2016 End of School Year History Exam

Hello everyone and welcome back to another blog post!
I think this is going to be the last one I do for the next few months, so of course it has to be a big one.
At least, in my mothers opinion it does.
So I'm not sure if I've told you all, but for history class this year I've been following the election and MAN, has it been an.. interesting ride, to say the least. A lot of people have came, saw, and then dropped out sadly.
R.I.P, John Kasich's Campaign: 2015 - 2016
So since I've been following the election mother had the brilliant idea "Hey lets make your final exam about the election process!" and I responded with "Okay I suppose.", and then she says "AND Lets have you explain all of the three parties majorly involved in this years election, what they stand for, and who's running in them!".
So yeah. Lets get right to it!

I feel kinda dumb doing this, since I feel like just about all of you know about the election process, but this is how it works.
Or how I remember it working, to the best of my abilities.
It all starts with the election year claiming it has "begun", and it's around this time that the candidates start announcing that they're running. Most of the candidates have a big flashy announcement in front of a crowd, like Hillary Clinton and Donald Trumpet, but I wouldn't be surprised if a few have announced they're running over Twitter, or something like that.
Anyway, after they've announced that they're running, then it's all about going absolutely everywhere as much as they can and spreading their popularity. Popularity means everything in the race, including where you stand on election polls, which lead to a few other neat perks. For example, not only does that show that you're the most popular candidate of that party, but in "debates" (events held on the big news channels, like CNN and FOX, where the candidates gather to debate topics and answer questions) the person in the lead also gets to stand in the very middle at a debate.
Which is cool I suppose, but if you've ever watched a debate, specifically a FOX debate, you'll know that the person in the middle often has a spotlight on them, and that spotlight is often very bright and ends up making them look like a ghost.
I can recall a time when Ben Carson didn't even look black, but rather like he'd been painted a very light brown.
Along with the debates comes what are called "town halls". Does this mean they're held at a town hall?
I'm.. actually not sure, lemme go Bing that quick.
Because Bing is the superior.
Update, a town hall is not necessarily always held at a town hall.
The more you know.
Anyway, a town hall is where one (or more) candidate(s) gather to talk and answer questions directly from the crowd, but they're not necessarily debating. More like, engaging in friendly conversation.
So to say.
That goes on for a little while, then the primaries and caucus's start rolling in. Primaries and caucus's are where the general public goes to vote for their favorite candidate. At this point in the race, it's to become the Candidate for that respective party. The more primaries and caucus's you win, the more delegates and super delegates you gain.
Now, what most people want you to believe is that it's the general population that overall decides who the candidate will be.
HAH, NOPE!
It depends entirely on how many delegates you have, specifically super delegates. For example. Say you LOVE Ted Cruz, and he has almost as many delegates as Ben Carson. But Ben Carson has many more super delegates than Cruz, so Carson wins.
That's how that works, more or less. In my opinion, its a bunch of buttery-biscuit bologna.
Anyway, once a candidate has enough delegates, they win that part of the race and are announced as the Candidate for their respective party.
Once all of the parties have their Candidates, then the real fun begins and, well, the cycle repeats itself. It's back to running around the country for a few more months, gaining popularity and trying to persuade the general population they're better than their opponents.
That goes on for a little while and then the final election comes. During these several days every single state in the whole country votes either Republican, Democratic, or any other parties that might be voting choices (Independent, Green, Libertarian, etc). By the end of these few days all the votes are collected, tallied up, and whoever has the most votes is announced to be the next President of the United States of America!
Even though they still have to wait a few months before they can actually become President.

Well that pretty much sums up the election process, now onto the current candidates.

On the Democratic side, you've got Hillary Clinton and (for now) Bernie Sanders. Hillary Clinton is on her way to becoming the first female President, and she is very firm in her democratic beliefs. Being a Democrat, she believes we should handle things in a much more peaceful and passive-aggressive manor, in most cases. She's a proud and forceful member of the Black Lives Matter movement, approves of and believes in abortion, believes in Climate Change, has experience with the Middle-East and China, and believes war should be avoided if at all possible. Hillary Clinton is currently the leading candidate in the Democratic Party.

Coming behind Hillary, far behind, is Bernie Sanders. Bernie is a Democratic Socialist, and before you go off screaming "OMG HE'S HITLER COME AGAIN!!", there's a difference between a Socialist and a Democratic Socialist. Bernie Sanders believes that the "Big Banks" system is corrupt and broken, that Climate Change is our biggest issue at the moment, that everyone should get free college, and that everyone should earn near-equal pay regardless of what profession they may have. Of the two, Bernie is often considered to be the more extreme Democratic candidate. He's also earned the nickname "Honest Bernie", whereas Hillary has earned the nickname "Crooked Hillary".
That information does not show where I stand on either of them, that's just a little bit of trivial knowledge.

Meanwhile. over on the Republican side, the only one we have left is Donald Trump. There used to be many others, such as Ted Cruz, Ben Carson, John Kasich and Marco Rubio, but they all eventually dropped out. They couldn't beat the Trump.
Anyway, Donald Trump is kind of an oddity when it comes to his campaign. Whenever he has a rally, he doesn't ever really touch up on his political views for more than around 10 seconds. Truth be told, he seems to talk more about his hair and insulting other people than his views. But the crowds still love him. However, some of Trumps more prominent views include:
Ending government funding of Planned Parenthood;
Building a wall between America and Mexico to stop illegal immigration;
Going over to the Middle-East and annihilating terrorist groups such as ISIS;
Shutting down most/all big groups trying to stop Climate Change,
and "creating" more jobs for the American people.
Donald Trump is currently the leading, and only, candidate in the Republican Party.

Last but not least, barely trudging along, we have the Libertarian Party. In their party this year, they have Gary Johnson (as the candidate), and Bill Weld as his running mate. Libertarians are kinda an odd bunch, truth be told. They're like Independents, but in a way they're also kinda like Anarchists. Their political views are stated to be "very highly conservative", but their views on how the government should interact with society are "extremely liberal". What they mean by that is they believe the government shouldn't be very involved in what the general public does.
Apart from, you know. Basic ground laws. Like robbery, and rape, and murder.
Their views on war, taxes, wall street, and climate change (etc.) are extremely conservative.
Currently the only two members of the Libertarian party even getting any attention are Gary Johnson and Bill Weld. Gary Johnson may be the one running for president, with Bill Weld as his choice of running mate, but I personally believe Bill Weld would be a much better president than Johnson. Johnson always seems kind of nervous and seems to stutter a lot, whereas Weld always seems to be more relaxed and down-to-Earth.
Also he's got a decent sense of humor, which is always nice.

Well, there you have it! Three parties, one election, one country desperately in need of some change. Oh, and an entire process to go along with it. However, what exactly is considered "good" change is entirely up to debate and voting. I have my opinions on what's "best", but that doesn't matter. Most of you reading this are adults, so it's YOUR opinions that truly matter.
So go out there this election season, and participate.
Make a change.
BE the change that you want to see in this country, and this world.

That being said, I have finished. I hope you all enjoyed this brief summary of how the Presidential Race works, and what all three political parties are like. At least, from my point of view. I hope you all have a great day, and I will see you in the next post. Bye-bye!

Invertebrates Biology Writing Lab

..Hello? Is this thing on?
Ah, okay. Good.

Hello everyone and welcome back to another blog post! A couple weeks ago I told you all about vertebrates. You know, organisms that have those weird things called backbones? Yeah, those guys.
Pfft. Weirdos. Who needs backbones nowadays anyway.

Well anyway, today we're going to be talking about their relatives that don't have backbones, the invertebrates!

In case you haven't caught on at this point, an invertebrate is the exact opposite of a vertebrate. Meaning they lack backbones. Invertebrates outnumber vertebrates by a staggering number (see my vertebrates post for more information), but they mostly consist of insects.
Creepy crawleys.
Pests.
The things that keep your hand out of that suspicious hole in the ground.
Yeah, those guys.

Along with insects there are also mollusks (including clams, octopi and squids), crabs, worms and jellyfish. Granted jellyfish don't have any bones, let alone backbones, but you get the idea.

If I were to pick my favorite invertebrate however, it'd have to be the Blanket Octopus.
Yes, you heard me correctly. I actually think I did a post on these guys once...
Anyway, Blanket Octopi are a type of octopus (der) that lives in the open water of the Indian Ocean, which is uncommon for an octopus. This is because Blanket Octopi look like, well, blankets. Or floating debris. Their 8 arms have multiple layers of skin connecting them to each other, allowing the Blanket Octopus to look like a large leaf floating in the ocean, or debris, or some random blanket. This is very effective at confusing predators. But if their disguise doesn't work, they can simply detach a bit of their webbing to distract a predator.
Furthermore, if THAT doesn't work, they can still shoot ink out in defense like any other octopus.
Not to mention they're a beautiful shade of red! What's not to love!

Well, that just about wraps up my blog post on invertebrates. I hope you learned something today, and I shall see you all in the next post. Buh-Bye!

Biology Lab/Assignment: What is a Vertebrate?

"Tell what a vertebrate is by definition and how you can tell a vertebrate from invertebrate. Then pick a vertebrate and talk about it."

Hmm. Seems easy enough.
Hello everyone and welcome back to another blog post! Man, it feels like it's been ages since I've done one of these.
...Maybe because it has been ages. Oh well! I'm here now, and today we're going to be talking about invertebrates and vertebrates!

Now, there's around a 50/50 chance right now that you're thinking "DJ!! WHAT on EARTH is a VERTEBRATE?"
Well my friend I'm about to tell you. A vertebrate, is an animal that has a backbone. These include, but are not limited to:
Dogs,
Cats,
Hippos,
Frogs,
Bony fish,
Dinosaurs,
And humans. The backbone, or better known as the spine, is a very crucial part of every vertebrates body. It travels up and down your, well, back and carries messages from the rest of your body to your brain, and vice versa. If your spine were to be broken, not only could you be permanently paralyzed due to lack of nerve messages being transmitted, but you could  also get stuck in a sideways-bent position. Forever.
Imagine watching TV sideways. Doesn't sound too fun, now does it?

Now, your spine also allows you to twist and turn, bend and stretch. Without it, you'd probably be a slumped over gelatinous mass. The same thing qualifies for all other vertebrates in the animal kingdom. An invertebrate, however, lacks a backbone. These creatures still send signals to their brain and back, but their nervous systems are usually much more complex than ours. Most of them are also unable to twist and turn, bend and stretch. Some invertebrates include:

Jellyfish,
Mollusks (such as clams and octopi),
Some worms,
Sponges,
Some cartilaginous fish,
Spiders,
Scorpions,
Anything else like them,
Crabs,
And insects. Bugs, bugs, and so many more bugs are all invertebrates.

Truth be told, around 90% of all animals on Earth are invertebrates. Don't believe me? Okay, think of it this way. There's around... 7 billion people on Earth? Well most invertebrates are, in fact, insects. And for every single person on Earth, there are 170 MILLION insects. That means there's..... hold on let me find my calculator.
1.258E18 insects on Earth. What does that mean? Well, to put it into actual number terms, there are roughly:
1,258,000,000,000,000,000,000 insects on Earth! Now isn't that just incredible?

Well, now that you know what vertebrates and invertebrates are, according to my instructions I'm supposed to tell you about one vertebrate.
I hate it when she does these things. Only one? There's so many to choose from though!

Hmm... Oh well. Lets talk for a second about the Birds of Paradise. I'm not going to talk about one specifically, because they're all so incredible. Here's a link to a photo gallery on Bing: http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Birds+of+paradise&FORM=HDRSC2

Anyway, Birds of Paradise can be found over by good-ol' Indonesia, and there's around 42 species overall. These birds are simply incredible. Each one of them is incredibly different from the other, each with their own magical display. Some of them use their psychical abilities to scare off predators, others use them to attract a pretty lady. Some use them for both! The best part? Due to living in such a remote location, not only do they lack predators, but they also haven't been tampered with by humans yet!
Well, most of them anyway. The Birds of Paradise are an incredible example of why we need to preserve this planet, not destroy it. Both our rural, neighboring, and foreign areas need our help to stay strong.

Well, that's all I've got for today. Credit for the link goes to Bing.com, and I will see you all later on in life!

9th Grade Final (Nutrition) Exam: Persuasive, healthy, and delicious.

Hello once again people who read this blog! So it's time for the final exams to start rolling in, starting with none other than my nutrition. I'm going to be giving you all 3 (possibly) detailed reasons as to why it's good to eat healthy and exercise, instead of eating Micky D's as your main meal and being a cough vegetable. So without further ado, on with the post! (Insert dramatic drum roll sound here)

Reason 1: You can look REALLY good.
 It's really as simple as that. Or at least for most people. As you would expect, there are MANY ways to be healthy. Contrary to popular belief in this dumb culture, you don't need to have a six pack (guys) or the worlds largest "thigh gap" (ladies) to be considered attractive. I mean look at me. I'm 15, not too active, but I do bike and do other activities. That said, I do spend a lot of time in the house (It's a livin), and I do eat.. Inappropriately from time to time. But I usually make up for that. The result is me with not a six back, more like a natural 4 pack, but I'm not overweight either. In fact, strangely enough, I didn't gain any weight through ages 11 and 14. But I got taller, and that's all that matters hehe. I just wanted to get that out of the way. You don't need to look like Hulk Hogan to be considered "healthy", you just need to be active, eat well, and avoid too much junk food. Besides, Hulk Hogan looks like a walrus.

 Reason 2: It keeps your body working well.
 This is arguably the most important reason. You only get one body, incase you didn't notice. So taking care of it is a must. Unhealthy eating can lead to blood sugar problems, diabetes, and obesity. America is on the way to being the most obese of all the country's. I blame fried chicken. Mmm, fried chicken...
 Anyway. Proper ways to eat healthy include: Eating an appropriate amount of each food group for each meal. Not eating in between meals, though it's a shame I barely follow this one. If you do choose to eat outside of meals, try eating something healthy. Like an apple. Or a banana. Or in my case, two lemon cookies. With a banana. I would recommend sun chips, but I wouldn't touch those with a 100 foot pole with the Grinch in front of them. Making a food plan. This way you can keep track of how much food you eat for each meal and in between meals. You can check off each time you succeed, and erase the checks when the day ends.
 The body you have is the only one you'll ever have. Isn't it best to go through the effort to take care of it?

 Reason 3: Your life will be far more enjoyable.
 Now let me ask you something quick. Which of these sounds best:
 Being healthy and living your life to the fullest?
 Or, eating junk food all the time and raising the chances of getting illnesses at a young age?
 If you chose the first one, congratulations! You've won a banana!
 No one wants to be that one guy in a group like "Hey, you wanna come play (insert random activity)?" "Naw thanks man, my (Insert bodily problem that prevents them from doing random activity)." "Aw, alright." Because that's just no fun. Think of all the stuff you can use your body for. Building, skiing, swimming, scuba diving, running (from a madman), biking (from a madman), and countless other stuff. Life is too short to waste by treating your body poorly. Go out and exercise! Pay fewer visits to Micky D's (despite how convenient they are)! And spread the word as to why eating healthy is the right choice! It's the right, and best thing to do.

Well, that's all I've got for this. I hope you all enjoyed this, and maybe opened your eyes a little bit. I will see you all next time. Peace.

American Timeline analysis, section 8: April, 1587 and August 15, 1590

Hello once again people who read this blog! Man..This time it HAS been forever since I've done one of these. Today we're going to be kicking off where we left off, so onto the post!

April of 1587, English explorer Sir Walter Raleigh founded the Roanoke Colony.

This is a bit of an interesting topic today. The Roanoke Colony was built on Roanoke Island, also known today as Dare County, South Carolina. It was founded by Sir Walter Raleigh, an English explorer and politician, among other things. The guy was a spy, how cool is that?
He was also the one who popularized tobacco in England.... congrats.

The Roanoke Colony was Queen Elizabeth I's late 16th-century attempt to establish a permanent colony in the new world. However, this attempt didn't go too well when something very strange happened...

August 15, 1590: The Lost Colony.
Sounds like something from a cheesy horror movie, right? But it's true. The last remaining settlers of Roanoke Colony mysteriously vanished after three years of no supplies from England. When the British finally returned to check up on things, they found the entire colony to have completely vanished. Not just the people either, no, the ENTIRE colony. Buildings, fences, everything. It was as though it was never there. The only clue showing that the colony did exist was a symbol etched into the side of a tree, that Sir Raleigh had carved in himself.

Now, MANY theories have been made as to what happened here. Some think it was *weird hand gesture* Aliens, while others think a local Indian tribe raided the camp, killed everyone, and stole everything. Literally everything. That's actually a pretty good theory. Me however, I personally think a gang of mafia Bigfoots rode in on flaming unicorns and blew everything to bits with miniature nukes. But hey, opinions vary.

Whelp, that's my post on the Roanoke Colony and Sir Walter Raleigh. If you're interested in finding out more about the Lost Colony, you can check YouTube. I'm sure there's an infinite amount of conspiracy theories on there. Or if you want legitimate facts, you could check Wikipedia. I'll see you all next Thursday.
Peace.