegobolus, etc.

Consort: Ariadne

Dionysus is one of the last Olympian gods who was best known as the god of viticulture, fertility, and drama in ancient Greek religion and mythology. He was worshipped in the early 1500-100 BC by Mycenaean Greeks. Although it is uncertain where Dionysus’ cult originated, he is often depicted as having foreign origins in the Legend. Most of the time, Dionysus was referred to as “Bacchus.”  

Throughout Greek mythology, there are many remarkable stories about him as a child and in his adulthood. There was his unusual birth to his journey of rescuing another princess, and the stories with other main gods and goddesses. The journey of Dionysus was filled with happiness, devastation, jealousy, hypocrisy, and regret.

Dionysus married a princess named Ariadne who was from another kingdom and they had four children: Oenopion, Thoas, Staphylos, and Peparethus. In addition, he had many family members, including his parents, Zeus and Semele. He had a lot of siblings – a total of 14 – who are included in the following table:

Ares God of war
Athena Goddess of wisdom and military victory
Apollo God of many things (music, poetry, art, oracles, archery, plague, medicine, sun, light, and knowledge)
Artemis Goddess of hunt
Aphrodite Goddess of love, beauty, and eternal youth
Hebe God of youth
Hermes Messenger of the gods, god of trade, thieves, travelers, sports, athletes, border crossings, guide to the Underworld
Heracles God of strength, heroes, sports, athletes, health, agriculture, fertility, trade, oracles and divine protector of mankind
Helen of Troy The most beautiful woman in the world who was married to King Menelaus of Sparta
Hephaestus God of fire, metalworking, stone masonry, forges, the art of sculpture, and blacksmiths
Perseus The legendary founder of Mycenae
Minos The first King of Crete
The Muses Goddesses of literature, science, and the arts
The Graces Goddesses of charm, beauty, nature, human creativity, and fertility, together known as the Charites

Dionysus Mythology

  • Birth

Dionysus was the son of Zeus, the god of thunder, and Semele, a human; he is the only god who had a mortal parent. Late at night, Zeus went to Semele, the princess of Thebes. She could see his physical appearance, but she could feel Zeus’ divine presence. Semele felt pleasure and was pleased to be a lover of the god, even though she had no clue which god it was. Later on, Semele became pregnant. The fact that Semele was pregnant was heard by Hera, the goddess of women, marriage, family, and childbirth. She was also designated as the “former” wife of Zeus. Out of jealousy, Hera went to Semele and planted seeds of doubt into Semele’s head, which made her doubt her husband’s appearance. When Zeus visited her again, Semele demanded he grant her a request at the River Styx. Afterwards, she asked Zeus to reveal his true form. Zeus was feeling struggled, but he decided to show her anyway. At that moment, Semele was burnt down to a crisp due to the power of Zeus’s glory.

However, Zeus was able to rescue the fetus of Dionysus inside Semele’s stomach. He stitched the fetus inside his thigh until it was born. Once Dionysus was born, he was instantaneously conferred as an immortal god. But Hera was jealous of the fact that Dionysus was still alive. Therefore, she ordered Titans, the deities who preceded the Olympians, to kill him. But, his death did not last; right after Dionysus’s death, Rhea, Zeus’s mother, brought him back to life. Dionysus was eventually raised at Mount Nysa by Hermes.

  • The Discovery of Wine/ The Wandering of Dionysus

During his childhood at Mount Nysa, Dionysus discovered grapevines. After he received the infliction of madness from Hera, he started to wander around the world. He went to Aigyptos (Egypt) and Syria with the main purpose of distributing his culture of grapevines. During his journey, he was confronted with many obstacles in many different places.

Once Dionysus was confronted by pirates while he was walking back to his home place, Thebes. The pirates saw his appearance as a young rich man. Then, the pirates besieged him and brought him to their ship. The crew tied a rope around his body, but it kept falling apart. After many tries, the crew realized that Dionysus was a god because only the gods had this kind of superpower. The helmsman thought that he should release Dionysus, but the sailor did not obey. Instead, the sailor started to sail the ship. Unfortunately, the ship did not move and it started to overgrow with vines. Dionysus then transformed himself into a lion and began to chase all the crewmen. Afterward, he transformed himself into a dolphin and leaped overboard.

  • Midas and the Touch of Gold

Another myth describes the story of Dionysus finding out that he lost his schoolmaster and foster father, Silenus. Silenus was a drunken man who had a strong addiction to alcohol. He wandered around until one day he was found by some peasants. They brought him to the kingdom of King Midas. He was welcomed and fulfilled with many foods and entertainment for ten days. On the eleventh day, King Midas brought Silenus back to Dionysus.

Dionysus felt pleasure and gratitude to King Midas. In return, he offered Midas his choice of whatever he wanted. King Midas decided that whatever he touched, it must be turned to gold. Dionysus was feeling conflicted with giving him the offer, thinking he should make a less greedy choice. But King Midas was really enthusiastic about his new power. He touched oak twigs and they turned to gold. Overjoyed, he ordered the servants to bring him food, but when he touched the food, everything turned into gold. Midas was really depressed; he regretted the decision he made. He begged Dionysus to take back the offer. Dionysus told him to wash his hands in the river Pactolus. Once his hands touched the water, the whole river turned to gold.

  • Loves

Known also as the god of theatre, Dionysus had love relationships with many gods and goddesses. This means he was also a god of homosexuality (Homosexuality; Effeminacy; Cross-dressing). His first love was with Aphrodite; they were believed to have had a son named “Priapos.” In contrast, there is a myth in which Aphrodite is the lover of Zeus, which triggers Hera’s jealousy. In revenge, Hera turns their son, Priapos, into an ugly character.

His next lover was the daughter of Thestius and wife of Oeneus, Althaea. They had  a great relationship and had a daughter named “Deianeira.”

Afterward, Dionysus had a long-term relationship with a mortal lady, Ariadne. She was the princess and the daughter of King Minos of Krete (Crete). Unluckily, when she was visiting the island of Naxos, Theseus, the guard, abandoned her while she slept. Then, Dionysus discovered Ariadne. They married and ended up having four children: Oenopion, a legendary king of Chios who best known as “wine drinker”; Thomas (Unknown); Staphylos, one of several personages; and Peparethus, a demigod son.

Symbolism and Attributes

Thyrsos of DionysosDionysus had many symbols and attributes throughout Greek culture. The most distinctive attribute of his was the “Thyrsos,” a pine-cone-tipped staff. The pine cone represented birth. The Thyrsos was actually an object for Dionysus and followers to carry for enjoyment and comfort. It had a significant role of representing birth because Dionysus was also the god of fertility and would use it to stir the wine.

The other symbols and attributes of Dionysus were the Thyrsos-staff head, grapevines, drinking cup, and his wreath made out of ivy leaves. Specifically, the grapevines symbolically represent his association with life. The grapevine is a cultivated plant and the stages of grape vines represent Dionysus’s death and rebirth. The drinking cup represents the object holding the liquid of life. As mentioned earlier, Dionysus uses the Thyrsos to fill the cup with wine.

Thyrsos of DionysosGrapevine of DionysosDrinking-Cup of DionysosIvy-Wreath of Dionysos

 

 

 

Dionysus also had his sacred animal, a leopard, as his transportation. Most of Panther of Dionysosthe time, he was depicted as a character who was sitting on the leopard or had leopard-skin apparel on his body.

 

General Information

  • What was Dionysus god of?  

In Greek mythology, Dionysus was not only the god of grapevines and viticulture. As mentioned above, he was also the god of fertility, theatre, and homosexuality, but there is even more – he was a god of many things:  

  1. Wine, Fruit, and Drunkenness
  2. Parties and Festivities
  3. Madness and Insanity
  4. Wilderness vegetation and predators (big cats)
  5. Reincarnation and Afterlife (He had the ability to bring the dead back to life from the Underworld. He once traveled to the Underworld to bring his mother’s soul, Semele, back to the earth.)
  • Physical Appearance

Dionysus riding panther | Greek mosaic from Pella C4th B.C. | Pella Archaeological Museum

Dionysus was mostly depicted as a powerful and strong man. His appearance was usually seen as a young man imposed with a full head of dark hair and wearing a beard; sometimes, he was beardless. He had a wreath of ivy leaves on his head and he would hold the Thyrsus in his hand while riding on the leopard. To achieve his standard look, he was usually naked, but sometimes, he would put on his leopard-skin clothes.

  • Locations

Dionysus could be found at Mount Olympus, the highest mountain in Greece. It was also where his father lived. In addition, Mount Nysa was his home and was where he was raised as a child. There is a feeling of uncertainty about whether Mount Nysa really exists or if it is just a mythical, geographical location in Greek mythology – there is no real answer.

As Dionysus was of the god of nature, his temple or theatre is located everywhere around us. The theatre symbolically represented his expression, duality, nature, and cultivation. Additionally, Dionysus could be found in the woods because he was the god of nature and his followers worshipped his cult in the woods while other gods had their own temples.

  • Nowadays Celebration

Contemporarily, there are some festivals and celebrations celebrating Dionysus. One celebration is called the “City Dionysia” or “Great Dionysia.” It is usually celebrated in the late March through early April, in Greece. During the festival, Greeks sing and dress up. Also, they sacrificed many goats to honor the gods. A large amount of wine is consumed in the celebration. On the first day of the festival, people carry the statue of Dionysus from the temple to the Theatre. Contestants compete with each other’s performance of their plays until they find a winner. This festival is commonly celebrated for three days.

There are also other festivals including the Lessor or Rural Dionysia, the Anthesteria, the Lenaea, and the “Dirty Monday.” “Dirty Monday” has been celebrated for many centuries if not millennia. It is held in Tyrnavos, Greece. The celebration is to honor the worship of Dionysus. Annually, on “Ash Monday,” the city is packed with participants, spectators, and tourists.

Conclusion

Dionysus was the only god who was expressly known as the god of grapevines, viticulture, and drama. He is mostly described as a drunken, selfish, bold, and patient man. His symbolisms are perfectly matched with our contemporary cultivation of grapes and winemaking. In addition, Dionysus is an immortal god who was born from his father’s thigh. Uniquely, he was the only god with a mortal parent and had the ability to bring the dead back to life. Overall, his journeys throughout the world made many people learn from their mistakes and offered a multitude of moral lessons.

Works Cited

DIONYSUS : Summary of the Olympian God, www.theoi.com/Summary/Dionysos.html.

Bacchus – Roman God of Wine – Crystalinks, www.crystalinks.com/bacchus.html.

“ARIADNE.” ARIADNE – Greek Goddess Wife of Dionysus (Roman Libera), www.theoi.com/Georgikos/Ariadne.html.

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Dionysus.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 7 Feb. 2018, www.britannica.com/topic/Dionysus.

“DIONYSOS LOVES.” DIONYSUS MYTHS 4 LOVES – Greek Mythology, www.theoi.com/Olympios/DionysosLoves.html#Aphrodite.

“DIONYSUS – Greek God of Wine & Festivity.” Theoi Greek Mythology, www.theoi.com/Olympios/Dionysos.html#Attributes.

“Dionysus.” Greek Mythology, www.greekmythology.com/Other_Gods/Dionysus/dionysus.html.

“Dionysus.” Dionysus ***, www.talesbeyondbelief.com/greek-gods/dionysus.htm.

“Dionysus • Facts and Information on Greek God Dionysus.” Greek Gods & Goddesses, greekgodsandgoddesses.net/gods/dionysus/.

“Dionysus, the God of Wine, Fertility and Theater.” Symbols and Their Meanings – Mythology and Gods – Mythical Creatures, 12 Jan. 2018, mythologian.net/dionysus-the-god-of-wine-fertility-and-theater/.

“Dionysus, the Greek God of Wine in Greek Mythology.” Greek Gods, www.greek-gods.info/greek-gods/dionysus/#dionysus-symbols.

“The Festival of Dionysus: The Origins of Ancient Greek Theater.” Bright Hub Education, 6 Jan. 2012, www.brighthubeducation.com/homework-help-literature/64195-festival-of-dionysus/.

“Greek Mythology.” Ducksters Educational Site, www.ducksters.com/history/ancient_greece/dionysus.php.

“Greek Myths: Have You Met Dionysus, God of Wine?” TripSavvy, www.tripsavvy.com/greek-mythology-dionysus-1525977.

“Greek Stories about Dionysus-Midas and the Touch of Gold.” Greek Gods, www.greek-gods.info/greek-gods/dionysus/myths/midas-touch-of-gold/.

“Symbols and Icons of Dionysos.” The Dionysian Artist, 25 Oct. 2016, dionysianartist.wordpress.com/2016/10/24/symbols-and-icons-of-dionysos/.

“The Wanderings of Dionysus.” Greek Mythology, www.greekmythology.com/Myths/The_Myths/The_Wanderings_of_Dionysus/the_wanderings_of_dionysus.html.

“Dionysus (Bacchus, the Wanderer).” Dionysus, God of Wine, Festivals and Pleasure, the Wanderer – Greek Gods, www.greek-gods.org/olympian-gods/dionysus.php.

 

Physics Research: Hedy Lamarr

To honor the greatest accomplishments by women in STEM, we, the students in physics class, did research on many talented ladies around the world in STEM field.  

Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler

Actress, Inventor

BORN: 9th November, 1914

DIED: 19th January, 2000

Citizenship: Austria, United States of America (from 1953)

Stage name: Hedy Lamarr

Co-founder of the invention of Spread Spectrum Technology

Known during her time as the “Most Beautiful Girl in the World,” Hedy Lamarr emerged in the 1940s with her talented skills in film production. Besides her beautiful face, she also made an invention of new technology. The newly discovered invention was called “Spread Spectrum Technology,” also known for the Silver Screen Exploits. In contemporary times, this invention has assumed a major role in developing and manufacturing technology in the field of wireless communication.

Hedy Lamarr was born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler, on the 9th of November, 1914 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary. She was of Jewish descent and immigrated from Austria to the United States of America in 1937 to pursue a career in the filming industries. At the time of her immigration, Lamarr was a young, bright girl who was already showing her interest in and dream of becoming an actress.

Career Life Time

Through hard work and her strong commitment to chase her vivid dream, at age 17, Lamarr became a young, talented actress and first appeared in the film “Geld auf der straße” (Money On The Road). At that time, her career in the film industries gave her a strong, significant presence in the Czechoslovakian and German film industries. In addition, in 1933, she was in the German film “Ecstasy,” which brought her to the attention of Hollywood producers. Later on, Lamarr was offered a contract and became a star of the media company MGM, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

Before becoming a shining, talented star, Lamarr experienced a lot of rough life moments. In 1933, she married a man, Friedrich Mandl, a wealthy Austrian. He was a controlling man who prevented her from pursuing her dream and acting career. Lamarr decided to escape from her husband for Paris, France. It was here in Paris that she started to blossom in her career and continued her acting in many entertainment venues until reaching Hollywood.

By the 1940s, she had acted in 18 Hollywood movies. At that time, many people did not appreciate and admire her talented acting skills; they mostly emphasized her beauty. As Lamarr got older, her acting career started to wither, and by the 1950s, her presence in the film industry became extremely limited. In spite of her career’s eventual decline, Lamarr contributed some timeless quotes to inspire women and others, such as the following:

  1. “Any girl can be glamorous. All you have to do is stand still and look stupid.”
  2. “A good painting to me has always been like a friend. It keeps me company, comforts and inspires.”
  3. “Hope and curiosity about the future seemed better than guarantees. The unknown was always so attractive to me…and still is.”

Spread Spectrum Technology

Besides her career in acting and filming, Hedy Lamarr was also a talented inventor. She was the first female inventor to discover Spread Spectrum Technology. It all started in the early 1940s when Lamarr and her partner, George Antheil, tried to develop the “Secret Communications System.” It is a patented device that manipulates radio frequencies at irregular intervals during reception or transmission. This means that this invention could form an unbreakable code that could effectively stop the transmission of information and messages by enemy spies.

Lamarr and Antheil invented this technology for a couple of reasons. First of all, she had personal reasons against the war, and she tried to work relentlessly to build this new invention for the Allies to win the war against the Nazis during World War II. Second of all, when she first married Mandl, he was actually selling munitions to Hitler. And finally, Lamarr was been severely degraded by her husband, who had insisted she did not have the abilities or capability to succeed in his field. In addition to inspiring her inventions, these were the reasons that had caused Lamarr to leave her husband and pursue her career in the first place.

Subsequently, Lamarr and Antheil came together to create and develop this invention. They were both authorized to develop their invention by the American government in 1941, but it did not attract the attention of greater audiences until ten years later. However, Spread Spectrum Technology was eventually implemented on naval ships during the Cuban Missile Crisis; and in fact, it continued to emerge in numerous military applications thereafter. In particular, this technology improved communication based on radio frequencies by changing at irregular periods that were synchronized (operated at same time and rate) between the transmitter and receiver. This technology could maintain the security of the messages that were being sent and prevented any hackers from transmitting them.

Spread Spectrum Technology becomes the main factor in the development of present and future wireless communication systems, including cellular phones, fax machines, and other wireless operations. Simultaneously, it is currently utilized in wireless “LAN,” Local Area Network, which is used in barcode scanners, palmtop computers, radio modern devices for warehousing, digital dispatch, digital cellular phone communication, computer data, city, state, or country networks for passing taxes, and email or multi-media data. This technology was also the main contributor to the invention of WiFi and the internet, which are really beneficial to today’s world population.

Before/After Death

In 1997, Lamarr and her partner received and were honored by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) Pioneer Award. Later on, she became the first female recipient of the BUBBLE Gnass Spirit of Achievement Award. Hedy Lamarr died in the year 2000. Besides all of her inventing accomplishments, she was also the face for millions of women. But Lamarr was not just a pretty face – she helped shatter stereotypes of what a woman could be and earned her place among the 20th century’s most important women inventors.

Works Cited

America’s Inventor[Tm] Online: Profile, inventionconvention.com/americasinventor/dec97issue/section2.html.

“Biography.” IMDb, IMDb.com, www.imdb.com/name/nm0001443/bio.

“Hedy Lamarr.” Hedy Lamarr – Engineering and Technology History Wiki, ethw.org/Hedy_Lamarr.

“Home.” Famous Scientists, www.famousscientists.org/hedy-lamarr/.

“Lemelson-MIT Program.” Hedy Lamarr | Lemelson-MIT Program, lemelson.mit.edu/resources/hedy-lamarr.

“Who Is Hedy Lamarr? Everything You Need to Know.” Childhood, Life Achievements & Timeline, www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/hedy-lamarr-6139.php.

A Human or A Robot?

A Human Being or A Robot?

By…”Venghour Than”

You are not alone. Be who you are. Inspire people with your great single story. Most importantly, love and believe in your own skin. I am talking to all of you; but specifically, to those of you who are effeminate.

“Be a real boy,” my father has said to me almost my entire life. “You have to be bold, educated, and able to support your family.”

What does it mean to be a “real boy?” Does “real” even mean anything? Is there such a thing as a “fake boy?” And how is he different from a “real boy?” Many societies all around the world believe that “feminine” boys go against the norms of society, especially with regards to expectations of physical strength and emotional resilience.

These criticisms scar effeminate young men; without support, love, and recognition from their families and communities, effeminate boys and men can lead complicated lives of struggle and depression. Cambodian society has not yet fully accepted this concept and still reinforces the notion that boys and men must be muscular, not caring much about appearance, and emotionally apathetic. What the Cambodian public may not realize, however, is that effeminate men may also be brave and effeminate, strong and effeminate.

I am a feminine Khmer boy. Living within my country’s society is quite challenging. There are people who are providing me support and encouragement, but there are also people who always contradict me verbally. Potential bullying could be the main consequence if someone realizes that I am feminine. “Also, [being feminine] may lead to many depression and suicides,” stated Makara Poy, a student at Liger Leadership Academy in Phnom Penh.

Every year, close to 800,000 people (1 person every 40 seconds) die by committing suicide. It is the second leading cause of death in the world. In fact, “in just about every country, men commit suicide more frequently than women, which is intriguing, since women typically have higher (at least, reported) rates of mental health disorders like depression,” according to “Why Are Men At Such High Risk” in Forbes magazine.

Why is this happening?

“It has to do with the society,” Makara said. Societal histories establish many modern-day perspectives and expectations that indoctrinate people’s minds to accept what is considered “normal” and what is “abnormal.” Most societies around the world, including Cambodian, believe in a ‘patriarchal’ ideology, wherein boys and men are expected to display themselves as externally and internally masculine.

Makara added that society also influences the family. Families learn effeminate behavior is “wrong,” and therefore boys and men struggle with to uphold these unrealistic expectations of masculinity when they are effeminate.

“I think it is a lot harder for a man or boy to be more feminine than it is for a woman or girl to be masculine,” stated Caroline Bell, Lead Learning Facilitator at Liger Leadership Academy. “I also think there is a lot of blending between masculine and feminine.”

Effeminate boys and men are limited and pressured to live their lives within the society and family. “[Boys and men are] not supposed to show other feelings, like vulnerability”, said Tony Porter, co-founder of A Call to Men, an education and advocacy group. In other words, they can’t express their feelings, emotions, and identities because in doing so they will expose their inner selves to harsh judgment from society. As expressed in a gender equity class at Liger Leadership Academy, people see these weaknesses in the form of:

  1. Emotional expression, mainly crying
  2. Being inactive
  3. Fashion (apparel, beauty, etc.)
  4. Participating in some certain type of activities (dancing, beauty care, etc.)
  5. Not being masculine

Aside from all of these negative pressures, effeminate boys and men are often supported and befriended by girls and women. Makara stated, “[To be honest,] I used to have friends in my government school who were effeminate and I liked to play with them. I didn’t actually discriminate; I felt more open with them because they understood more about girls.” According to the article “How to Raise a Feminist Son” in the New York Times, “Children who are encouraged to play with friends of the opposite sex learn better problem-solving and communication.” Furthermore, “Boys who have friendships with girls are also less likely to think of women as sexual conquests,” said Mr. Porter.

Personally, I feel more comfortable playing with female friends in my school. There is just this affectionate friendship between us. I observe that girls provide me with more kindness and love. But when I interact with some of the boys, it is sometimes difficult for me to communicate with them because they are so serious most of the time. It is neither their fault nor mine, but I am sure that, identifying as an effeminate boy, I prefer the company of girls.

But what do parents think of having an effeminate son?

“At first, I would be just fine with my kid experimenting with whatever they want, doing whatever they want, and being whoever they want,” said Ms. Bell. “[But,] it starts to get scary when your kid gets to school…you start to get worried about your kid being safe and not being bullied…but still, you have to be realistic with your kids.”

It is now 2018: women and girls are still dealing with many serious problems, but boys and men are also facing several challenges. Dealing with your surrounding environment, especially when it is influenced by strict societal norms, is really tough. You need to raise your voice and take some actions, for example, participating with the activists in your society, to prove to people that it is okay for boys and men to be effeminate.  

“I think that there have been a lot of people who have had struggles…if you are a boy and you are very feminine; you are just following the footsteps of other people who have had to fight for their rights.” Ms. Bell stated. “So, you should feel supported by that community and know that it is an unfortunate part of the process, but it is part of it and hopefully, you can be yourself.”

My last hopeful words to all those boys and men who identify as more effeminate are that you must not deny who you really are; remember that you are a human being not a programmed robot from your society.

And most of all, it is 100% okay to cry.

Sources:

  1. https://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2012/09/24/the-gender-inequality-of-suicide-why-are-men-at-such-high-risk/#6cfa83213ba8
  2. http://www.who.int/mental_health/prevention/suicide/suicideprevent/en/
  3. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/11747413/We-must-stop-indoctrinating-boys-in-feminist-ideology.html
  4. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/02/upshot/how-to-raise-a-feminist-son.html

 

Angkor Empire Civilization

Venghour Than

April 1st, 2017

Literacy D

The Golden Age of Cambodia History

Research Synthesis

          Civilizations always approach to the world with a thrilling view and curiosity of  phenomenon culture, including attractive arts, aesthetic architectures, strange religion and systematic social structure that are stained on the page under the title of “History.” Most of all, one of the conspicuous civilization in Southeast Asia is the Great Angkor Empire, known as the Golden Age. This is one of the civilizations that is shown the most brightness of its culture with a vast believing in many religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism and the extension of its territory throughout Southeast Asia. This civilization is the most memorable era in Cambodians and people’s mind.

         Angkor Wat is the greatest legacy left from the Great Angkor Empire. This gigantic architecture was built up to dedicate to the god Vishnu which is a Hindu god, but there was an abundance of changes of religion believing throughout Cambodian history timeline. According to the Smile of Angkor information, there are four changes and transformation of religions throughout many different reigns of Kings. During the 9th century until 12th century, the religion was Hinduism under the reign of King Suryavarman II. Additionally, in the reign of King Suryavarman II, Angkor Wat Temple building project was started. Afterward, the end of the 12th century, King Jayavarman VII, the new ruler also known as the greatest skilled and most memorable king of Cambodia made a switch to Mahayana Buddhism. At this point of information, there are many temples built up with the implementation of Buddhist statues instead of Hindu statues. Then, at the beginning of the 13th century, the religion experienced a brief reversal to Hinduism (Shivaism), but at the end of this century, there was a second form of Buddhism, known as the Theravada Buddhism. Not to mention, Neak Ta is a type of religions that is a part of Cambodian’s practices too, it is about the respect to the guardians of the land and water. So, there were a lot of changes of religions during the Khmer Empire and consequently affect Cambodian’s practices and festivals annually with a mixture of Hinduism, Buddhism and Neak Ta.

          During the Golden Age of Angkor Empire, many temples were built claiming with a specific reason. As stated earlier, Angkor Wat Temple is one of the greatest legacies all around the world and Cambodia that took about three decades to accomplish, but there are many other ancient temples, pagodas and sites constructed with gorgeous, inspirational arts, rock carvings and amazing building structures in many different regions. Bayon Temple is one of the most prominent temples in Cambodia with enormous faces that express the wonderful states of mind, which are Kindness, Compassion, Sympathetic, Joy and Equanimity (Darith Touch, Religions of Angkor, http://smiles-of-angkor.com). As a matter of fact, Cambodia has 4000 ancient temples and sites, but only 2000 of them had been found. The information of Khmerization stated that “There are 2603 temples and sites have been visited in 18 provinces and towns. Among the 2603 sites visited, 766 of them are temples, 996 are ancient tombs, 487 are ancient pagodas, 89 are ancient bridges and 265 are ancient walls and ancient sites.” This clearly shows how appreciable Angkor Empire is that it contains with many ancient sites and buildings with aesthetic arts and sculptures. Therefore, massive, blow minding architectures are taking a long time to construct, but they always come with the beautiful and enjoyable view.

        As always there are many collapsing moments of civilization in the world history such as Akkadian Empire, Hittite Empire, Mycenaean Greece and Angkor Empire. In the 14th century, Angkor Empire suffered a tragic moment and steady decline. Regretfully, this civilization declined in the 15th century. There are many curious and acquiescent aspects claiming about this big settlement of this Angkor Empire. In addition, according to the article of Wikipedia claimed confidently that “Historians have proposed different causes for the decline: the religious conversion from Vishnuite-Shivaite Hinduism to Theravada Buddhism that affected social and political systems, incessant internal power struggles among Khmer princes, vassal revolt, foreign invasion, plague, and ecological breakdown.” In detail, there were many opinions and events which are might cause this devastated, collapsing civilization that there are many neighboring kingdoms were taking control of Cambodia, for example, the Thai Kingdom and Dai Viet, known as Vietnam. Also the calamity of religious divisions between nations which are Hinduism and Buddhism. Moreover, the lack of control and power of the Angkorian kings which made a union of nations and territory were breaking apart to other nations.

           To conclude, as many believe that Angkor Empire is the best civilization that emerges to Earth planet. Also, throughout the information and evidence stated in this research clearly shows how great Angkor Empire is of displaying many best arts on the temples, specifically Angkor Wat temple and amazing construction structures of temples and different king reigns in the history which are really entertaining and fascinating. Sadly, this powerful empire declined with unrecognizable effects that left many great legacies to next generation.

Work Cited

Stark, M.T. (2006). From Funan to Angkor: Collapse and regeneration in ancient Cambodia. After collapse: The regeneration of complex societies. Pp.144-167.

“Khmer Empire.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 01 Apr. 2017. Web. 02 Apr. 2017.

“Religions of Angkor.” Religions of Angkor|Smiles of Angkor. Web. 02 Apr. 2017.

Khmerization. “Cambodia Has 4,000 Ancient Temples and 2,000 Have Been Found and Located.” Khmerization. 01 Jan. 1970. Web. 02 Apr. 2017.

 

Khmer – Pjum Ben Ceremony

          Throughout Cambodian calendar, there is many national and international ceremonies or celebrations filled in. Cambodia is a country that full of Cambodians under the practice of Buddhism. Relating to that, I just learned one of the ceremonies in Buddhism, Pjum Ben. It is a topic that almost Cambodian students learn annually. Generally, Pjum Ben is a ceremony for all family members to reunite, also to go to pagodas to pray for there ancestors. Personally, I’m happy to love, enjoy, and passionate to study expressly about this ceremony.

           In Khmer class, we’ve been doing a lot of teamwork with many topics. For this topic, we joined in team and created a short presentation. Additionally, we also combined our research into a research paper in a larger scale where you can find all of the information details about this ceremony. All the students were researching through many Khmer books, websites, articles, and interviews. Moreover, we were getting the significant help from our Khmer facilitator, Sokha (So-kha).

         

 

 

 

          Sokha had been working and facilitating us for quite a long time. He’d been bringing up many Cambodian learning concepts which are really thoughtful of him, also, it’s beneficial to all of us. We got to know tons of information about our history throughout many periods, folk tales, environment of Cambodia, etc. All the students are here today are very wise with Cambodian language and information, just by him. Also, it’s also our duty to create our own independent zone in order to improve our self independently.

Physics – First Lessons

          The half of our last year, the physics essential was cancelled out the curriculum. We used to learn with our physic facilitator, Alli, but there’s a new facilitator, and her name is Samantha. She is a great facilitator most of the time. For the first class I took with her, she started with a basic learning concept which was “kinematics.” In kinematic lesson, we set up the different and basic kinematic equations with motion. Additionally, we also learned many others physic concepts such as: graph of motion, vectors, vector components, 2-D motions, graph problems, and static equilibrium.

         Currently, we’re studying about force of friction and mainly focusing on static and kinetic. I can say that it’s a really confusing lesson in physics because there are many steps in a problem, complex comprehensions, and extra information. If you look at the picture below, this is how confusing it is to me, but simultaneously fun to learn.