The Saturday Checkup: Edition 1

This Week's Quote & Vocab Duo

"We have nothing to fear but fear itself." -Franklin D. Roosevelt


Euphemism: "The substitution of a mild, indirect, or vague expression for one thought to be offensive, harsh, or blunt." -Dictionary.com

I chose "euphemism" this week because I was able to connect to the word personally, as well as with a touch of humor. We all have heard a euphemism before; be it from our parents, guardians, and teachers when we were in kindergarten ("boo-boo," "bad guy," "oopsie,"), or used today ("sanitation engineer," "lavatory," etc.).
  
"Little Timmy passed away" is much lighter on a six year old than, "Timmy died," which can result in tears and trauma. Thus, euphemisms come in handy to "sound more official, less harsh or offensive, professional, or polite."

A Greener Planet

Bamboo Bikes

Image by Bamboo Bikes Studio, which started in 2008.

The Bamboo Bikes Studio is yet another eco-awesome company. Based in Camden, Maine, Bamboo Bikes, quite obviously, focuses on creating bicycle frames made from bamboo. Bamboo is renewable, recyclable, and organic. It reduces carbon emissions needed for extraction and manufacturing of metals.

 Bamboo Bikes even commits to sustainability of bamboo forests, replanting new ones and harvesting through local bamboo farmers as well as conservation towards pre-existing ones.

The usage of bamboo as part of a bicycle has its own advantages. Compared to steel frames, the bamboo bike frames are 10 times lighter. According to the company, bamboo frames are also naturally shock-absorbent and durable. The innovation of Bamboo Bikes is a fine addition to the "greener planet revolution."

Learn more about Bamboo Bikes at Ourworld 2.0 or bamboobikestudio.useful-arts.com.

Did you know?: Bamboo is actually considered grass.

Gaming

Minecraft

Introduction

Minecraft is a creation-oriented computer game ranging from the age of eight to twenty. The game is widely known for its "poor graphics" and "blocky world;" literally consisting of blocks and archaic interface to intrigue the next generation by emulating older games, contrary to the Call of Duty or Halo of today. 

The initial goal of Minecraft is to survive the nights by hunting, improvising shelters, and fighting off hostile creatures. Gradually, the player is able to thrive by gathering more useful materials "below the surface," through mining and excavation.
This leads to construction through more diverse materials, tools, and structures as well as more complex items such as potions, enchantments, and portals to other dimensions. Ideas are limitless in Minecraft, and each generated world is unique.

With over 11 million registered players, Minecraft is an increasingly eminent game. One can play solo on singleplayer worlds or with friends on multiplayer servers. In the realm of Minecraft, it is possible to be logged on with a player who shares similar interests- on the other side of the globe. Expansions (mods or plugins), themes, and avatars are all part of this collaboration.

Minecraft is a modern game of its own.

"A Picture is Worth One Thousand Words."

Rescued seagull from the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the largest marine oil spill in history. Picture provided by National Geographic.

Miscellaneous 

The "Thought" of Chess

Chess is a game based on logic, understanding, and perspective. The initial level of "thought" begins when a player attempts to plan his pieces for future events by means of better defense, position, or simply setting a decoy or trap for the enemy. For most, this comes through countless games by playing against more experienced players, acquiring wisdom through memory of enemy tactics, identifying locations of the board of significance, and numerous trial and errors. A classic board game, chess is one that tests opponents one-on-one in a strategic battle of kingdoms.

"A Train and His Boy"

"A Train and His Boy," by Youtuber RonIsNeat, is a short 2-minute video that brings to life Stanley, a wooden train character, part of the Thomas & Friends children's series, who lives alongside the boy in this video as his companion. The animator gives facial expressions and reactions to Stanley "[the way] I imagine my son sees him."

I can relate well to this story because I had my own train, Percy, around the same time. I would also "feed" him, bring him everywhere I went, and sleep with him like that of a (rather hard) teddy bear. I even would cry if I lost my Percy or if he was damaged,  which I presume the boy in this video did likewise after each of his "4 Stanleys" went missing in action. It is simply incredible how strong the bond can be between one and their toys at the age in which creativity and imagination is limitless.

My favorite scenes here are the "spreading of cheese," "playing old arcade games," and "bedtime" with Stanley.

This video reminds me of Toy Story as well.

Freerice 5th Birthday Celebration!

October 7th marks the fifth birthday since the founding of Freerice, a nonprofit organization given to the World Food Programme in 2009 by creator John Breen.
Freerice donates rice to the hungry in third-world countries by quizzing the user with questions from a subject of their choice (math, vocabulary, grammar, geography, foreign languages, etc.); doubling up as an educational tool. The website generates advertisements which then pay 10 grains of rice per correct answer. Although ten grains of rice seems rather scarce, the questions become addicting and rice quickly accumulates. For hardcore players, Freerice even allows one to sign up for an account and track their rice statistics.
During their birthday celebration, Freerice is implementing a "birthday-challenge" feature, where ricers can host challenges and collaborate towards a rice goal with their friends, family, school, and coworkers. Events begin October 3rd and last for up to 5 days, in conjunction with the number five for the anniversary.

Join the Freerice bandwagon and begin donating as a competitive individual or a team at freerice.com.

"Fallen Kingdom," an Animated Minecraft Music Video, Parody of Coldplay's "Viva la Vida."

One of the most popular Minecraft music videos, "Fallen Kingdom," by CaptainSparklez, tells the depressing tale of a cowardly king whose small kingdom comes to ruin at the hands of "Herobrine," creepers, and the undead, all references to the hostile creatures of Minecraft. In the end, the king remains the last survivor of the apocalypse. A moral of this story might be "Don't take things for granted," or "Easy come, easy go."

Many viewers of this parody relate the king in "Fallen Kingdom" to the mascot of Burger King the fast-food franchise. What do you think?