Ecliptic Times Chapter 27 Study Guide

This time thanks to Justin Vu. My half coming soon!

1. Both Russia and Japan defied the common trend of Western domination by instead achieving economic autonomy. They did so after dealing with Western interference and accepting advisers.
2. Japan had more political flexibility, and pulled away from East Asia through its reforms. Russia’s changes increased internal strain that would eventually lead to revolution. During this time, Russia also expanded in central Asia and Eastern Europe.
3. Both were able to achieve significant industrialization before 1914, but neither rivaled the might of the West.
4. Russia was afraid of Westernization due to France. More specifically, the French Revolution seemed too liberal, and Napoleon’s invasion in 1812 incited terror over defenses.
5. The conservative monarchies of Russia, Prussia, and Austria would unite in the Holy Alliance.
6. The Decembrist Uprising was in 1825, caused by a group of Western oriented army officers that were put down by Nicholas I.
7. Russia missed the revolts of 1830 and 1848 because of political repression. Due to the adamant conservatism that was caused by earlier revolts, Russia stayed in a different political orbit from the rest of the West.
8. Russia continued its tradition of territorial expansion for much of the empire’s lifespan. Many conflicts occurred over the Ottoman Empire. However, later conquests would focus on East Asia. Wars such as the Crimean War of 1853, the later Russian-Ottoman wars, and the Russo-Japanese War of 1904.
9. At the beginning of the 19th century, Russia’s economy was falling behind the West. This was due to its agricultural society based on serf labor.
10. The Crimean War would reveal some of the problems that Russia had been building during that time. The main problem was the weakness of their industry. This caused Alexander II to begin reforms that he felt would strengthen Russia.
11. Alexander II was a tsar that began two decades of reform. His largest change was the emancipation of the serfs in 1861. He also created the zemstvoes (local council groups), lessened punishments, and started the industrial revolution of Russia. However, he felt things were getting out of hand by the 1870s, and was eventually assassinated in 1881.
12. Serfdom was reformed because of new opinions in Russia. Some thought that free labor would produce more agriculture, and others wanted to end the abuse and uprisings of the peasantry.
13. The emancipation of the serfs was in 1861. The serfs retained most of the land they had worked on, but received no new rights. A larger labor force grew, but only more unrest came from it.
14. In the 1860s and 1870s, law codes cut back punishments, the zemstvoes were created, the Trans-Siberian railroad was built, and industrial sectors were stimulated. Printing, metallurgy, and textile factories increased. There was also a military reorganization, but lacked discipline due to old ways of thinking. Much of the industrialization was state funded.
15. While there is no specific first step listed, the Trans-Siberian railroad of the 1870s was one of the biggest stimulators of industrialization in the Russian economy.
16. Count Sergei Witte was the Minister of Finance in Russia from 1892 to 1903. He attempted to modernize the economy by enacting high tariffs, improving the banking system, and encouraging investors.
17. I’m not sure of any specific answer, so here are some general details about Russia after the industrialization efforts. Russia had gained a high economic rank in the world due to its size and large amounts of natural resources, not because of thorough mechanization.
18. By 1900, the Russian industrialization program was somewhat successful. Russia had risen in the world ranks due to its size and population. However, most of the industry was owned and operated by foreign countries, and Russian was piled with debts.
19. In the second half of the 19th century, growing unrest was due to the limitations of the reforms and the growing industrialization. Many minority groups felt compelled to speak out against the regime.
20. The goal of the Russian intelligentsia was to gain more freedoms. They were business professionals that were not very aggressive, but wanted greater freedoms and rights. With larger increases in schools and education, more of this group spoke out.
21. The anarchists were radicals who wanted to abolish all formal government. Its strength grew due to the high opposition to the tsars and their empire.
22. In order to achieve reform, early anarchists of the 1860s tried to rally the peasant masses. This usually did not go as they planned, and some turned to terrorism in the form of violence, assassinations, and bombings.
23. Russian Marxism was an import of the socialist ideas that Karl Marx had devised in the West. Lenin tweaked these ideas to work with Russian conditions, and organized disciplined cells to revolt.
24. Russian Marxism was that because of the spread of international capitalism, a proletariat was developing worldwide in advance of industrialization. Russia could have a proletariat movement without going through the middle-class phase, and disciplined revolutionary cells were the key.
25. The Bolsheviks were Lenin's group of Marxists.
26. Absence of legal political outlets
27. Russia lost, causing massive revolution movements in Russia.
28. Peasants gained greater freedom, could buy and sell land more freely; peasant revolts died down.
29. Stolypin was the interior minister who inroduced the reforms for the peasantry
30. The national parliament created to rule liberals; it lost much of its power later
31. The minority of aggressive entrepreneurs.
32. Landlord power, peasant unrest, and industrialization were all heavier in Russia.
33. Turgenev, Tolstoy, and Dostoevsky
34. Continued to combine central bureaucracy with semifuedal alliances between regional daimyos, samurai in early 19th C
35. The Dutch Studies
36. Perry forced Japan to open trade under threat of bombardment, finally ending their solitude.
37. Meiji began in 1686 with the victorious reform group
38. Japan's advantages over China were that it knew how to imitate, had a slower, stronger growing govt., and fuedal traditions limited govts. power.
39. During the Mejij state, Japan sent samurais abroad, abolished feudalism, set up prefects, and samurai gained business positions.
40. Russia: was getting there, but Japan: was industrializing at a much faster rate, setting it ahead.

Read the rest in the comments section!

Ecliptic Times: Vol V, Issue I

Ecliptic Times:
The Life, Times, and Happenings of the Sophomores of MHS
Volume V, Issue I
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The Finally Edition

EDIT: ALL GOOD!

Awesome Person of the Week
Jordan Librande, for letting me interview him about college life as the 2nd interview ever!

Paper News. News that you can use.
Sorry I've been gone without an issue so long, but I'm sure you guys are happy with the study guide. I'll try to update a bit more frequently, because even I realize that only one real issue in an entire month isn't very good. ALSO: I have found several applicants for help with my study guide, and I think we have it mostly worked out, so starting this weekend I'll be helped by Justin Vu, and Vanessa Nguyen will be filling out the other test review that Harrison students get. All this means for you guys is that the study guides will come out sooner, have some more stuff, and be just a bit better. So yay for you!

School Life
I'll start by re-mentioning Fence or Sewer?, but this time it's much better. With Justin's rudimentary progamming skills, he and I have been fashioning a playable, computer game version of Fence or Sewer, complete with pictures, music, and funny text. Here's where we have run into some problems. He can handle the programming, and I can handle the music (I've made some pretty cool tracks), but the only pictures we've been able to find are off the internet and don't really match. Anyway, getting to the point, we are looking to hire an artist. The artist needs to be able to draw backgrounds, and people will not be a priority. We already have some people in mind, but I thought I'd put this out in case anyone else who sees it is interested. And by hire, I mean we pay you money. If you're interested in this job opportunity, and have enough free time to make a lot of drawings, speak to me or Justin and present a sample of your work. When (if) we finish this, I'll be happy to burn copies for anyone who would want one and hand them out for free, but that's just a side note.

Getting to the second big bit of school news... The Talent Show!
You can read an alternate opinion here on Hall of Mirrors or a much shorter, more cynical version here on agapetus's blog. Anyway, getting to my review, from what I could understand from my scribbled notes, here is
Nerd at the Talent Show: A Review of "Meet Me in the Spotlight" by Ecliptichero

• To start off each of the 21 acts, we were gifted with the lovely prescence of our two MCs who were downright terrible. Lame jokes, no acting talent, and a bunch of other stuff made us want to scream "GET OFF THE STAGE!" Or at least I wanted to scream that. Top that off with the fact that they went around insulting people in the audience, misspoke at least once, at had absolutely no talent at all, and they were easily the worst part of the show. I think it can best be summed up by the three annoying little kids behind us, "That was weird!"
• Starting off we have the three dancers of Team Blackout. They came and danced in the audience in tank-tops and tight jeans, with plenty of "posterior gyrations". I just noticed the significance of their name and the fact that they're all African American. Huh. Anyway, I think it took Vanessa about a minute to get the glossy look out of her eyes.
• Save the Castle playing Decode. They were an Asian band, and surprisingly one of the loudest. The singer was pretty good, but the band overall was nothing special.
• Khoa Tran starts off the tradition of the most popular guys, who can sing and play guitar but aren't very good at either. They sing love songs in their soft voices, and of course get the most cheering. The only good thing was that he at least wrote his own song. Is that good? I can't decide.
• Anita Ly playing Consolation on the piano. To my highly trained ear, I could detect few mistakes, with only a bit of variation of tempo. She had a bit of microphone trouble, but overall a strong performance. I felt she was under-appreciated, as I could tell the difficulty of her peice, and of course she got about half the applause of the guitar-lover-singer guys, even though she has twice as much talent.
• Fancy Dancers was actually one of my favorite acts. It consisted of seven brightly colored dancers dancing around to a modified version of Coldplay's Viva la Vida. Maybe I just like the song, but I thought they did pretty well and were choreographed like professionals.
• Rachael Hall sang Somebody to Love by Queen. She was easily one of the best singers, and very powerful, but to me her song seemed a bit drawn out. Still though, better than the other singers at least in terms of talent.
• Jennifer San Filipo & Tim Kim with a singing duet to the song Baby It's Cold Outside. They spiced up their singing with a bit of dancing, which added some good variety. Jennifer was very good, but Tim seemed too soft and didn't really seem like he was anything special. It seemed to me like anyone could have replaced him and done at least a similar job.
• Christian Almogela was easily my favorite act. I mean, Waiting by Gabe "Youtube" Bondoc? SQU~E~E~E~!!!! Anyway, that's what they two girls next to me probably thought. Rather than go over another one of these guys (see: Khoa Tran, except he didn't even right his own song.) I'll complain about my seat. It gave me a good view, but to my left were the SQUEE girls, in front of me was a family with a 4-year-old girl who kept getting up and swinging around her two stuffed animals, behind me were the three kids who kept talking whenever they got bored (like during every piano song), and to my right were two journalists who kept using their cell phones as lights and parents who seemed to be the parents of every gangster on stage. But I got them all back at the end when I yelled as loud as I could right in their ears. Muhahahahahah. ANYWAY, back to the show.
• SouLegit was the next band, with a guitar girl, a singing guy, two singing girls, and a singing girl who also played piano. They played Fears(?) and Poker Face. The piano girl was easily the most talented, and though the guy singer brought the band down a bit (at least in my opinion) they all had high energy and you could tell they were enjoying themselves.
• Ride (formally Hold On) was a bad band to end the first set on. They played Silvergun Superman by Stone Temple Pilots, which was fine. The girl singer was too soft, but my main complaint was the lead guitarist, who hogged the stage, kept turning up his amp to drown out the singer even more, used way to much distortion, and showed off though he wasn't anything special. Maybe he should go play some Gabe Youtube songs instead.
• Intermission: EVERYONE LOVES OVERPRICED JUNK FOOD!!!!
• That's it for now. Read the rest later in the issue.

Contests
The Im in ur ________ ________ing ur ________. contest is still going strong. So far, we have "i'm in your house eating your food" (Joseph) and "im in ur face stabbin ur nose" (Justin)

We are still taking submissions!

Distractions. Links for the procrastinators.
Today I would like to show you some of the weirder/awesomer music videos out there. These are all pretty good songs after you listen to them for a while though.
Frontier Psychiatrist. Easily the best.
Mercury. What did I just watch?
Flux. Totally awesome.
One Month Off. Death to fairy tales!
Weapon of Choice. Christopher Walken. That is all.

Story Time
If you haven't already read Tower, scroll down and check it out. Unfortunately, I did not win the contest :(. I'm also working on a new one! No idea when it'll be ready. Also, I scrapped my old story because even I have to admit it was pretty lame.

Calvinisms and Other Quotes.
Yes, once again it is time for another round of CALVINISMS! In case you don't know, these are all said by Calvin Yan.
"Give me my mitten right now. Don't make me whip you!"
"His name could be Mr. Frontster for all I care!" (speaking about a guy name Mr. Baxter.)
"Oh yeah? We had a BLACK VICE-PRESIDENT!!!" (about middle school)
"ARE... YOU... SERIOUS?!?!?"
"Trees are like Micheal Jackson: they're there. But now MJ's dead, so trees are greater than Michal Jackson."
"My favorite scale is Beef G-flat minor. na NA na NA!!!"

Here are some other quotes by other people.
"I'm gonna go look at the sun now." - Jeremy
"Erosion stole the e from pi!" - Me
"I was losing the game before it was cool!" - Me
"Scientifically crushing a can!" - Me

Interview with Jordan Librande.
Ecliptic Times: Hello, how are you?
Jordan Librande: I'm doing well.
ET: Let's start off with some basics. What school do you go to, and what grade are you?
JL: I am a freshmen (13th grade) and Harvey Mudd College in southern California.
ET: What was it like getting into this college?
JL: I wrote some essay, filled out some forms, and they were like, "Hello, you're accepted."
ET: Do you have any tips for students... about finding the right college?
JL: It was really difficult for me... I don't really have any tips, no.
ET: ...about the application process?
JL: Spend lots of time writing essay. You can still get rejected from some of the top schools if you rely only on your grades and on the SAT. That's what my friend [Bill Smith] did, and it got him nowhere.
ET: How should students structure high school in order to get into the best colleges?
JL: Take lots of AP classes, do a lot of extracurricular work, and tons of community service. Colleges like community service.
ET: What is the biggest thing one should look for in a college?
JL: It depends on your preference; Basically, just a college that you're interested in, whether it be sports or art or whatever.
ET: Have you managed to stay in touch with your old friends? How/why not? Do you miss them?
JL: Yes, it's easy these days thanks to Facebook and the internet. I don't miss them though, because we have great parties during break.
ET: What us your dorm arrangement?
JL: I live in a suite with 8 others. It is very messy, but loads of fun.
ET: What are your roommates like?
JL: They are good people like me.
ET: What is a college class schedule like?
JL: I go to class from 9-4 on M-W, and maybe on T-Th too. I forget. On Friday I only have to hours of class. Really though it's a flexible schedule, all schedules are different, and it depends on your classes.
ET: What do you do in your free time?
JL: I dance, play video games like Rock Band and Rock Band. Also, we make real music. In out suite we have 12 guitars and an electronic drum kit. [They also play RB2, Beatles RB, and Lego RB! - Dylan]
ET: How often do you see your family? Do you miss them?
JL: I seem them about once every 3 months. I sometimes miss them.
ET: Is there ever a question you've always wanted to be asked in an interview?
JL: Jordan, how are you so awesome. I wish I could be just like you.?
ET: Well, thanks for your time. Any closing thoughts?
JL: Wait... I don't have to answer that question? I like college.
ET: Finally, Jordan, how are you so awesome? I wish I could be just like you.?
JL: Yes, you do.

Once again thanks to Jordan Librande!

Self-Made Graph Time
Hopefully you can read that.
In a survey of Spanish III students, on average 60% like Marion better, 20% like Figey better, and 20% don't care/like them equal. I do not have to confess the number of students surveyed.

Rants and Raves
This week's rant is the talent show stuff.

Nerd at the Talent Show: Pt 2!

• Coming off of the intermission we have Spider Mafia playing Homecoming. Though they started off loud and overpowering the singer, the mixer fixed it up pretty quickly. They had good energy, and the lead girl singer also played guitar. At one point in the song there was a CRAZY loud guitar squelch, and I jumped in my seat and knocked all of my stuff to the floor. MY EARS!!!
• Karen Granadosin with Slow Motion. Nothing special, glittery t-shirt... you guessed it, one of the most popular, which at least in my opinion sets the stage off bad from the beginning, which would have been fine if she had to talent to win me back over. Unfortunately for her, she didn't. At one point in the song her voice was like a sine graph. (For those who don't know, this is a sine graph.)
• The dance group Rivalry. Though my original impression that they were gangsters was not unfounded (see: Christian Almogela), they actually turned out to be pretty good. To me, their dance was entirely based on sex appeal, which obviously went over well with the teenage crowd. After the girls left, the guys did some beat-boxing. I guess it was good? It didn't match the standard of their dancing or the dance itself, but I guess some variety it good?
• Jennifer San Filipo was at it again, this time playing, according to the MCs, a song "name called "Home"" This was another one of my favorite acts, and I apparently wrote down "You's torud." Yeah, I don't even know.
• NKCM. See: Khoa Tran. Seriously, how many of these guys are there? Here we had two; one who couldn't really play guitar but tried his best, and another who dedicated the song to half the audience and passed out roses to his 20-person family, the judges, and random audience members too. They played too songs. I think one was Gabe Youtube. I don't care about the other.
• Stormy Banda and the Groovy Reptiles was a great change of pace. We got some real rock with At the Hop and Blitzkrieg Bop. Rockin' solos, great transitions, and high energy obviously means they didn't get as much applause as the two who went before. Our school's great!
• Cecilia Nguyen played the piano and sang a rendition of Speechless by Lady Gaga. She had pretty good singing and the piano was a nice touch. I kept waiting for the song to get "rockin' ", but it never did. That's not her fault though; she played well.
• Dominic King dancing to the Saw theme and Fireflies. The phrase that came to mind here was that he was "the best at what he does." And quite frankly, what he does he does quite well. For the first song though, he dancing didn't really seem to match the music though. For the second, however, both were downright freaky. A pretty good performance overall.
• Amanda Tabora singing "I'd Choose Me" or maybe just "Me". I guess it was about narcissism? She was kinda popular, seemed to sing a bit high, and didn't really to anything special to stand out.
• Alyza & The Stop Go Messengers playing I Want You Back by the Jackson 5. High energy, and pretty groovy, with some sax thrown in for good measure. Another solid band with a solid performance.
• Finally, we had Risky Business. This was basically... no, this was just two drummers drumming. They had some nice spins, and danced kinda? Once again "the best at what they do" came to mind. If nothing else, they gave a good drum-roll for the announcing of the results.
• And here we have the results themselves.
• Best Dance Group: Rivalry
  Best Instrumental: Anita Ly
  Best Dancer: Dominic King
  Best Vocalist: Karen Granadosin
  Best in Band: Alyza & the Stop Go Messengers
  Best Vocalist & Instrumentals: Cecilia Nguyen
  Best Group Vocalists: Jennifer San Filipo & Tim Kim

Congratulations to everyone, even if I don't agree. Everyone in the show worked hard, and I'd give it an 8/10 overall.

AP World Study Guide will be coming later

Closing Thoughts
This issue took a REALLY LONG TIME.
Please enjoy it.

fin

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Mercury's in retrograde.

AP World Agenda, Study Guides for 25 and 26.

Once again, direct all complaints to Joseph. : D



Agenda (thanks to Tiffany for the help)

Feb 1
1. Test + packets
2. Due thurs: outline ch 24
3. Test ch 24 - fir - 2/5

Feb 2
1. Notes
2. Read Shooting an Elephant, White Man's Burden

Feb 3
1. Notes
2. Read, finish Shooting an Elephant, White Man's Burden

Feb 4
1. Turn in outlines
2. Work day
3. Test tomorrow

Feb 5
Test, packets

Feb 8
1. Notes + intro + maps - due Mon 2/22
2. Outline: Ch 25 due thurs 2/11, Ch 26 due Mon 2/22
3. Tests for both Mon 2/22

Feb 9
Same, Read doc p 596-597 - 3qs
Bring Books
Middle America: p 89 atlas

Feb 10
Same as 9th,
Read doc

Feb 11
Intro Ch 26 w/ maps
Read in-depth, doc
Bring books tom

Feb 12
Essay outline due thurs
Intro Ch 26 w/ maps
Read in-depth
Read doc

STUDY GUIDE CHAPTER 25 (by Joseph)

1. Latin America was different than other regions outside direct control of western imperialism by realizing that they needed to solve their own problems without foreign intervention.
2. Latin American countries gained independence in the early 19th century. (1800’s)
3. Questions that Latin American countries pondered on were those that asked what kind of nations were theirs to be in the future, the form of government, the kind of society, the role of religion, and the nature of their economy were all thought about.
4. The Creole elite rejected the French revolution, because they could not support regicide, rejection of church authority, and the social leveling implied by the Declaration of the Rights of Man
5. Toussaint L’Overture led a rebellion in the French sugar colony in the Caribbean in 1791. The republic of Haiti was formed by this rebellion in 1804.
6. The independence of Haiti was a symbol of hope for slaves and free people of color in the Americas.
7. The revolution of Haiti persuaded neighboring Cuba and Puerto Rico to declare independence later; Haiti was an example to be avoided by the Latin American elite.
8. The event in Europe that precipitated the movements for independence in Latin America was the political situation caused by the French Revolution, conflicts that arose when Napoleon appointed his brother as king of Spain.
9. A. Father Miguel de Hildalgo was a conspirator leading Creoles in Mexico that called for help from the American Indians and mestizos of his region in 1810; lost support of his Creoles, and was captured and executed, but left behind an insurgency.

B. Augustin de Iturbide was a creole officer at the head of an army that was sent to eliminate Father Miguel’s insurgency, drew up an agreement with them instead, occupying Mexico City in 1821. Became emperor of mexico.

C. Simon Bolivar was a wealthy Creole officer who emerged as the leader of the revolt against spain; united Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador into Gran Colombia.

D. Jose de San Martin of Buenos Aires was a military commander who helped, with his Argentine army, the revolutionary forces of Chile and Peru gain independence.

10. All of Spanish South America gained independence by 1830.
11. The Napoleonic wars affected Portugal by driving the entire ruling family of Portugal to Brazil, which became the capital of the Portuguese empire.
12. Brazilian independence was achieved when the prince regent of the king of Portugal decided to stay, and became the emperor of Brazil. The fighting between brazil and Portugal lasted a year, but Brazil established independence
13. Brazil, unlike its neighbors, was a monarchy.
14. Catholicism was conflicted by South Americans. Most leaders wanted Catholicism as the main religion, and the defense of Catholicism rallied conservatives.
15. Haiti was the first state to abolish slavery (?????)
16. The states that made up Gran Colombia were Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, and Venezuela.
17. The political organizations of Latin America were varied; some had conservative colonial aristocracies. Most of the population remained outside of the political process.
18. Caudillos were independent leaders who dominated local areas by force and sometimes seized the national government themselves.
19. Centralists wanted to create strong centralized national governments with broad powers.
20. Liberals stressed the rights of the individual and attacked the corporate structure of colonial society.
21. Both liberals and conservatives believed in a federalist government.
22. England was the first European nation that offered recognition to Latin American states (??????????????)
23. The Monroe doctrine was a law passed by the United states saying that any attempt by a European power to colonize in the Americas would be a hostile act to the United States.
24. Britain replaced Spain as the dominant economic force in Latin America by the 1850’s.
25. The economy of Latin America stagnated between 1820-1850 because wars had destroyed many industries, roads were poor, and much money was still tied up in land.
26. Peru’s main exports were… guano? ??????????????????? (as a fertilizer)
27. The philosophy of Auguste Comte stressed observation and a scientific approach to the problems of society.
28. The leaders of the post 1860 governments were a new generation of politicians who had matured during the chaotic years of post independence politics.
29. Antonio lopez de Santa Ana was a caudillo, personalist, and autocratic leader. He basically created Mexican politics.
30. ???????
31. Manifest destiny is the belief that the United States is destined to rule the continent from coast to coast.
32. A. Guadalupe-Hildalgo was a treaty signed by the United States and México in which Mexico was to give up half of its land.

B. Benito Juarez was a humble American Indian who had received a legal education and eventually became the governor of his state.

C. Juan Manuel de Rosas was the leader of the Federalists. Under Rosas, the federalist program of a weak central government and local autonomy was instituted, favoring the ranchers of the Buenos Aires province and the merchants of the great port.

33. The new Brazilian export crop after its economic transformation during Dom Pedro II’s rule was coffee.
34. ????????
35. The status of women gained little ground during most of the century, but had participated actively in the independence movements. The remained, however, a crucial resource in family strategies.

Ch 26 Study Guide (me)

1. Succession of weak rulers, internal strife, European enemies taking away territories on all sides.
2. Provincial officials and ayan took much of the taxes, local artisans' positions were deteriorating
3. Austrian Hapsburg dynasty
   
4. Russia
5. Serbia
6. Ottomans driven from almost all of Balkans
7. Britain
8. Enacted some moderate reforms, but his more serious ones angered the bureaucracy and cost him his life.
9. Destroyed the Janaissaries, launched far-reaching reforms
10. 1839-1876 reorganized education, established railways and telegraph systems, and resulted in a constitution based on European prototypes.
11. 1876
12. Artisans, somewhat women
13. Few improvements were won until 1908
14. Abdul Hamid
15. Military, railways, and telegraph lines
16. Ottoman Society for Union and Progress (Young Turks)
17. Restored constitution, press freedoms; promised reforms in education, administration, and position of women
18. Italy
19. Initially favored coup, but went against after they realized the Turks would not let up on the subjugation
20. France
21. Mamluks
22. Muhammad Ali
23. Western-style military, increased production of cotton, somewhat improved harbors, extend irrigation, little achieved in education
24. European opposition
25. Building an industrial sector (once again due to European opposition)
26. Khedives
27. Vital commercial, military link between Europe, colonies
28. Thinkers such as al-Afgahni and Muhammad Abduh
29. Ahmad Orabi, resulted in rebellion being crushed by British
30. Khartoum
31. Many features of promised deliverer Mahdi (divine)
32. Took control of the Mahdists, built a strong state, pressured outside borders, defeated in fall of 1896
33. Qing
34. Kept the earlier Ming systems, including exams and bureaucracy. Qing occupied top positions, but Chinese had no limits on rising.
35. Allieviating rural distress and unrest, but could not control landlord classes
    
36. compradors: specialized in import-export trade on China's coast
37. Bureacuracy became corrupt, exam system rife with cheating, state projects lost money, rivers overflowed...
38. 1% of pop became addicted, nobles spent money on, disintegration of Chinese civilization
39. Lin Zexu
40. Chinese rises failed, British got even more power
41. Taiping Rebellion: led by Hong Xiuquan; posed serious alternative to Confucian civ., Qing dynasty. Attacked scholar-gentry
42. Days of Manchu numbered, Boxer rebellion put down, efforts failing
43. Feb. 1912
    

Tower

No update today, but you can now read Tower, by me!

Tower

In the land of Mitharis there is a tower. No one remembers how or when it got there; as long as the people have been around, so has the tower. The tower is at the very center of the land, and it was rumored that when you stood at the top you could see the entire land of Mitharis and even the lands beyond the Ridge. The odd thing was that, if you were to ask anyone what the tower looked like, or what was inside it, they would look at you oddly, with a puzzled expression, and say, “Well, it’s the tower. Everyone knows what’s inside!”, then change the subject or simply walk away. The tower was there, but the people never really gave it much thought, and the days passed in Mitharis without change.

Occasionally, however, someone would grow very interested in it. Treasure hunters, adventure seekers, or those just looking for a change in the monotony of their lives would begin asking everyone about it, finding out everything they could about the tower. And then, when they either were fed up with questioning or simply impatient, they set off on the journey for the tower. These curious souls were soon forgotten by the townspeople, and they did not return. It was considered a curse to go journeying to the tower, and the saying “Going to the tower” began to be used as another way of saying “death”. Yes, people tended not to dwell on the tower or its seekers, yet in the back of everyone’s mind lay the question of what the tower really was. Indeed, the townsfolk had guesses. But no one knew for sure.

Part I

Stephen Mahew opened his eyes. His hands were cold. They always seemed cold these days. But he had grown used to it. So why had he noticed them now? He looked around the camp. There was his brother Travis, Daniela Stearns, and… where was Jef? “Jef!” he called. “Jef? This isn’t… we already lost Trace, Jef! Jef?!” His shouting awoke his two companions. Daniela, instantly alert as always, was already climbing the nearest tree to look. “There he is, Stephen! He’s heading straight for it!”

“No! First Trace, now Jef? We agreed not to go until morning!”

“Let him go, Steph.” A new voice this time, the voice of Travis. “The lure of the Tower…” he thought for a moment. “The lure of the Tower… has too much power.” Chuckling to himself, he curled back up in his sleeping bag.

“Now’s not the time, Travis!” His brother was strong-willed and had a way with words, but tended to be lighthearted a bit too much. Even in the direst situations. Even now. “We have to go after him!”

Daniela sighed. “There’s no way. You might be able to make it, Stephen, but Travis and I…” Her voice petered off. She was smart, Daniela, but was never the most fit girl in Mitharis. She tried her best, though, and didn’t let the fact that she only had one arm slow her down. She sighed. “Travis is right, though I don’t much care for the way he presented it. If I had to guess…” (“if I had to guess” was Daniela’s favorite phrase) “I’d say losing Trace was just too great. They always spent so much time together, though their parents, and everyone else in Mitharis, frowned upon it. If Trace…no, because Trace made it to the Tower, Jef had to go too. But we knew this would happen.” She shimmied down the tree. “Anyway, the best course of action would be to get some rest. If tomorrow’s finally the day we arrive…”

“We can’t.”

“What do you mean, Stephen?”

“We can’t have this happen again. We need to act now.”

“You’re not seriously suggesting that we enter the Tower at night, are you?”

“Of course not. But we need to remake the Bond.”

“Again? It’ll be our third time! Can’t you see it’s useless?”

“Of course he sees that.” Travis said. “But Stephen absolutely hates losing his friends. And the bond, no matter how childish, no matter how much it doesn’t work –“

“Doesn’t work? What are you talking about? Of course it works!”

“Like it worked for Trace?! And then like it worked for Jef?! Face it Stephen, the Bond just doesn’t work!”

Grace Mahew was crying.”What’s wrong, momma?” a young Stephen asked. “Please stop crying. I don’t like it when you cry.” Grace looked down at her son, trying to stem the stream of salty sadness. “Stephen, my son…” she choked out. “Please go get your brother for me. Please!” Stephen ran into the house, holding back tears of his own. This was his mom! She was always strong, always there for him, always smiling even when daddy wasn’t. Why was she crying? It wasn’t right. “T-Travis! Come on! Something’s wrong with mom!” He didn’t wait for Travis’s reply, but ran screaming back outside. Grace turned to him. Her tears had stopped, but her face was still sad. “It’s alright, Stephen. Come here, and calm your tears. It’ll be alright.”

Five minutes later, Stephen knew the truth. “Now come,” Grace said. “There’s something I would like us to do. As a family, we must always stick together. So we will form a Bond. Once a Bond is formed, the people who formed it agree to stick together despite all odds, and to share their destinies. You will not see father again, so we will make this Bond and agree to always, always remain a family. Repeat after me, boys. “I, as a being in Mitharis, do hearby swear by the Tower itself, that no matter what happens, even…”

“… if the sky were to crumble and the very Earth shake itself apart, that I will remain with those with which I have made this pact, and thus our destinies will be forever intertwined, whether for the good or for the evil, despite what may come our way, until death does finally separate us. I take… the Bond!” And then it was over.

Part II

Stephen Mahew opened his eyes. It was morning, and his friends were already awake, and were bustling about taking down the camp. He yawned. Despite the events that had occurred last night, he still felt rested. “Finally awake?” asked Travis. “Oh, give me a break! Help me pull up this stake, or I’ll throw you in the lake!” Stephen looked around. There were no lakes nearby. “Try harder.” he told his brother, then got up to help him take down the tent. “You know,” said Daniela, who had somehow already managed to roll up Stephen’s sleeping bag, “today’s our last day. Do we really need to bring all our things? If I had to guess, I’d say that there will be a place to stay inside the Tower. I mean, if there’s a place where they can work on a new arm for me, then…”

“Daniela!” shouted Travis.

“Huh?”

“Snap out of it!

“Oh… heh heh. Sorry. I got carried away. It’s just that the Tower… I’ve heard it has the best minds in the land! They can fix, build, and solve anything; they might be able to make me a new arm!”

“And that’s not the only thing the Tower has.” Continued Stephen. “All of our friends…” he glanced at Travis, “and dad.”

“No, Simon, please! We’ll figure out a way!” pleaded Grace Mahew. Simon Mahew was pacing quickly in the room, wringing his hands like he did when he was agitated. “But don’t you understand, Grace? This is our chance! My chance! We’ll never have to live like this again! If I find the treasure in the Tower, we can end all of our problems! Think of Stephen and Travis; do you really want to raise them here?” He gestured around the small room they were in. “Of course I care, Simon. But I’m just so worried about you. No one ever comes back from the Tower!”

“I will be the first! I’m not like the others!”

“I know you’re not, Simon. That’s why I need you here with me. You’re special to me, Simon. Please…”

“Grace, I… you’re just making this harder for both of us. I’ve made up my mind. I leave at sunset. Whether or not you’ll come to see me off will be your decision, but come tomorrow I’ll be gone.”

Grace took one last look in her husband’s face, knew there was no way to change his mind, and began to cry.

She awoke the next morning and saw the room was empty. “Simon!” she cried. There was no response. She raced outside… but he was gone. From behind, a young child tottered out on unsteady legs and asked a simple question. “What’s wrong, momma?”

“We don’t even know he made it, Stephen.” Said Travis.

“Of course he did!” Stephen replied. Daniela was politely busying herself on the other side of the camp. But, growing impatient, she turned.

“Are we ready to go now?” she asked. “The Bond will hold us together. It’ll help us cross this final, toughest leg of our journey.” She smiled kindly at Stephen. She had said that just for him, and it seemed to work. He perked up, and dropped the argument with his brother.

“Let’s go then.” He ordered. The group of three began to walk. They hadn’t gone far when they entered the Moor. Bitter winds, thick fog, and piercing sounds characterized this final stretch. The group of friends stuck together, weathering the weather as one. And always in the distance, always visible, was the reason they subjected themselves to this; the Tower itself.

They all had their own reasons, of course, for heading to the Tower. It was a place of dreams; since no one knew what it was like, no one knew what it had or didn’t have. Was it a place of chaos and destruction, causing all who entered it to perish? Was it the greatest place in Mitharis, full of the best, the brightest, the strongest; treasure flowing freely, and so much beauty the biggest houses in the real world seemed like shanties in comparison? Was it a gateway to another world, where people could not return no matter how hard they tried? No one knew. It was the granter of wishes and the destroyer of dreams, the dark needle that held the whole world of Mitharis together. It was where many had gone, but none had returned. And it was where three friends now marched, unsure as to what awaited them, unsure of their fate, sure of only their steadfast companions beside them.

Daniela Stearns longed for doctors that could change the way her life had always been. Travis Mahew wanted a place where he could be recognized for who he was and his skills, rather than always living in his elder brother’s shadow, rather than always being scolded for his talent with words. Stephen Mahew wanted to find his lost friends who had broken the Bond, but, more importantly, his father.

“Stephen, Travis, please! Your father has never come back!”

“That is why we are going. We will find him for you, and be the first to return.”

“You’re so alike… but why, why must all I love go to the Tower?”

“You act as if we’re not coming back, mom. Don’t worry about us.”

“Please Stephen… Travis, will you at least stay?”

“I’m sorry, but I will not stay. I’ll return again another day.”

“I’m sorry, mother. Goodbye.” And Grace Mahew watched her two sons walk off toward the Tower, meeting up with three others. She wondered if she would ever see them again.

The three friends emerged safely from the Moor. Whether their Bond, or their friendship, had held them together they could not say. The Tower stood in front of them. They took one last look at each other, and stepped into the Tower.