history. tlacaelel thus created a new history for the aztecs. he also created the institution of ritual war ( flowery war ) as a way to maintain trained warriors, and supply the necessary people for sacrifices to keep the sun moving. a flower war ( or more correctly, flowery war ) from the nahuatl xochiyaoyotl ; was among the aztec, a planned war in which the objective was not to kill enemies or conquer territory, but rather to capture as many prisoners as possible, who would then be sacrificed in religious ceremonies and maybe eaten. on account of this institution, aztec warriors were trained to prefer capturing their enemies in battle, rather than killing. for the aztec warriors, providing blood for the gods was a sacred duty and it was a noble occupation. in the aztec world, flowers and feathers were the most precious things, so the word " flower " means " precious " and it was used as an descriptor for the activity of sacred war. the blood flowing from a wound was described as a flower of war. these sacred wars were planned for both sides involved, though not necessarily willingly, and the participants had to be nahuas. sometimes the rulers of the cities at war were invited to the sacrifice of their own people. after the aztecs conquered most of the nahuatl speaking cities, the cities states of tlaxcala and huexotzingo were spared, but with the obligation of participating in the flowery wars. in all the mesoamerican cultures, blood had a very important place. blood was provided not only by human sacrifice, but also by self - sacrifice. tlacaelel made changes so that it became a constant necessity to offer blood to restore the blood the sun lost in his daily battle against the darkness. every 52 years there was the possibility the world would end. they did not believe it was necessarily a daily sacrifice, but they did believe human sacrifice would postpone indefinitely the defeat of the sun. in a way the aztecs considered it their duty to maintain the world. and so stood the aztec empire when montezuma ii at the age of 36 ( in 1502 ), succeeded his uncle ahuitzotl, as the ninth aztec emperor of mexico. by now the aztec empire had reached its greatest extent, stretching to what is now honduras and nicaragua. but below the surface, the aztec empire was fragile. the aztecs bloodlust and ever - increasing demands for tribute had to eventually have consequences. and so it was


as his interpetor with the aztec, her story is at the end of this section ). the totonacs joined forces with cortes, and moving inland, there they encountered the second power of the region, the tlaxcalans, who briefly engaged them in battle, but suffering heavy losses, soon decided to ally with them against their traditional enemy, the aztec. both the totonacs and the tlaxcalans probably after consideration, saw the spanish as a god - sent. the aztec “ flowery wars ” had claimed thousands of their people, and their hatred of the aztec ran deep, as was evidenced by their reported savagery in their subsequent battles against the aztec. as the army moved on toward tenochtitlan, many of the local subordinate states also came to terms. cortes moved his force a short distance northward and established what became the port of vera cruz, as he made plans to advance against the aztecs. to prevent his own force of less than six hundred men from deserting, because many feared venturing inland, cortes burned his ships, leaving no means of escape. in tenochtitlan montezuma hears of the pale invaders ( in all non - white cultures, whiteness or paleness is associated with loss of blood, sickness, death : so it is consistent that montezuma would view these strange new creatures with pale skin, as dead gods returned to life ). he considers cortes to be quetzacoatl, the great god who left mexico many years before, on a raft of snakes, vowing to return. and who, according to legend, had taught them about agriculture and government, and whose return they were to welcome with great ceremony. also knowing of this aztec myth ( probably from malinche ) cortes exploits the aztec myth of a pale skinned, bearded god - king named quetzalcoatl, as he approaches tenochtitlan. montezuma made a feeble attempt to stop cortes, but his defenses lacked unity and tenacity, both because of the quetzalcoatl legend, which dictated that his people should welcome the return of the " white god, " and the fear generated by the sight of spanish horses and firearms, which the aztecs had never seen before. there are contradictory reports of what happened at cholula. moctezuma had apparently tried to stop the advance of cortes and his troops, and it seems that he ordered the leaders of cholula to try to stop him. cholula had a very


reports of what happened at cholula. moctezuma had apparently tried to stop the advance of cortes and his troops, and it seems that he ordered the leaders of cholula to try to stop him. cholula had a very small army, since as a sacred city, they put their confidence in their prestige and their gods. la malinche told cortes, after talking to the wife of one of the lords of cholula, that the locals planned to murder the spaniards in their sleep and although he did not know if the rumor was true or not, cortes ordered a pre - emptive strike. after cortes arrived in cholula he seized their leaders tlaquiach and tlalchiac and then ordered the city set fire. the troops started in the palace of xacayatzin, and then on to chialinco and yetzcoloc. in his letters, cortes claimed that in three hours time his troops ( helped by the tlaxcalans ) killed 3, 000 people and burned the city. another witness, vazquez de tapia, claimed the death toll was as high as 30, 000. the massacre had a chilling effect on the other mesoamerican cultures and on the mexica themselves. the tale of the massacre inclined the other cultures in the aztec empire to submit to cortes ' demands rather than risk the same fate. cortes then sent emissaries to moctezuma with the message that the people of cholula had treated him with disrespect and had therefore been punished. cortes ' message continued that the aztecs need not fear his wrath if moctezuma treated him with respect and gifts of gold. according to the aztec chronicles recorded by sahagun, the aztec ruler moctezuma ii welcomed him with great pomp. sahagun reports that moctezuma welcomed cortes to tenochtitlan on the great causeway into the " venice of the west " according to sahagun ' s manuscript, moctezuma personally dressed cortes with flowers from his own gardens, the highest honour he could give, although probably cortes did not understand the significance of the gesture. moctezuma had the palace of his father axayacatl prepared to house the spanish and their 3000 native allies. cortes asked moctezuma to provide more gifts of gold to demonstrate his fealty as a vassal of charles v. cortes also demanded that the two large idols be removed from the main temple pyramid in the city, the human blood


native allies. cortes asked moctezuma to provide more gifts of gold to demonstrate his fealty as a vassal of charles v. cortes also demanded that the two large idols be removed from the main temple pyramid in the city, the human blood scrubbed off, and shrines to the virgin mary and st. christopher be set up in their place. all his demands were met. cortes then seized moctezuma in his own palace and made him his prisoner as insurance against aztec revolt, and demanded an enormous ransom of gold, which was duly delivered. pizarro sent an embassy to the inca, led by hernando de soto with 15 horsemen and an interpreter ; shortly thereafter he sent 20 more horsemen led by his brother hernando pizarro as reinforcements in case of an inca attack. during the interview, the spaniards invited atahualpa to visit cajamarca to meet francisco pizarro ; the inca promised to go the following day. in the town, pizarro prepared an ambush to trap the inca : the spanish cavalry and infantry occupied three long buildings around the plaza, while some musketeers and four pieces of artillery were located in a stone structure in the middle of the square. the plan was to persuade atahualpa to submit to the authority of the spaniards and, if this failed, there were two options : a surprise attack if success seemed possible or to keep a friendly stand if the inca forces appeared too powerful. the following day, atahualpa left his camp at midday preceded by a large number of men in ceremonial attire ; as the procession advanced slowly, pizarro sent his brother hernando to invite the inca to enter cajamarca before nightfall. atahualpa entered the town late in the afternoon in a litter carried by eighty lords ; with him were four other lords in litters and hammocks and 5 - 6, 000 men carrying small battle axes, slings and pouches of stones underneath their clothes. the inca found no spaniards in the plaza, as they were all inside the buildings ; the only one to come out was the dominican friar vicente de valverde with an interpreter. although there are different accounts as to what valverde said, most agree that he invited the inca to come inside to talk and dine with pizarro. atahualpa instead demanded the return of every single thing the spaniards had taken since they landed. according to eyewitness accounts, valverde then spoke about the catholic religion but did not deliver the requerim


dine with pizarro. atahualpa instead demanded the return of every single thing the spaniards had taken since they landed. according to eyewitness accounts, valverde then spoke about the catholic religion but did not deliver the requerimiento, a speech requiring the listener to submit to the authority of the spanish crown and accept the christian faith. at atahualpa ' s request, valverde gave him his breviary but after a brief examination, the inca threw it to the ground ; valverde hurried back toward pizzarro, calling on the spaniards to attack. at that moment, pizarro gave the signal ; the spanish infantry and cavalry came out of their hiding places and charged the unsuspecting inca retinue, killing a great number while the rest fled in panic. pizarro led the charge on atahualpa but managed to capture him only after killing all those carrying him and turning over his litter. not a single spanish soldier was killed on november 17 the spaniards sacked the inca army camp in which they found great quantities of gold, silver and emeralds. noticing their lust for precious metals, atahualpa offered to fill a large room about 22 feet ( 6. 7 m ) long and 17 feet ( 5. 2 m ) wide up to a height of 8 feet ( 2. 4 m ) once with gold and twice with silver within two months. it is commonly believed that the inca offered this ransom to regain his freedom ; however, it seems likelier that he did so to avoid being killed, as none of the early chroniclers mention any commitment by the spaniards to free atahualpa once the metals were delivered. one of the main events in the conquest of the incan empire was the death of atahualpa, the last sapa inca on 26 july 1533 ( a painting by luis montero ) outnumbered and fearing an imminent attack from the inca general ruminahui, after several months the spanish saw atahualpa as too much of a liability and decided to execute him. pizarro staged a mock trial and found atahualpa guilty of revolting against the spanish, practicing idolatry and murdering huascar, his brother. atahualpa was sentenced to execution by burning. he was horrified, since the inca believed that the soul would not be able to go on to the afterlife if the body were burned. friar vicente de valverde, who had earlier offered his breviary to atahualpa, intervened, telling ata


was horrified, since the inca believed that the soul would not be able to go on to the afterlife if the body were burned. friar vicente de valverde, who had earlier offered his breviary to atahualpa, intervened, telling atahualpa that if he agreed to convert to catholicism, he would convince pizarro to commute the sentence. atahualpa agreed to be baptized into the catholic faith. he was given the name juan santos atahualpa. in accordance with his request, he was strangled with a garrote instead of being burned on july 26, 1533. following his execution, his clothes and some of his skin were burned, and his remains were given a christian burial. obviously, there is no point in going on : clearly, as is typical with whites and their " made - up " histories, the above is not history, it is a canned recording of a few whites, defeating thousands of non - whites, brought out as the historical situation requires. in both cases, other sources indicate that the native allies of the spanish numbered in the many tens - of - thousands, and it was they who conquered the aztec and the inca. in south america, some of these tribes were foolish enough to actually sue the spanish in spanish courts, for the rights and benefits that they were promised, but never received. see below : litigation over the rights of “ natural lords ” in early colonial courts in the andes by john v. murra. by john v. murra institute of andean research in the earliest days of the european invasion, when inka resistance, potentially so threatening, turned out to be virtually absent ( lockhart 1972 ), the pizarros acquired a steadfast ally, the wanka / canaris lords. it was in their territory, xauxa, that the europeans established their first capital. along with thousands of soldiers and bearers, the canaris provided the newcomers with strategic information, plus the food and weapons stored in hundreds of warehouses built by the inka and filled locally ( polo de ondegardo 1940 ). in one region where the inka had managed to cobble together some resistance, as at huanuco, the europeans had to call on canaris troops to help them put down “ the rebellion. ” all this assistance provided the europeans was recorded with care on a khipu kept by the canaris lords. this record was first described by cieza de leon, some fifteen years after the invasion. such bookkeeping later became the


the rebellion. ” all this assistance provided the europeans was recorded with care on a khipu kept by the canaris lords. this record was first described by cieza de leon, some fifteen years after the invasion. such bookkeeping later became the subject of litigation initiated at the viceregal court, at lima, by one of the lords who in 1532 had opened the country to the troops of charles v ( murra 1975 ). this man, don francisco cusichac, felt betrayed by the ill treatment of his people and the neglect of his own privileges. the notion that his canaris, and he along with them, were to be granted in encomienda to some european newcomer was shocking ; cusichac reasoned that if there were to be any encomenderos about, he cusichac, was the most appropriate candidate ( espinoza soriano 1972 ). by 1560 the canaris had made many adjustments to european rule. the most notable was the intensive training of their sons in the new language and beliefs. several of these bilingual young men, accompanied by their own, european - style notaries, traveled to spain to petition at court for reward of past services from the emperor or his son ( espinoza soriano 1972 ). some of these “ natural lords ” were received by the monarch ; some were granted coats of arms spanish style. one of the petitioners requested that the crown grant him the right to sell and buy land, a privilege unknown in the andes. by 1570, when the new viceroy, francisco de toledo, decided to conduct an inspection of the crown ’ s highland provinces, don francisco cusichac and his whole generation was dead. their sons were now in charge, some of them very young men who some fifteen years earlier had met charles v or his son, philip, in europe. the new viceroy called on all native authorities to display their european credentials and many did. toledo ordered that the assembled parchments be burned. this was the beginning of a campaign against those lineages in the andean elite that had collaborated with the invaders, an effort to destroy the european evidence of what the spanish crown had once bestowed. the only other group to be treated so harshly by toledo were the descendants of another wing of the andean elite who also sided from the earliest days with the invaders. these were the “ sons ” and heirs of pawllu thupa, the one inka “ prince ” to make peace, early and openly, with the europeans. paw


andean elite who also sided from the earliest days with the invaders. these were the “ sons ” and heirs of pawllu thupa, the one inka “ prince ” to make peace, early and openly, with the europeans. pawllu had helped them through extreme difficulties, particularly almagro ’ s invasion of chile. the efficiency of that thrust south was attributed by many to pawllu thupa ’ s ability to mobilize the lords of charcas, the region known today as bolivia. for his services, pawllu had been allowed to keep “ his indians, ” coca - leaf terraces, food - producing fields, and much other inka wealth. a test came in 1550 at pawllu ’ s death : various europeans attempted to deprive the “ indian ’ s ” heirs of these lands and people, but the emperor ’ s representative, bishop lagasca, resisted such claims. for the next two decades, pawllu ’ s many sons were a distinguished and rich lineage in cuzco. they spoke spanish, invested in the long - distance coca - leaf trade to the mines at potosi, and employed europeans in their various enterprises. the main heir, don carlos, was married to a european woman. thirty - five years after the invasion, pawllu thupa ’ s heirs were the one group of inkas at cuzco who had managed to hang on to both status and wealth ( glave 1991 ). when toledo reached cuzco on his way to the mines at potosi, he selected pawllu ’ s lineage for special attention. as at xauxa, the lords were ordered to these grants are transcribed from the originals in the archivo general de indias, seville : section lima, legajo 567, lib. 8, fols. 107v – 108r ; see also other grants cited by espinoza soriano ( 1972 ). letters from francisco de toledo to philip ii, found in the biblioteca nacional, madrid. see pawllu thupa ’ s testament published in revista del archivo historico del cuzco ( 1950 : 275, 286 ). litigation over the rights of “ natural lords ” display the credentials testifying to their services to the spanish crown. the papers were publicly burned. don carlos and his kin were accused of maintaining illicit contacts with those inka who had taken refuge at vilcabamba, in the eastern lowlands ( kubler 1946 ).


confess his perjury and to apologize for the harm done to don carlos. ximenez is alleged to have recorded this wish in writing. this confession has not been located in the audiencia of charcas papers ; dr. barros de san millan, a judge at that royal court, is said to have expressed a lively, if suspect, interest in locating this document, without success. barros deserves the attention of anthropologists interested in andean history. trained at salamanca, as were our two other lawyers, his american career spans close to thirty years, serving at the royal courts of guatemala, panama, charcas, and quito. our first notice of him in andean scholarship reached us a few decades ago, when waldemar espinoza, a peruvian colleague, published an aviso, author unknown. it was a petition, signed by a dozen or so ethnic lords of charcas ( today bolivia ) ( espinoza soriano 1969 ) ; addressed to the king, it seemed to be dated from a moment late in toledo ’ s reign. in it the andean lords trace their lineages four or five generations back, when the inka were alleged to have granted their ancestors lavish textiles and wives from court : “ we were the dukes and the marquesses of this realm. ” they offered to assume additional duties at the potosi mines but did not care to be assigned only labor - recruiting duties. the argument that they were “ natural lords ” was now restated away from cuzco and under new colonial circumstances. the author of the memorandum remained unidentified for decades. it was clear that he was familiar with both administrative procedures at the mines and with the ethnic map of the southern andes ; he plainly enjoyed the trust of the aymara lords. the memorandum has recently been the object of detailed study by a franco - british team preparing a documentary collection to honor don gunnar mendoza, director of the national archive of bolivia. ( the woman depicted is obviously not an aztec woman : but in that it depicts a woman of mongol extraction, it more likely reflects " la malinche ' s " true identity ). " la malinche. " slave, interpreter, secretary, mistress, and mother of the first " mexican. " her very name still stirs up controversy. many mexicans continue to revile the woman called dona marina by the spaniards and la malinche by the aztecs, labeling her a traitor and harlot for her role as the alter ego of hernando cortes as he conquered mexico. her


many mexicans continue to revile the woman called dona marina by the spaniards and la malinche by the aztecs, labeling her a traitor and harlot for her role as the alter ego of hernando cortes as he conquered mexico. her ability to communicate also enabled the spaniards to introduce christianity. herself a convert, baptized marina, she was an eloquent advocate for her new faith. all historians agree that she was the daughter of a noble aztec family. upon the death of her father, a chief, her mother remarried and gave birth to a son. deciding that the son rather than marina should inherit, the mother turned her young daughter over to some passing traders and thereafter proclaimed her dead. eventually, the girl wound up as a slave of the cacique ( the military chief ) of tabasco. by the time cortes arrived, she had learned the mayan dialects used in the yucatan while still understanding nahuatl, the language of the aztecs and most non - mayan indians. la malinche was offered to cortes as a slave by the cacique of tabasco, along with 19 other young women. up till then, cortes had relied on a spanish priest, jeronimo de aguilar, as his interpreter. aguilar had been shipwrecked off cozumel, while waiting for rescue he had learned the mayan language. but when the expedition left the mayan - speaking area, cortes discovered that he could not communicate with the indians. that night he was advised that one of the women given to him in tabasco spoke " mexican. " dona marina now enters mexican history. it was she who served as the interpreter at the first meetings between cortes and the representatives of moctezuma. at that time marina spoke no spanish. she translated what the aztecs said into the mayan dialect understood by de aguilar and he relayed it to cortes in spanish. the process was then reversed, spanish to mayan and mayan to nahuatl. bernal diaz, author of " the conquest of new spain " authenticated her pedigree. an eyewitness to the events, he did not describe her physically, but related that after the conquest he attended a reunion of dona marina, her mother and the half - brother who had usurped her rightful place. diaz marveled at her kindness in forgiving them for the injustice she had suffered. the author referred to her only as marina or dona marina. the name " la malinche " came about because marina was


who had usurped her rightful place. diaz marveled at her kindness in forgiving them for the injustice she had suffered. the author referred to her only as marina or dona marina. the name " la malinche " came about because marina was always with cortes, he was called " malinche " - - which is translated to mean " marina ' s captain. " prescott, in the " conquest of mexico, " ( perhaps the best known book on the subject ) confirms that cortes was always addressed as " malinche " which he translated as captain and defined " la malinche " as " the captain ' s woman. " both definitions confirm that the indians saw cortes and his spokesperson as a single unit. they recognized that what they heard were the words of " malinche, " not " la malinche. " it is very possible that without her, cortes would have failed. he himself, in a letter preserved in the spanish archives, said " after god we owe this conquest of new spain to dona marina. " after the conquest, cortes, with a wife in spain, arranged to have marina married to a castilian knight, don juan xamarillo. soon thereafter she disappeared from history. she had borne cortes a son, don mahin cortes. if modern - day mexicans are a blend of spanish and indian blood, dona marina ' s son “ mahin ” was the first " mexican ". he rose to high government position and was a " comendador " of the order of st. jago. in 1548, after being accused of conspiring against the viceroy, he was tortured and executed. in mexico city - there is no museum at 57 higuera st., not even a plaque. when foreign tourists ring the doorbell of the stone house, they are shooed away by the owners. mexicans just walk right by, shunning the place because of its historical associations and popular fears of the ghosts that supposedly stalk any visitors who dare to go inside. but the house, which is one of the most graceful in the colonial neighborhood of coyoacan, receives a modest mention in tourist guidebooks as " la malinche ' s house, " named after hernan cortes ' beautiful and reputedly treacherous indian translator and mistress. not only did la malinche live in the house almost 500 years ago. this was also the place where cortes wrote the chronicles of his brutal conquests for king charles v, and where historians believe he strangled his wife for reasons that are still the stuff of


only did la malinche live in the house almost 500 years ago. this was also the place where cortes wrote the chronicles of his brutal conquests for king charles v, and where historians believe he strangled his wife for reasons that are still the stuff of popular rumor and historical speculation. mexico city has museums that commemorate its modern art, its indian heritage, stamps, and even the house where leon trotsky lived and was assassinated. but the only commemorative to the woman who helped cortes forge alliances with various indian nations against the aztecs is an insult. to be called a malinchista is to be called a lover of foreigners, a traitor. for mexico to make this house a museum, would be like the people of hiroshima creating a monument for the man who dropped the atomic bomb, " said rina lazo, a prominent mexican muralist who lives at 57 higuera street with her family. " we ' re not malinchistas, but we want to conserve mexican history. " la malinche, who took part in the spanish conquest and gave birth to one of cortes ' children, has become a symbol of a nation that is still not entirely comfortable with either its european or its indian roots. some mexican feminists say she is even at the root of much of the disdain mexican men display toward mexican women, expressed in the country ' s high rates of infidelity and domestic violence. la malinche is present in the murals of diego rivera and jose clemente orozco. she has been described and analyzed in the writings of most of mexico ' s great authors, from the essays of carlos fuentes to the plays of salvador novo and rodolfo usigli. but even though mexican and mexican - american intellectuals have begun to rethink her meaning, la malinche is for the most part portrayed as the perpetrator of mexico ' s original sin and as a cultural metaphor for all that is wrong with mexico. for octavio paz, la malinche was " the cruel incarnation of the feminine condition. " in his book " the labyrinth of solitude, " paz wrote, " the strange permanence of cortes and la malinche in the mexican ' s imagination and sensibilities reveals that they are something more than historical figures : they are symbols of a secret conflict that we have still not resolved. " but while cortes and la malinche are still on the minds of mexicans, they are kept in the closet. when coyoacan officials constructed a fountain and statue depicting cortes, la malinche and their


that we have still not resolved. " but while cortes and la malinche are still on the minds of mexicans, they are kept in the closet. when coyoacan officials constructed a fountain and statue depicting cortes, la malinche and their son about 15 years ago, street demonstrations became so fierce that the monument was destroyed. visitors who are lucky enough to gain entrance to 57 higuera street are treated to an array of riches. ms. lazo and her husband, arturo garcia bustos, who is also a prominent painter, use the ample two - story house as their studio. amid their own work and that of their teachers, diego rivera and frida kahlo, are aztec jade jewelry and other artifacts they found in the garden. the house sustained a rich history between the time la malinche lived there and when ms. lazo and garcia bustos moved in 35 years ago. it has been restored and rebuilt several times, but the foundation and several walls remain from the original house, and stone rings to tie idle horses still grace the facade. in colonial times, indians wove blankets and clothing in the house for their spanish masters. it was left in ruins in the 17th century. but a group of catholic monks clandestinely converted the house into a convent in the middle of the 19th century, resisting the anti - clerical policies of president benito juarez. some peasants betrayed the monks, and the house was confiscated and turned into a prison. jose vasconcelos, the mexican philosopher and unsuccessful presidential candidate, bought the house in the ' 30s and rented it to various people, including lupe rivera marin, diego rivera ' s daughter. she used the house as headquarters when she successfully ran for congress. " it will take another century before this house could become a museum, " ms. lazo said. " the gringos and spaniards will keep knocking on the door, but the mexicans will only knock when they no longer hold grudges and feel resentments, and that will take time. " success in war had given the aztecs more than a fair share of national pride, and the arrogance of mexican officials and tax - gatherers was notorious. the structure and values of society were designed to foster competition and pride in achievement, and the aztecs were clearly not lacking in ambition and self esteem, nor apparently in passion, for the severe penalties for adultery and drunkenness - both of which are crimes of excess suggest that these were two evils which could only be kept down by repression. a well - bred aztec


lacking in ambition and self esteem, nor apparently in passion, for the severe penalties for adultery and drunkenness - both of which are crimes of excess suggest that these were two evils which could only be kept down by repression. a well - bred aztec was, however, expected to exercise selfcontrol and to behave with dignity. sahagun has left a word - portrait of the perfect nobleman, a person who is serious and modest, who ' wishes no praise ', who is ' solicitous of others ', chaste and devout, eloquent but discreet in his conversation, diligent, wise, polite, ' a follower in the ways of his parents ', and an example to other people. this, of course, is an idealized picture, and the high standard of behavior may have been more often sought after than achieved. the same emphasis on moderation, responsibility, and selfrestraint is found in the precepts of the elders, a class of literature written in a high - flown and wordy style to instruct young people in behavior and manners. here is one aztec father talking to his son : revere and greet your elders ; console the poor and the afflicted with good works and words.... follow not the madmen who honor neither father nor mother ; for they are like animals, for they neither take nor hear advice.... do not mock the old, the sick, the maimed, or one who has sinned. do not insult or abhor them, but abase yourself before god and fear lest the same befall you.... do not set a bad example, or speak indiscreetly, or interrupt the speech of another. if someone does not speak well or coherently, see that you do not the same ; if it is not your business to speak, be silent. if you are asked something, reply soberly and without affectation or flattery or prejudice to others, and your speech will be well regarded.... wherever you go, walk with a peaceful air, and do not make wry faces or improper gestures. ( zorita ) there is much more in the same vein, and near the end inevitably comes the sentence which every young man has heard at some time or other : ' son, if you do not heed your father ' s advice, you will come to a bad end, and the fault will be yours. ' the mexicans were addicted to making speeches and giving advice


has heard at some time or other : ' son, if you do not heed your father ' s advice, you will come to a bad end, and the fault will be yours. ' the mexicans were addicted to making speeches and giving advice, often at great length, and many of their songs and poems have a philosophical theme which gives further insight into the 8 pectoral ornament in the shape of a double - headed serpent. turquoise mosaic on a wooden base aztec temperament. one obsession is with the transitory nature of life and the difficulty of finding anything permanent on earth : it is not true, it is not true that we come on this earth to live. we come only to sleep, only to dream. our body is a flower. as grass becomes green in the springtime, so our hearts will open and give forth buds and then they wither. even the search for philosophical truth ends only in failure and doubt. how many can truthfully say that truth is or is not there? some people found a solution in epicureanism, the enjoyment of life while it lasts, but even their pleasure was tinged with melancholy : only in passing are we here on earth. in peace and pleasure let us spend our lives ; come let us enjoy ourselves... would that one lived forever ; would that one were not to die! the same fatalistic acceptance can be seen in man ' s relationship with the gods, when the love of pageantry and ceremony which affected every part of aztec life reached its climax in the ritual of worship. generalizations about national character are always dangerous and likely to be misleading, but the typical aztec ( who must have been as rare as the typical englishman ) seems to have been a good citizen, rather conservative and tied to tradition, with his competitive and aggressive instincts held in check by good manners and self - control, ceremonious in his dealings with other people, sensitive to beauty and to the symbolism which underlies philosophy and religion, inclined to be pompous and perhaps a bit humorless, honest and hard - working, proud of his position in society, superstitious and fatalistic in his attitude towards life. aztec personal cleanliness andres de tapia comments ( with some astonishment ) that montezuma washed his body twice a day, but this love of personal cleanliness was general among the aztecs, and everybody bathed frequently in the rivers and lakes. true soap was unknown. but among the substitutes available were the fruit of the soap - tree and the roots of certain plants


day, but this love of personal cleanliness was general among the aztecs, and everybody bathed frequently in the rivers and lakes. true soap was unknown. but among the substitutes available were the fruit of the soap - tree and the roots of certain plants which could produce a lather. besides these cold - water baths, a kind of sauna or steam bath was in use everywhere in the valley of mexico. almost every dwelling had its bath - house, a little hemispherical building shaped rather like an igloo with a low doorway. against it was constructed a fire - place, and the blaze warmed the adjacent wall of the bath - house until it glowed red - hot. at this stage, the bather crept into the house and threw water onto the hot wall until the interior was filled with steam. to increase the flow of perspiration and to gain full benefit from the treatment, the bather switched himself with twigs or bundles of grass. ' soap ' was used for washing, and the process might be completed with a massage, followed by a period of relaxation, lying stretched out on a mat. both men and women used the steam baths, not only for ritual purifications and the treatment of certain diseases but as a normal part of everyday hygiene. the aztec ' s cosmetics the aztec skin was naturally brown or bronze - colored, but the fashionable shade for a woman ' s complexion was yellow. to achieve this effect the cheeks were either rubbed with a yellow earth or anointed with a cream containing axin, a waxy yellowish substance obtained by cooking and crushing the bodies of fat - producing insects. travelers also used axin ointment as a salve to prevent the lips from cracking in frosty weather, and to protect the skin from the effect of cold. sahagun has left a description of the kind of make - up worn by fashion - conscious women, in particular by the courtesans who were the companions of the young warriors : their faces were painted with dry, colored powder ; faces were colored with yellow ochre, or with bitumen. feet were anointed with an unguent of burned copal incense and dye.... some cut their hair short, so that their hair reached their noses. it was cut and dyed with black mud so did they place importance upon their heads ; it was dyed with indigo, so that their hair shone. the teeth were stained with cochineal ( a red dye ) ; the hands and neck were painted with designs. perfumes, rose water


black mud so did they place importance upon their heads ; it was dyed with indigo, so that their hair shone. the teeth were stained with cochineal ( a red dye ) ; the hands and neck were painted with designs. perfumes, rose water and incense were popular, and a kind of chewing gum ( made of chicle – tree gum - mixed with axin and bitumen ) was used to sweeten the breath. as always, the appearance and manners of the young people did not meet with the approval of the older generation, and this father ' s admonition to his daughter has a familiar ring : ' never make up your face nor paint it ; never put red on your mouth to look beautiful. makeup and paint are things that light women use shamelessly. if you want your husband to love you, dress well, wash yourself and wash your clothes. ' men painted their faces and bodies on ceremonial occasions, but it is not certain whether the aztecs followed the example of their otomi neighbors who covered their arms and chests with tattooed designs. sahagun reports, however, that the fifth month of the year was the time when incisions were made on the chests of children as a mark of citizenship or tribal identification. mirrors were made from pieces of burnished iron pyrites or from obsidian, a kind of black volcanic glass, which was cut and polished into discs up to a foot in diameter. these were provided with wooden frames or with loops of cord so that they could be hung on the wall. all of the aztec codices and stele depicting human sacrifice that we see today - were made after the aztec had been conquered!!! even at the cenotes of sacrifice at chichen itza, where there are so many stories of people being thrown in as sacrifices to the gods. modern day dredging has recovered many items of gold and jade as well as pottery – “ but ” no human remains. the explanation for this is that the spanish destroyed all of the original aztec books and stele. which seems pretty strange, when you consider that the spanish were very keen to study the aztec. why then too, allow such a great abundance of it to be re - created after the fact. if it wasn ’ t right for them to exist before, why was it right afterward? the likely answer is the “ vile hypocrisy ” of the europeans. remembering that the spanish monarchy considered itself to be model and devote christians. it wouldn ’ t “ do ” for them to murder and enslave


overall goal & objectives of the wgwap the overall goal of the wgwap is the conservation and recovery of the western gray whale population. its specific objectives are : - to provide independent scientific and technical advice to decision makers in industry, government and civil society with respect to the potential effects of human activities, particularly oil and gas development activities, on the western gray whale population - co - ordinate research to : achieve synergies between various field programmes ; minimise disturbance to western gray whales ( e. g. by avoiding overlap and redundancy of field research programmes ) ; identify and mitigate potential risks associated with scientific research activities ; and maximise the contributions of research to understanding the status and conservation needs of the western gray whale population. the wgwap has been established to provide an independent review process and advice regarding the management of risks to the western gray whales. its main roles and responsibilities are : - to focus on the conservation of western gray whales and related biodiversity - to assess the status of the western gray whale population - to provide advice and recommendations regarding research for the conservation of the whales - to independently review sakhalin energy ’ s plans and assessments, and the effectiveness of the mitigation measures implemented - to provide independent scientific and technical advice to decision makers, governments and civil society concerning whales and related biodiversity conservation - to coordinate research efforts on western gray whales and their habitat - to increase global knowledge and understanding of western gray whale population and their habitat the iucn convened meetings between the wgwap, sakhalin energy and other stakeholders provide an important mechanism of cooperation and collaboration between various stakeholders. moreover, it provides a useful model of how business, scientists and the conservation community can work collectively to address environmental threats. who are the wgwap? the panel includes 11 prominent international scientists from a broad range of scientific disciplines. panel members come from canada, russia, the united kingdom, germany and the united states ( see panel member bios ) the panel is under the chairmanship of dr randall r. reeves, chairman of the iucn species survival commission ’ s specialist group on cetaceans.


definitions of ring : - noun : jewelry consisting of a circlet of precious metal ( often set with jewels ) worn on the finger example : " she had rings on every finger " - noun : a square platform marked off by ropes in which contestants box or wrestle - noun : a characteristic sound example : " it has the ring of sincerity " - noun : the sound of a bell ringing example : " the distinctive ring of the church bell " - noun : a toroidal shape example : " a ring of ships in the harbor " - noun : a strip of material attached to the leg of a bird to identify it ( as in studies of bird migration ) - noun : a rigid circular band of metal or wood or other material used for holding or fastening or hanging or pulling - noun : ( chemistry ) a chain of atoms in a molecule that forms a closed loop - noun : an association of criminals - verb : sound loudly and sonorously - verb : make ( bells ) ring, often for the purposes of musical edification example : " ring the bells " - verb : attach a ring to the foot of, in order to identify example : " ring birds " - verb : ring or echo with sound - verb : get or try to get into communication ( with someone ) by telephone - verb : be around - name : a surname ( common : 1 in 16666 families ; popularity rank in the u. s. : # 2137 ) search for ring at other dictionaries : onelook, answers. com, merriam - webster " works flawlessly! " : rhymezone apps for iphone / ipad and android! help, feedback, customize, android app, iphone / ipad app copyright © 2013 datamuse


legend tells that the original work was a portrait of the mother of god painted by st luke during her lifetime. the virgin gazes either into the distance or at the viewer holding the child christ seated on her left arm while she gestures towards him with her right hand. the historical origins are obscure but the type was known in the period before iconoclasm. the tuesday procession of the hodegetria icon kept in the hodegon monastery in constantinople was one of the memorable events of the city recorded by medieval visitors and pilgrims. in the eleventh century a copy made in constantinople of the hodegetria virgin came to the slavs in the retinue of the byzantine imperial princess anna who married prince vsevelod of chernigov in 1046. in 1101 it was installed in the cathedral of smolensk by prince vladimir monomakh. the icon was brought to moscow in 1308 and returned to smolensk again in 1456. many miracles are attributed to the work of the icon, among them the defeat of napoleon at borodino after it was paraded before the russian army in 1812, a scene vividly depicted in the 1968 russian film of war and peace where the soviet army provided 120, 000 thousand soldiers as extras. many copies made in the nineteenth century abound.


water temperature plays such an important part in fishing that every angler needs to pay attention and react to even subtle variances. fish are no different than a lot of animals when it comes to heat and cold. they want to stay comfortable. consequently, even a small change or break will cause fish to move from one location to another. fishing offshore presents particular problems. temperatures can and do change from the surface to the bottom. i have fished in water that was 80°f on the surface and below 60°f on the bottom. what appeared to be ideal water was virtually void of fish at least those that were in a feeding mood. be aware of temperatures at varying depths and be prepared to react. with surface temperatures, fish will often move along temperature breaks where warm and cold water meet. these breaks draw baitfish and feeding fish are close behind. inshore waters are not as susceptible to temperature breaks, but they do exhibit changes according to the weather. summer water temperatures as high as 90°f absolutely turn the fish off. winter temperatures below 50°f do the same. sometimes in summer, daytime fishing can be fruitless when the water is that hot. pay attention to the noaa weather maps online. surface water temperatures are plotted and when cold thermoclines invade a coastline during the summer as they often do, you can see where you need to be fishing. remember find the breaks. finding the fish look for surface temperature breaks offshore. pelagics like mahi mahi, king mackerel, wahoo and tuna will run these breaks. look for median bottom temperatures in deeper water. the fish will be in a comfort zone. if its too hot or too cold, they will move to that comfort zone. inshore, stay with morning and evening fishing in the hot summer, and rely on mid - day fishing in the winter. stay away from the extremes of hot and cold. there are numerous warm water discharges from power plants on almost every coast. winter fishing around this warm water can be excellent. conversely, summer fishing there can be the pits. remember look for the comfort zones and you will find the fish.


like many parasites, a species of bacteria called wolbachia takes charge of its own fate. wolbachia can only survive inside the cells of its hosts – invertebrates such as this lovely common eggfly. this way of life limits wolbachia ’ s opportunities for long - term survival. if wolbachia lives inside a female insect, it can infect her eggs. when those eggs hatch and mature into adult insects, they will be infected by wolbachia as well. but if wolbachia should find itself in a male, it has reached a dead end. it cannot infect sperm cells, and thus it has no escape from a male host. when a male host dies, wolbachia dies as well. wolbachia ’ s solution : kill the males before they kill you. in many species, wolbachia is lethal to male embryos. as a result, wolbachia - carrying females only give birth to wolbachia - infected females. male killing boosts wolbachia ’ s population in two ways. with fewer wolbachia - free males around, the proportion of eggflies carrying the bacteria goes up. and without males to compete for food, wolbachia - infected females may be able to increase their odds of surviving until they can reproduce – and produce more wolbachia. male - killing is not the only weapon wolbachia uses on its hosts. when some strains infect wasps, they alter the females so that their eggs start spontaneously turning into embryos without any need of sperm. all of these sperm - free embryos become females, which can also produce female offspring without the help of males. in other species, wolbachia allow males to be born but alters their hormones to feminize them and make them produce eggs. and in other cases, wolbachia decides which males and females may mate with one another. if a healthy female mates with a male carrying wolbachia, some or all of her fertilized eggs will die. but a female carrying wolbachia can mate with either infected or uninfected males and produce viable eggs – all of which have wolbachia in them. with all these different ways of manipulating their hosts, wolbachia has become perhaps the most successful species of infectious bacteria on the planet, infecting millions of species of invertebrates. scientists have long wondered if the hosts of wolbachia have any way of defending


ways of manipulating their hosts, wolbachia has become perhaps the most successful species of infectious bacteria on the planet, infecting millions of species of invertebrates. scientists have long wondered if the hosts of wolbachia have any way of defending themselves against the assaults of the bacteria. in a wolbachia - infected population, a few males get to mate with a lot of females. any mutation that can allow eggflies to have sons despite the presence of male - killing should be strongly favored by natural selection. while this explanation makes sense on paper, scientists have until now found little evidence of the suppression of male - killing. there are two possible explanations for this state of affairs. one is that for some reason the suppression of male killers evolves only rarely. the other is that it actually evolves very quickly. it spreads so quickly through populations that there is little outward sign that the hosts have silenced a male - killer. today in the journal plos biology, scientists report that the latter is true : male - killer defenses evolve very fast. over the past few years the scientists have studied eggflies from southeast asia and the pacific. they ’ ve found that on some polynesian islands, male - killing wolbachia is a common pathogen. but in other parts of its range, the eggfly is infected by the same strain of wolbachia, but it produces a normal fifty - fifty split of males and females. to compare these populations, the scientists bred eggflies from the island of moorea, where wolbachia is a male - killer, with eggflies from thailand and the philippines, where it is not. they found that female moorea eggflies produced a normal fraction of males if they could mate with male eggflies from thailand and the philippines. but if the hybrid females then mated with eggflies from moorea, they produced fewer and fewer males over the generations. experiments such as these demonstrated that eggflies from thailand and the philippines have a hereditary ability to stop wolbachia from killing their sons. they may use only one gene to shut the parasite down. the authors conclude from their experiments that wolbachia jumped into the eggflies some time in the past and began killing males as it spread through much of the eggfly ’ s range. the eggflies then evolved a defense against the bacteria. females that could produce more males were favored by natural selection, until the ratio of the sexes evened out again at fifty - fifty. they continued to carry the bacteria, but wolbachia


the eggflies then evolved a defense against the bacteria. females that could produce more males were favored by natural selection, until the ratio of the sexes evened out again at fifty - fifty. they continued to carry the bacteria, but wolbachia was rendered impotent. the dramatic changes the scientists saw in their breeding experiments, suggest that the gene for suppressing male - killing could have spread very quickly through an eggfly population – perhaps in less than 100 generations ( about 25 years ). historical records agree. scientists in the 1960s found all - female populations of eggflies in borneo, but they ’ re gone now, 160 generations later. the scientists predict that as eggflies flit about the pacific, females carrying the suppressor gene will outcompete the females vulnerable to male - killing. soon male - killing will become a thing of the past – at least until some strain of wolbachia hits on a new way to take control of its eggfly hosts. if the scientists are right, then the history of wolbachia is even more turbulent than once thought. it is infecting a vast number of invertebrates despite their rapid evolution of defenses against them. as it is muzzled in one population, it finds new ways to manipulate another. wolbachia is not alone in distorting the ratio of the sexes. an organism ’ s own genes may sometimes tip the balance. sex - distorting genes sit on the chromosomes that determine an animal or plant ’ s sex. in humans, two x chromosomes produce a female, and an x and a y produce a male. if a gene on an x chromosome can raise the odds that its chromosome will be passed down to an offspring, that gene will become more common. and it will increase the number of females in a population. sometimes called meiotic drive, this evolutionary force is often countered by another : genes that suppress the tilt towards one sex over the other. plenty of examples of meiotic drive have been documented in flies and other species. a few clues have emerged from studies on humans, but just a few. if the new study on wolbachia is right, i wonder if some scientists will look more closely at our own selfish genes. there might be some hidden tugs - of - war waiting for someone to discover. update 822 1 : 20 pm : josh at thoughts from kansas knows about the strange ways of wolbachia first hand.


in a relatively short period of time, distance education has been transformed from a quaint irrelevancy to a lightning rod for change on many university campuses. the web might prove most valuable as a standardized platform from which various technological solutions can be launched and not as a stand alone technology for instructional delivery. nevertheless, those who think the web is the ultimate solution to all instructional problems should review the research literature of the 1950 ' s stating the same thing... about the overhead projector! understanding the reality of distance education can be accelerated by thoughtfully considering what could be labeled as " distance education ' s best kept secrets " : 1. distance education is about increasing access, not making money. those who look to distance education as a revenue - generating machine resulting in financial windfalls are typically disappointed when they factor in the true costs of this endeavor. these costs include hardware / software, system maintenance / upgrading, telecommunication charges, technical support, faculty / program development and evaluation, student support... and a myriad of personnel and infrastructure costs associated with these vital components and services. even today, it is not unusual for faculty to drive 200 to 300 miles a week to meet with students located far from campus. the costs of such enterprises in terms of time, energy, and faculty goodwill are excessive. this is not to say that distance education is without its financial benefits. many land grant institutions, for example, provide statewide educational programs and services. a few years ago, this could entail chartering aircraft to fly faculty to remote outreach or extension centers in various locations served by the land grant institution. 2. there is no technological " silver bullet. " every new technology is accompanied by its share of advocates proclaiming it to be the ultimate delivery tool promising to solve all instructional problems, even those yet to be identified. even those at the forefront of technological innovation candidly admit that they are unsure where the future of technology will lead their companies. for institutions that cannot invest in every potentially instructional delivery innovation that emerges ( unlike companies that can afford to invest heavily ), my best advice is to avoid technological solutions in search of instructional problems. instead, focus on the requirements of the content being delivered, learner needs, tangible instructional opportunities ( e. g., the need to provide computer training for teachers ), and potential obstacles ( e. g., limited bandwidth to the locations you serve ). attend to these requirements and the most appropriate technological solutions will become apparent. 3. the only constant in the world of instructional technology is change. anticipating change and technological


and potential obstacles ( e. g., limited bandwidth to the locations you serve ). attend to these requirements and the most appropriate technological solutions will become apparent. 3. the only constant in the world of instructional technology is change. anticipating change and technological directions is always challenging and filled with uncertainty. move too fast and your technological upgrade will be obsolete before it is fully implemented. move too slowly and your programmatic market share could slip before you can catch up. just as damaging, failure to innovate will signal to your competition and potential markets that your program is no longer viable. in a world of technological change, timing is everything. those who learn to embrace technological innovation when the timing is right will be the big winners. the rest will be left to fight over the crumbs. 4. lasting technological change is typically the result of evolution not revolution. over the past 30 years, technological innovation has evolved in a fairly consistent manner. over time, the once proclaimed technological cure - all takes its place among other teaching tools and fades from the forefront of technological innovation and into the hands of those who can put the benefits of the technology to best use. 5. the emphasis of distance education should be in the quality of the academic program, not in the use of technology. selecting technology is easy compared to the focused attention and subtle insights needed to design, develop, and implement a truly effective academic program. instructional delivery experiences that rely almost solely on technology ( e. g., first - generation web - based courses ) with little apparent influence and day - to - day involvement of a thoughtful and skilled teacher may generate initial student interest. but without adequate course design, focused faculty attention, and student readiness, there may be little hope for the overall instructional program, or the promise it originally offered. 6. there is no glory in managing instructional technology. you ' d think there would be, but there isn ' t. keeping up with technology is a never - ending battle filled with unmet expectations, too few resources, and the need to constantly plan ahead realizing that the technology that you are implementing today is likely already dated and on the road to obsolescence. without exceptional management skills and a thick skin, those involved are at the mercy of technological innovations that don ' t exist today, but will be demanded tomorrow. 7. learning is enhanced when technology is used to directly link students to other students. the lack of effective and personalized student - student interaction and feedback is the potential " achilles heel " of distance education. conversely, the need for effective


demanded tomorrow. 7. learning is enhanced when technology is used to directly link students to other students. the lack of effective and personalized student - student interaction and feedback is the potential " achilles heel " of distance education. conversely, the need for effective distant student - student interaction provides a great opportunity to creatively use technology. in my experience, effective instruction almost always requires that a fully engaged teacher establish the learning framework, even when the target audience consists of highly motivated adults. in fact, whether it is teacher - to - student or student - to - student interaction, learning is enhanced when technology is used to improve communication. 8. face - to - face instruction is still a valid delivery method in support of distance delivered courses... when possible. many assume that there is no need for face - to - face instruction in distance - delivered courses. nevertheless, it is better to rule out personal contact as impractical or instructionally irrelevant than it is to fail considering it in the first place. some of the best distance - delivered courses have well integrated components in which teachers meet directly with students, either individually, in small groups, or with the entire class. experienced distance education faculty report that the student comfort level in using technology increases significantly if the students and instructor meet early in the course and develop a personal working relationship. 9. many faculty are comfortable when distant students from other institutions take their classes, but don ' t like their students taking classes from faculty at other institutions. this is a major stumbling block to cooperative distance education ventures and has limited the success of strategic partnerships. the best partnerships are forged when specific academic needs are identified and on - campus expertise is absent. in these cases, competition is not a factor and both sending and receiving institutions benefit. despite being a major institutional and political motivator for the initial start - up of distance education efforts, true academic alliances have proven elusive and are the exception, not the rule. at its core, distance education is a changing process, not a delivery system, and higher education culture has historically proven resistant to change. perhaps the greatest benefit of distance education is its potential role as a catalyst for adapting the way educational institutions do business. for institutions that are up to the challenge, the current interest and growth in distance learning presents a new opportunity. although the dangers of competing and failing in this new world of educational access may pose significant problems, the refusal to look ahead, take calculated risks, and move forward may be the greatest risk of all.


what makes you, you? who am i? investigates everyone ’ s favourite subject – themselves. step into a whole new world and explore the science of our changing climate... feel the impact of a saturn v rocket launch, ride the lunar rover and discover the smell of space. learn how mechanical power replaced animal power in this history of farming. the antenna gallery brings you science news from every angle – from headline grabbing gadgets to hot topics. explore the world of materials, from the leading edge of scientific innovation to new insights into everyday objects. watch the video on babbage ' s ingenious machine, or learn about the mathematical instruments used before the invention of computers. will your ideas today change the world tomorrow? discover the importance of energy in this fascinating gallery. the ingenious use of steam to generate power helped britain become the world ’ s first industrial nation. ernie was the first machine to generate random numbers for the premium bonds. find out how he captured the public ’ s imagination and provides a link to colossus, the first digital electronic computer. share the dreams of the flight pioneers : see the development of aviation from its tentative beginnings to the modern era of mass air travel. have you ever watched the red arrows and been itching to get you hand on the controls? find out how it felt to be a doctor or patient at different times in history, or in different cultures. unravel the connection between apricot tins and kidney machines, in this provocative exhibition on developments in twentieth century medicine. decide whether new technological developments - such as space tourism to male pregnancy - should or should not go ahead. launchpad - the science museum ' s most popular gallery. explore science and technology first - hand with 50 hands - on exhibits and shows. this unique, breathtaking gallery chronologically presents 150 of the most significant items from the science museum ' s collections from 1750 to 2000. the mathematics gallery exhibits mathematical instruments and models from the seventeenth century to present day. small exhibition exploring some of the stories, tools and puzzles that have engaged british psychologists during the twentieth century. fly in the cockpit of a red arrows jet in our 3d flight simulation theatre. see more than 5000 objects from around the world illustrating the history of medicine in western and non - western cultures. see king george iii ' s unrivalled and beautiful collection of contemporary scientific apparatus. see the extraordinary range of labour - saving devices in this intriguing technological guide to the development of the modern home. trace the story of the space rocket. find out how we


to understand the workings and anatomy of the heart and to learn about new medical techniques that help people live longer, healthier lives. this lesson is the first of a two - part series that explores different aspects of the human heart and the various changing conditions that have affected the health of billions of people from prehistoric to modern times. this first lesson, heart 1 : transplant, focuses on the state of medical care of the human heart today and on modern medical advances — such as heart transplants — that " give today ' s human beings a better chance of staying healthy than their forebears had, " as noted in the first part of the benchmark for this lesson. the second lesson, heart 2 : changing lifestyles and health, examines the history of human diet and trends in care of the heart, comparing it with today ' s eating habits and lifestyles, many of which " may not be good for human health. " few students walk around in the hustle and bustle of modern life being fully aware of themselves as human organisms that are made up of a plethora of body parts and systems that require certain types and amounts of food and exercise to optimize and prolong their performance and life. however, by the end of elementary school, students should know that good health involves a healthy diet, regular exercise, and the avoidance or limitation of certain substances that negatively impact healthy body operation — like tobacco, alcohol, drugs, and pollution. by high school, students should also be aware that physical health continues to be threatened by outside organisms like bacteria, fungi, viruses, and infectious disease, many of which are rejected by the body ' s own natural defenses, like the skin, various body secretions, and the immune system. however, certain types of viral diseases — like aids — can break down these natural barriers and leave a person rattled with life - threatening infections. in addition to infectious disease, students should also have an understanding that their health can be threatened by internal malfunctions in their body parts or systems. these may be caused by " deviant genes, " which are either inherited or formed through mutation and which can leave the body more susceptible to developing certain diseases, like heart disease or depression. changing physical environments, social settings, and living habits — as compared to habits during prehistoric times — can also negatively impact a person ' s physical health, though medical science continues to develop new techniques to identify, diagnose, treat, prevent, and monitor disease. ( science for all americans, pp. 80 – 82,


during prehistoric times — can also negatively impact a person ' s physical health, though medical science continues to develop new techniques to identify, diagnose, treat, prevent, and monitor disease. ( science for all americans, pp. 80 – 82, 143 – 146. ) these and other related factors will be explored and emphasized in this two - part lesson series on the heart. research has shown a number of misconceptions students have about physical health that are worth addressing and alleviating in the course of these lessons. for example, studies indicate that a sizeable proportion of adults have little knowledge of internal organs or their location. regarding the heart, researchers have discovered that upper elementary school students realize that the heart is a pump, but they are not aware that the blood returns to the heart. also, researchers found that students of all ages hold wrong ideas about the structure and function of blood, the structure and function of the heart, the circulatory pattern, the circulatory / respiratory relationships, and the closed system of circulation ( and that these misconceptions are difficult to change ). and, while many students associate health primarily with food and fitness, it has been shown that middle - school and high - school students ' wrong ideas about the causes of health and illness may derive from cultural knowledge. further, students tend to believe that they have very little personal control over their health and life spans. they also are often unable to explain their knowledge about nutrition and fitness in scientific terms. ( benchmarks for science literacy, pp. 344 – 346. ) the student esheet will guide students to all of the web resources used in this lesson. before students begin their online journey into the the heart, pique their interest by asking warm - up questions like those suggested below. note : allow 5 to 7 minutes for this activity. encourage short, fast answers. accept all responses and do not provide explanations. the purpose of this exercise is simply to draw out what students know about and how they perceive the heart. after this discussion, convey to students that these and other questions will probably be addressed by the end of this lesson series. - what can you tell me about the human heart? - what does it do? what is its purpose? - where is it located in the body? - what different parts make up the heart? - what foods or lifestyles are bad for the heart? good for the heart? - what do you know about heart disease? - what kinds of modern medical advances have helped to make


in the body? - what different parts make up the heart? - what foods or lifestyles are bad for the heart? good for the heart? - what do you know about heart disease? - what kinds of modern medical advances have helped to make hearts healthier? ( accept all answers and opinions. ) next, direct students ' attention to pbs ' s affairs of the heart online heart stats game and quiz activity, which is found under web features in the grey, center box on the page. ( shockwave is necessary for this activity. ) have students work through this short, fun, and interesting activity to provide them with answers on the heart ' s actual anatomy and some of the basic workings and vital statistics of the heart. the game is like an anatomy puzzle asking for students to put together the different parts of the heart, while answering interesting factual and statistical questions about the heart as they progress. as they play through, have students jot down some of the things that surprised them about the heart. use these points as a basis for discussion ( before leading them into the main part of the lesson ). affairs of the heart once students are well oriented and motivated, have them read searching for a substitute, the feature article from pbs ' s affairs of the heart. this article recounts the history and evolution of the american medical and science establishment ' s attempts to address and resolve the great chasm between those dying of heart disease each year ( 45, 000 ) and donor hearts that are available to them ( 3, 000 ). since 1964, each attempt to provide a substitute heart to meet the demand — whether with an artificial heart or an animal heart transplant — has resulted in considerable difficulties and controversies. these continue to accompany any improvements that are made. for this reason, it is recommended that you conduct a two - part discussion of the material. first, after students finish reading and taking notes, ask them simple review and comprehension questions on the key points and events of the article. second, expand the discussion into an " open forum " activity so students can better ingest, relate to, and debate the highly controversial aspects of heart transplantation since its origins. use the following questions to guide your first - part, fact - based review of the material after students finish reading. use the class discussion teacher sheet for this activity. - why is there an interest in substitute heart transplants? - when was the first attempt at finding a substitute heart? what happened? - twenty years later, how was barney clark ' s experience any different? - why do you


for this activity. - why is there an interest in substitute heart transplants? - when was the first attempt at finding a substitute heart? what happened? - twenty years later, how was barney clark ' s experience any different? - why do you think the government and public remained averse to artificial hearts after clark ' s death? - what is the life expectancy of donated human heart transplant patients today? - what are lvads? why are they important? remarkable? - what kinds of roles is modern science playing in the realm of substitute heart transplantation? - what sorts of complications or issues have surfaced from the use of primate and pig organ transplants? open forum discussion quickly divide the class into three groups : ( 1 ) those representing the doctors and scientists involved in transplantation, ( 2 ) those patients who are waiting for donor hearts and dying of heart disease, and ( 3 ) the general public. begin by addressing each student at random with debatable discussion questions like the ones below. encourage each group to respond to each other ' s views, claims, and assertions, since the purpose of this activity is to spark debate and get students into the thick of this ongoing public concern with great moral and ethical dilemmas. ask members of the medical and science community : - in considering animal heart transplants, is the life of one person worth risking the lives of thousands of others through the risk of disease? - do you think it is right to design and alter animal genes for human purposes or to play god? - what kinds of measures or programs can be proposed to help prevent heart disease in the first place? ask members representing waiting heart disease patients : - how do you feel about substitute heart transplantation? - if you had to choose, which would you prefer, an artificial or animal heart transplant? why? - what do you think the government and medical and science establishment should do now to improve this situation in the future? ask members of the public : - do you support the pursuit and development of substitute heart transplants? why or why not? - which field of development do you think should be pursued, artificial or animal transplantation? why? - consider the dangers of animal transplants. what other avenues should be considered to meet the need for heart transplants? ( accept all responses and encourage students to support their feelings and views. ) teachers note : if you are dividing this lesson into two classes, this would be a good place to end the first part of the lesson. if appropriate, briefly review what students learned and discussed


responses and encourage students to support their feelings and views. ) teachers note : if you are dividing this lesson into two classes, this would be a good place to end the first part of the lesson. if appropriate, briefly review what students learned and discussed in the first part of this lesson. then, have them read through and participate in the following areas of nova online ’ s electric heart site. amazing heart facts after reading this list, have students activate the " see the valves in action " link at the end of the page, which will lead them to the animated map of the human heart, highlighting the anatomy and how blood flows through the heart. ask these and other questions about the reading. note : depending on your teaching goals and the level of your students, you may ask harder and more specific technical questions about the anatomy and operations of the heart than the ones suggested below. answers to the questions can be found on your class discussion teacher sheet. - what kinds of things did you learn from the amazing heart facts reading? - which facts did you find most interesting or enlightening? why? - what is the first step in how the heart moves blood? second? third? etc. - what are the benefits of knowing these facts about the heart and how it works? treating a sick heart this book excerpt explores the nature and causes of heart disease and current medical techniques to alleviate them ( which is consistent with the benchmark focus of this lesson ). encourage students to take notes as they read about how sick hearts are treated today. after they finish, use the general review questions below as a guide in gauging student comprehension. as usual, adjust your questions to meet your broader teaching goals and the levels of your students. for answers to the questions, see the class discussion teacher sheet. - what is the primary function of the heart? - what determines the rate at which the heart beats? - what is meant by " heart failure "? - what are the causes of heart disease? - in what ways is heart disease treated? operation heart transplant have students first read the introduction of this activity, making sure they realize that : ( 1 ) hundreds of people die each year waiting for donor hearts and ( 2 ) a few thousand highly intricate transplant operations are done each year, often lasting over seven hours. next, have students perform an animated heart transplant operation on a 42 - year - old male patient in nova online ' s operation : heart transplant. this exciting and insightful 19 - step operation will give them a more realistic idea of what is involved


. next, have students perform an animated heart transplant operation on a 42 - year - old male patient in nova online ' s operation : heart transplant. this exciting and insightful 19 - step operation will give them a more realistic idea of what is involved in heart transplant operations ( and how far medicine, science, and technology have come to prolong life and aid humanity ). when students are finished, elicit their feelings and reactions about the operation by asking questions like the ones below. general comprehension questions can range from the kinds of tools, procedures, and mindset needed to perform such a delicate, challenging, and often stomach - turning procedure. - how did your operations go? what did you think? - what was your impression of the level of medicine, science, and technology involved in the operation? - if you could, would you observe or take part in such an operation in real life? why or why not? - which of the steps or instruments did you find most interesting? challenging? troubling? why? - what would be your reaction if your patient died? - how did performing this operation affect how you feel about heart transplantation or the use of artificial, animal substitutes for human hearts? ( accept all responses and encourage students to support their feelings and views. ) using the student esheet as a guide, have students write a short essay on the following topic : briefly describe the function of the heart, how it can be impaired, and what solutions we have for this. discuss the instances in which a transplant would be a suitable solution for heart disease. student responses should reflect an understanding of the heart as the organ that pumps blood to all parts of the body, bringing nutrients and oxygen to the tissues and removing waste products. students should describe as causes of heart disease such things as coronary heart disease, drug and alcohol abuse, heart valve abnormalities, and heart muscle disease. they should also recognize that prevention, including a good diet, regular exercise, regular medical checkups, limiting alcohol use, and avoiding the use of tobacco or illegal substances is the best way to guard against heart disease. in addition, there are drugs and other therapies and / or surgeries available to help alleviate heart disease, but a transplant is an option only to remedy the most serious of heart conditions. follow this lesson with the second lesson in the heart series : heart 2 : changing lifestyles and health. the artificial human direct students to this fascinating resource that highlights current developments in the area of artificial organs, skin, and body parts. by clicking


. follow this lesson with the second lesson in the heart series : heart 2 : changing lifestyles and health. the artificial human direct students to this fascinating resource that highlights current developments in the area of artificial organs, skin, and body parts. by clicking on the different parts of this artificial " $ 6 million dollar man, " they ' ll learn just some of the ways in which artificial devices have enhanced and prolonged human life. the information and developments presented on this site reflect advances only up to 1999. students could perform research to update or add new anatomical developments to the map. they could also choose one of the existing artificial parts — besides the heart — and report to the class any current advances in that area, using web research. pioneers of heart surgery is an article recounting how surgeons in world war i pioneered advances that ushered in the age of modern surgery. this article will complement well student ' s previous experiences in the online operating theater. congenital heart information network is dedicated to providing information, support services, and resources to families of children with congenital and acquired heart disease, adults with congenital heart defects, and the professionals who work with them. the national heart, lung, and blood institute website is part of and maintained by the national institutes of health. it presents generally accepted health information for the public and healthcare professionals. materials include articles, surveys, studies, recipes for preventing heart disease, and other forms of material relating to varied types of health conditions.


teaching energy workshop : field trip photo gallery click any photo to enlarge. information about this field trip photos by karin kirk a row of wind turbines at the seven mile hill wind farm near medicine bow, wy. this wind farm has 73, 1. 5 mw turbines, manufactured by ge. turbine construction is complete, but some land reclamation work still remains to be done. group photo of field trip participants. it was hard to stop taking pictures of the turbines and the scenery. group discussions about wind power. it ' s most efficient to align the turbines in rows. if topography and the wind regime allow it, the side - to - side spacing is 4 rotor diameters between each turbine, with a front - to - back spacing of 12 rotor diameters. the blades spin up to 14 - 20 rpm, and the tips of the blades can travel up to 200 mph. the surrounding geology was noteworthy too. there were many impromptu discussions about wind energy and the construction of the wind farm. machinery used to operate a drag line at a coal mine near hanna, wy. the drag line is used to remove the overburden and expose the coal. workshop leaders at the coal mine. mark lyford from the university of wyoming describes reclamation efforts at the coal mine. the reclaimed areas were hard to distinguish from the undisturbed area. photos by sarah schulmeyer, university of wyoming opening dinner at the workshop photos by mohamad - ali hasan, university of north carolina, charlotte wind turbines at the happy jack wind farm


statistical graphs : aids cases and deaths by year and historical poverty in the us this assignment asks students in a quantitative literacy foundations course to summarize data by using graphs they create in an excel spreadsheet. working in pairs, students are to work on part i of the assignment by completing the following : 1 ) create an aids chart from the given data, 2 ) determine the mean and median of the data, and 3 ) summarize the information by identifying statistical trends. once each pair of students completes part i they have to complete part ii by doing the following : 1 ) create a poverty by race chart from given data, 2 ) determine statistical trends from the data, 3 ) find percent increase / decrease the data represents, and 4 ) determine what type of graph they could use to display percent data and explain their choice. - students will be able to take excel data and create a line graph with title, axis labels, and legend, - use excel to determine the mean and median of the data and be able to check the mean and median by hand, - summarize information by identifying statistical trends, and - determine percent of increase and decrease. context for use description and teaching materials teaching notes and tips - check to be sure students compute the median correctly when completing it by hand. - check that hard copies have names, date and lab assignment # on them. ( students submitting via drop box should also check this. ) - check all work — mathematical and written. math should be taken seriously as well as the writing of the information being relayed to the reader. rubric for grading lab : graphs ( 20 ) - title ( 4 ) - labels ( 4 ) - legend ( 4 ) - name, lab, date ( 4 ) - appropriate scale ( both axes ) ( 4 ) - accurate reading of graph ( s ) to answer questions ( 20 ) - computations done correctly for : mean, median, percent increase / decrease ( 20 ) - answers in desired format ( 10 ) - answers and conclusions justified ( 15 ) - valid argument ( s ) ( 15 )


a lot of what nasa does isn ' t just looking out at space, but looking back at earth * from * space. for instance, how ' bout them forests? a map released in 2010 showed forest heights around the world, with a particular focus on the continental united states. using readings from reflected laser pulses ( " lidar " ) collected by three satellites - - nasa ' s icesat, terra, and aqua - - the agency was able to determine the heights of trees in forest, and compile that into a detailed map. the highest forests were found in the pacific northwest ( yay! : ) and parts of southeast asia. here ' s the map of forest heights in the united states : image by nasa earth observatory / image by jesse allen and robert simmon / based on data from michael lefsky ( source ) they went one better in 2011, putting together even more detailed maps, collaborating " with the u. s. forest service and the u. s. geological survey ( usgs ) to assemble a national forest map from space - based radar and optical sensors, computer modeling, and a massive amount of ground - based data. " an estimated 5 million trees were measured! the " space - based radar " data came " from the shuttle radar topography mission, which was flown on the space shuttle endeavour in 2000. " wikipedia says endeavour was outfitted with two radar antennae for the mission : " one antenna was located in the shuttle ' s payload bay, the other – a critical change from the sir - c / x - sar, allowing single - pass interferometry – on the end of a 60 - meter ( 200 - foot ) mast that extended from the payload bay once the shuttle was in space. the technique employed is known as interferometric synthetic aperture radar, " which uses " differences in the phase of the [ reflected radar ] waves " to determine heights in great detail. they combined that data with landsat satellite images and on - the - ground measurements by the u. s. forest service to come up with a very detailed map of biomass across the country - - not just how high the trees are, but how dense they are, so they were also able to map the overall carbon content of the forests. here ' s the us biomass map : image by nasa earth observatory ; map by robert simmon, based on multiple data sets compiled and analyzed by the woods hole research center. data inputs include the shuttle radar topography mission, the national land cover database ( based on landsat ) and the forest inventory


by nasa earth observatory ; map by robert simmon, based on multiple data sets compiled and analyzed by the woods hole research center. data inputs include the shuttle radar topography mission, the national land cover database ( based on landsat ) and the forest inventory and analysis of the u. s. forest service. caption by michael carlowicz. ( source ) here ' s a zoomed - in view of the pacific northwest : image by robert simmon, based on data from woods hole research center ( source ) those grid patterns in the center ( just below seattle, which is on the mid - east side of that big inlet, which is puget sound ) are from logging! the coastal pacific northwest of the united states has the tallest trees in north america, averaging as much as 40 meters ( 131 feet ) in height. it has the densest biomass — the total mass of organisms living within a given area — in the country. a rule of thumb for ecologists is that the amount of carbon stored in a tree equals 50 percent of its dry biomass. so if you can estimate the biomass of all the trees in the forest, you can estimate how much carbon is being stored. if you keep tracking it over time, you can know something about how much carbon is being absorbed from the atmosphere or lost to it. in a recent report by the u. s. forest service, researchers noted that while the federal government owns slightly less than 50 percent of the forest land in the pacific northwest, it controls more then 67 percent of the old - growth in the region. that percentage is rising not because of new federal acquisitions, but because harvesting removed about 13 percent ( 491, 000 acres ) of old - and “ late - sucessional ” forest on non - federal lands. ( the main reason for old - growth loss on federal lands is forest fire. ) here ' s the seattle area at the released map ' s highest detail level ; my biomass is just to the left of that biggish lake in the north central area! a while back i posted a video of " robojelly, " a us - produced mechanical jellyfish. well, german pneumatic and electric transducer manufacturer festo has something much, much more impressive - - the airjelly : and that flying robot jellyfish ( they ' ve got an aquatic one, naturally ) isn ' t even the most impressive of festo ' s robot creations ; that would probably be smartbird, a flight - capable robot bird. but they ' ve got whole


flying robot jellyfish ( they ' ve got an aquatic one, naturally ) isn ' t even the most impressive of festo ' s robot creations ; that would probably be smartbird, a flight - capable robot bird. but they ' ve got whole flocks of other amazing lighter - than - air robots, like these blimpy, self - navigating airpenguins, their airray, which looks like a really creepy flat metallic balloon, and their smartinversion, a flying... m. c. escher - ish geometric thing that twists upon itself to generate propulsion - - all constructed from ultralight materials, propelled with festo ' s new line of pneumatic actuators, and mostly buoyed with helium. here ' s a video in which they describe how some of their " bionic " creations work : the hubble space telescope got a pretty good view of aurorae on the planet uranus recently : image by nasa, esa, and l. lamy ( observatory of paris, cnrs, cnes ) ( source ) not exactly where you ' d think they ' d be ( at poles perpendicular to the ring ), are they? nasa ' s caption says : these are among the first clear images, taken from the distance of earth, to show aurorae on the planet uranus. aurorae are produced when high - energy particles from the sun cascade along magnetic field lines into a planet ' s upper atmosphere. this causes the planet ' s atmospheric gasses to fluoresce. the ultraviolet images were taken at the time of heightened solar activity in november 2011 that successively buffeted the earth, jupiter, and uranus with a gusher of charged particles from the sun. because uranus ' magnetic field is inclined 59 degrees to its spin axis, the auroral spots appear far from the planet ' s north and south poles. this composite image combines 2011 hubble observations of the aurorae in visible and ultraviolet light, 1986 voyager 2 photos of the cyan disk of uranus as seen in visible light, and 2011 gemini observatory observations of the faint ring system as seen in infrared light. uranus ' magnetic field is not only at a funny angle, it ' s also offset " from the center of the planet towards the south rotational pole by as much as one third of the planetary radius " : weird! wikipedia says " neptune has a similarly displaced and tilted magnetic field, suggesting that this may be a common feature of ice giants. one hypothesis is that, unlike the magnetic fields


rotational pole by as much as one third of the planetary radius " : weird! wikipedia says " neptune has a similarly displaced and tilted magnetic field, suggesting that this may be a common feature of ice giants. one hypothesis is that, unlike the magnetic fields of the terrestrial and gas giant planets, which are generated within their cores, the ice giants ' magnetic fields are generated by motion at relatively shallow depths, for instance, in the water – ammonia ocean. " i came across a webcomic with really nice art! it ' s called astray3, and it ' s a sorta science - fiction fantasy adventure type of thing, i think. anyway, in the last four or so pages, which were coming out about once a month ( and then stopped entirely, but a recent blog post by the author says new developments are in store, so we can hope ), the inking and coloring really reached an awesome level of gorgeousness, almost getting semi - abstract in parts if you look carefully, but always coming together into a perfectly intelligible image. nice. i ' m still working away at a * ' s upcoming subscription mode on the weekends ; this past weekend i got the thingy done that will let subscribers change their password. woo. next i have to do a thingy to let them change their email address, oh and also a thing so you can reset your password if you ' ve forgotten it - - that one ' s kind of tricky because you have to send them an email with a special limited - use url that resets it when clicked or something, i guess... anyway yeah that ' s the kind of fun stuff i ' m weekending on! and just to be clear, the comic will always be free - - subscribers just get access to the extra - large comic size, and get the ads removed. also one nice thing the real subscription mode will do that the current preview mode doesn ' t ( that link in the lower right corner of the comics ) is that as long as you don ' t log out or clear your browser ' s cookies, every time you come to the site it will come right up with your previously selected comic size, so if you ' ve been reading in the hd - size, you ' ll see that right away when visiting the site, without having to click something to embiggen them. are you ready for a supermassive black pen round - up? well tough luck, because you ' ve just landed on one! starting at the end of the last


visiting the site, without having to click something to embiggen them. are you ready for a supermassive black pen round - up? well tough luck, because you ' ve just landed on one! starting at the end of the last episode and running a good way through this one, i was a bit obsessed with finding pens i could use to do the art for a *, either in tandem with a brush, or on their own. i ' m pretty much back to all brush now, but i ' ve got all these pens laying around, and some test sketches i did with some of them, so i might as well say a word or two about them. for the most part, the exotic ones can be found at jetpens, and the rest at dick blick. also for the most part, their ink isn ' t as black as say the inks i covered in my recent supermassive black ink round - up ; all of them ( unless noted otherwise ) are quite adequately waterproof. here was the assortment i was thinking i might use for a * at one point ( except the last one : p ) ( these photos are angled away a bit, so the upper pens appear slightly smaller by comparison to the lower ones than they actually are ) : and here are the test sketches ( on canson illustration paper, with finger smudge to test their waterproofness ) : kuretake disposable pocket brush i found out about these fancy - looking yet disposable japanese markers by asking comic book artist mike mayhew what he had used to draw this nifty sketch of aquaman - - he ' d used these! most disposable japanese art markers, and especially brush markers, are not waterproof, but these are, and they ' re quite reasonably priced as well. the ef and f sizes have hard little conical tips that lay down very fine, even lines. high quality stuff, no doubt, and their solid plastic construction with gold embossed calligraphic lettering and gold sparkles only adds to that impression - - the caps click on and off with a very satisfying firmness. there ' s a bit more resistance when moving the tip over paper than i would like - - almost a rubbery stickiness, but not quite - - but that ' s the only nit i can pick with these, although it is rather equivalent to a nails - on - chalkboard sensation for me compared with, say, a brush. hm, i suppose you could