Summer 2009

This map shows the Pacific Ring of Fire, a magnificent ring of volcanoes, due to excessive tectonic activity.

On a different note, I plan on filling my summer with the things I usually have, perhaps for the last time. This is my last summer at home before I graduate college, so the future is uncertain. After school ends in May, I will go back home and work as a hired man for a local farmer and friend of mine. I will also occasionally help my dad on our farm. My youngest sister and I will also mow and do yard work for a lady in our area. One of my favorite summertime activities is Men's League Slow-Pitch Softball League in Hastings, NE. I have played on a team with some local friends for several years and am signed up again this year. I will also lift weights every morning with a high school friend to prepare for my final football season here at Concordia. Every summer, I usually work at Christian camps for two weeks. I am looking forward to this experience, and am glad to be able to invest my time in the lives of some kids I have gotten to know well by now. Finally, I am best man in my neighbor and friend's wedding this summer. This means I am in charge of planning a bachelor party, and I think I have some decent ideas. I will also be attending at least one other wedding of college friends. This summer will be filled with whatever comes my way, and I hope to make the most of it.

-Daniel Uden 4-27-2009

World Names Profiler

When I typed "Uden" into the World Names Profiler, I found what I expected to, for the most part. I know that my family immigrated from Germany, and all of the countries that showed up as high occurence rates were in Northwest Europe, except for New Zealand. The country with the highest occurence for "Uden" happened to be Sweden. I did not expect this. Perhaps I have some long, lost Swedish relatives I knew nothing about. The United States had a lower occurence rate than the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, Sweden or Germany. Countries with very low occurence rates included Australia, India and Japan. This is a very interesting tool that I am sure I will play with for at least five more minutes now before I continue with my homework.

-Daniel Uden 4-27-2009

Underground Chinese Christians

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H77pZGzUUZI

This YouTube video I selected is a 2007 CBS special on Christianity in China. Since Mao Zedong and the Chinese Communist Party took power in 1949, communism has been the official state religion in China. Yet today, even after 60 years of suppression, the Christian Church in China is flourishing. Most Chinese Christians meet secretly in house churches, for fear of the Chinese authorities. Several state-sponsored churches exist today, but members must register with the Communist Party and are subject to close government scrutiny. As China continues to rapidly develop in today's global economy, some Chinese are seeing that the world of materialism is a dead-end road in the end, and are turning to religion. In Chrisitanity and faith in Jesus Christ, these people have found something for which they are willing to endure persecution at the hands of their government. These Chinese long for a day when they are allowed to openly practice their faith. But until then, they continue to faithfully meet where they are unseen by the world.

-Daniel Uden 4-27-2009

Bizarre Foods and Globalization

As cultures around the world developed in isolation, they developed a taste for certain foods, favoring some over others. Certain foods became delicacies, others were despised or forbidden. A range of factors likely contributed to varied diets worldwide, including native animals and plants in certain regions, the ability to trade and religion. For example, cultures that developed near bodies of water are more likely to include fish in their diets. Cultures lying along major trade routes are exposed to goods from other parts of the world, including foods and spices. And finally, cultures where certain foods are prohibited by religion (ex. cattle in Hinduism or pork in Judaism) fail to incorp0rate certain foods into their diets.

As the world become increasingly interconnected, people are continually exposed to what may be considered 'bizarre foods' from other cultures. I believe that as long as globalization continues, the worldwide trend will favor a decrease in diversity. Only through conscious effort will traditional cultural cooking styles and tastes be preserved in their true forms. This may seem like a stretch, considering that there still remains a high level of diversity in the world, but the world is developing and moving toward more uniform culture at a rapid rate. However, despite the fact that traditional styles, tastes and cultures are threatened by the globalization trend, globalization makes it possible for different parts of the word to share their individual tastes in food with the rest of the world, no matter how bizarre it may be.

-Daniel Uden 4-26-2009

G-20 Summit

This week, world leaders are meeting at the G-20 Summit in London, where they will discuss their plans for addressing the current global recession. The G-20 Summit brings together financial leaders of important world economies with the goal of bettering the world economy through cooperation and dialogue. The G-20 was first held in 1999, and has been held annually ever since in nine different countries. Member nations include Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, United Kingdom and the United States. Pictured above are four influential leaders at the summit: Gordon Brown of Britain, Barack Obama of the United States, Angela Merkel of Germany and Nicolas Sarkozy of France.

-Daniel Uden 4/5/2009

European New World View

When viewing the North American continent on maps, we often become used to looking at it in a certain way. This way usually includes North America centered on the map, with north facing the map top. State and national borders are also usually included and aid us in thinking about the region spatially. However, North America takes on a very different view when we simply change the perspective we are viewing it from.

This image from Google Earth shows North America from a Western European perspective, how the New World may have appeared in the minds of European explorers in centuries past. From an English viewpoint, the Canadian Provinces of Quebec and Newfoundland lie directly to the west, while the United States sits further south. The northerly regions of the lower 48, brought into perspective by the Great Lakes, are seen to sit off to the southwest of England. I, from a midwestern United States standpoint, am not used to thinking of the Great Lakes as lying south of anything. However, the Great Lakes are not any further north than the greater part of Europe, which sits largely north fo the 48th parallel. I wonder if old maps could indicate how the spatial perspective of early European explorers and settlers differed from ours today? It is interesting to note that even home isn't very recognizable when one's vantage point is changed.

-Daniel Uden 4/5/2009

Slumdog Millionaire

Slumdog Millionaire is a newly released British film about Jamal Mailik, young man from the slums of India, who goes from rags to riches by winning India's version of the game show, "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" Throughout the gameshow, the movie flashes back to Jamal's childhood in the slums, where his previous experiences provide him with the answers to the questions on the show.

The movie is said to realistically portray the life of India's poor. Scenes of miles of tin roofs, busy marketplaces, children playing in garbage, Islam-Hindu conflicts, polluted rivers and poor diets give the viewer an accurate picture of everyday life for many Indians. Some of the poorest and most oppressed members of India's population are the dalits, or untouchables. The lowest caste in the caste system, most untouchables live life begging and doing anything they can to earn their next meal. Slumdog Millionaire paints the story of a boy who overcomes the hand he has been dealt in life and emerges a millionaire, though Jamal is portrayed as coming from a Muslim family and therefore would not be considered a part of the Hindu-based caste system.

Slumdog Millionaire provides a glimpse of the developing world, where the gap between the rich and the poor is immense, and countless hopes for a better life are never realized. It accurately portrays how life in India is influenced by traditional Indian culture and globalization. The fim also serves to raise awareness of how much of the developing world population lives, and presents a hopeful ending to a sad story.

-Daniel Uden 3-24-2009