Mario Bros. and Wario Bros. 11-18-09

This entry will be about the Mario Bros.(Mario and Luigi) and their arch-rivals, the Wario Bros.(Wario and Waluigi) from Nintendo.

Mario and Luigi

Mario and Luigi wear the colors red and green respectively. Since Mario wears red, a warm color, this means he is more active and energetic. Luigi wears green, which is a cool color, so which means he doesn't tend to be as energetic and confident as Mario is. Red and green complement each other, so the two brothers have to be opposites of each other, especially in height. Mario is shorter and fatter, and Luigi is taller and thinner.

Wario and Waluigi

The Wario Bros. are the sneaky and underhanded versions of the Mario Bros. As their "evil" dopplegangers, they maintain the Marios' main traits. Wario and Waluigi wear complementary colors(Yellow=Wario; Purple=Waluigi). Waluigi, like Luigi, is the thinner and taller brother. Wario, like Mario, is the fatter and shorter brother.

The "complementary" pair was actually first popularized by the comedians of the 1930s-1940s such as Laurel and Hardy and Abbott and Costello(shown below).

Laurel and Hardy


Abbott and Costello

The "complementary" pair was also popular with movie critics Roger Ebert and the late Gene Siskel(shown below).

Bowser from Super Mario Bros. 11-17-09

This entry will be about the villainous Bowser aka King Koopa from the Super Mario Bros. series.

Bowser made his first appearance in Super Mario Bros. for the Nintendo Entertainment system. Bowser is a giant firebreathing turtle who threatens the peaceful Mushroom Kingdom and is the nemesis of the main character, Mario. The scales, claws and horns make him almost dragon-like, but the spiked shell reminds us that he is a turtle-type creature. The spiked bracelets were added to make him seem more of a threatening villain.

In the Super Smash Bros. series of games, Bowser has the ability to transform into a more monstrous version called Giga Bowser. His horns become larger and more curved, the spikes on his shell become more pronounced, and his tail grows spikes, much like a stegosaurus(shown below).



There also exists a giant turtle monster known as Gamera, who has had a series of movies in Japan. This monster, who made its debut in 1965("Gamera"), may have inspired the creation of Bowser.

Works Cited

"Gamera -." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Web. 17 Nov. 2009. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamera].

Green and White Flags 11-17-09

Pakistan Flag

This is the national flag of Pakistan. Pakistan is a predominantly Islamic country("Pakistan"), therefore they use the crescent moon and star in their flag. However, the crescent moon symbol existed before Islam, but was adopted by the Ottoman Turks("Crescent"). Green is also a sacred color of Islam. According to WikiAnswers, green is "one of the colors of heaven"("WikiAnswers").

Nigeria Flag

This flag was created in 1960 after Nigeria became independent from Britain. The green represents land and the white represents unity("Nigeria's Flag"). Green is a natural color and most of Africa is natural, since it contains jungles, savannahs, and animals, such as lions, elephants, giraffes, and so on. Some groups of people in Africa also farm.

Works Cited

"Crescent Moon - Symbol of Islam?" About.com Islam. Web. 21 Nov. 2009. [http://islam.about.com/od/history/a/crescent_moon.htm].

"Nigeria's Flag - EnchantedLearning.com." ENCHANTED LEARNING HOME PAGE. Web. 21 Nov. 2009. [http://www.enchantedlearning.com/africa/nigeria/flag/].

"Pakistan -." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Web. 21 Nov. 2009.
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistan].

"Pakistan Flag." Flags and Nations of the World. Web. 22 Nov. 2009.
[http://www.flags-flags-flags.org.uk/pakistan-flag.htm].

"WikiAnswers - What does red green and white mean in islam." WikiAnswers - The Q&A wiki. Web. 22 Nov. 2009.
[http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_does_red_green_and_white_mean_in_islam].

Blue and White Flags 11-11-09

Israel Flag

El Salvador Flag

Greece Flag

Honduras Flag

This entry will be about flags with the blue and white color scheme.

What do blue and white mean in each country's context?

The blue and white in Israel's flag represent the Jewish prayer shawl, which symbolizes holiness and Heaven above. The Star of David is also an important symbol in Judaism("Flag of Israel").

In the El Salvador flag, the blue means "the sea and the sky; vigilance, truth and loyalty, perseverance & justice" and the white means "peace and honesty"("El Salvador").

In the flag of Greece, the symbolism of the colors is as follows:

The color blue represents the sea which is so important to Greece and such a major portion of its economy. The white represents the waves on the ocean. Blue has also always been a color of protection, seen in the blue eye amulets used to ward off evil, and white is seen as the color of purity. ("Greek")

It is from this description that we believe that the blue and white in the Greek flag mean purity and goodness.

Finally, the blue in Honduras' flag symbolizes "the sea and the sky; vigilance, truth and loyalty, perseverance & justice" and the white symbolizes "peace and honesty"("Honduras").

So the common symbol of these two paired colors are that of holiness and of purity and goodness. This is very appropriate since blue and white are easy on the eyes.

Works Cited

"El Salvador Flag." Flags and Nations of the World. Web. 11 Nov. 2009. [http://www.flags-flags-flags.org.uk/el-salvador-flag.htm].

"Flag of Israel -." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Web. 11 Nov. 2009. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Israel].

"Greek Flag - Flag of Greece - The Meaning of the Greek Flag." Greece Travel - Travel to Greece. Web. 11 Nov. 2009. [http://gogreece.about.com/od/greekflag/a/greekflag.htm].

"Honduras Flag." Flags and Nations of the World. Web. 11 Nov. 2009. [http://www.flags-flags-flags.org.uk/honduras-flag.htm].

White and Red Flags 11-10-09

Canadian Flag

Japanese Flag

Peruvian Flag

Austrian Flag

All of these flags have a common color scheme: Red and White. But what does Red and White mean in each context?

First, let's look at the Canadian flag. Its main symbol is the maple leaf, colored in red. Interesting fact from Wikipedia's article on Maple Syrup: "Quebec, Canada, produces most of the world's supply of maple syrup"("Maple Syrup").

Now let's look at what white and red mean in the context of Canadian culture.

An response to this question on WikiAnswers says that "The colours on the Canadian flag have no official significance"("WikiAnswers").

World Flags 101, however, states:"In 1921, the Canadian flag's official colors were proclaimed by King George. The color red was taken from the Saint George's Cross and the color white from the French royal emblem"("Canada").

What do red and white mean on the Japanese flag? Since Japan is referred to as "the land of the Rising Sun", we can assume that the red circle is the sun itself.

But what does white mean in the context of the Japanese flag? According to a site named flags-flags-flags.org.uk, white on the Japanese flag means "peace and honesty"("Japanese"). Red also means "hardiness, bravery, strength & valour"("Japanese").

In the context of the Peruvian flag, the coat of arms contains a vicuna(a mammal related to the llama), a cinchona tree(source of quinine[medicine]), and a cornucopia of gold coins("Peru").

Red and white on the Peruvian flag mean the same thing on the Japanese flag("Peru").

The Austrian flag colors have identical meanings to the Peruvian and Japanese flags("Austrian").

Works Cited

"Austrian Flag." Flags and Nations of the World. Web. 11 Nov. 2009. [http://www.flags-flags-flags.org.uk/austrian-flag.htm].

"Canada Flag - World Flags 101 - Canadian Flags." Flags of the World. Web. 10 Nov. 2009. [http://www.worldflags101.com/c/canada-flag.aspx].

"Japanese Flag." Flags and Nations of the World. Web. 10 Nov. 2009. [http://www.flags-flags-flags.org.uk/japanese-flag.htm].

"Peru Flag." Flags and Nations of the World. Web. 10 Nov. 2009. [http://www.flags-flags-flags.org.uk/peru-flag.htm].

"WikiAnswers - What do the colors on the Canadian flag mean." WikiAnswers - The Q&A wiki. Web. 10 Nov. 2009. [http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_do_the_colors_on_the_Canadian_flag_mean].

Mexican and Italian Flags 11-9-09

Mexican Flag

Italian Flag

These two flags have one thing in common: the same color scheme(green, white, and red). They are also aligned in the same way. There is only one difference between them. The Mexican flag has an eagle attacking a snake as its logo.

According to both a webpage titled "Flag Symbols" and Houseofnames.com, the eagle represents God, Heaven, good, and the sun, while the snake represents evil.

The snake as a symbol of evil has precedent, especially in The Biblical book of Genesis. The snake, known also as a serpent, successfully tempted Adam and Eve to eat an apple from the Tree of Knowledge, against God's wishes, thus banishing both of them from the Garden of Eden.

The eagle as a symbol is also used in the United States. In fact, the bald eagle is the official bird of the United States.

Now as for the colors, the site three-musketeers.net states the following:

Green usually means "nature, the environment, good luck, youth, vigor, jealousy, envy, and misfortune".

White usually means "angels and gods, as the color reflects that which is sacred and pure".

Red usually means "strong emotions, or things of strong emotions rather than intellectual ideas. For example, red can symbolize excitement, energy, speed, strength, danger, passion, and aggression."

We must now compare that with what experts say about the colors of each flag.

According to the webpage called Flag Symbols,

* Green symbolizes Hope, the deep Aspiration to return to the unity of the being, who is torn between his different contradictory aspirations and to the union of the beings gathered under the same banner.
* White depicts Faith of the beings ready to undertake this return voyage, the total abandonment to the divine powers symbolizing unity and the trust without limits in Gods and oneself.
* Red means divine Love, the Love that supports us alongside the way towards the deep reality of our nature in which we are only one.

However, is it the same thing for the Italian flag? For green and white, yes, but red in the Italian flag actually means charity, according to The Italian Flag 101.

So there you have it, the Mexican and Italian flags, same colors, almost identical meanings.

Works Cited

"Flag symbols: Mexico, the eagle and the serpent-LOTUS". Lotus-At the Heart of Symbolism. Web. 10 Nov 2009. [http://users.skynet.be/lotus/flag/mexico0-en.htm]

"The Italian Flag 101." In Italy Online - Hotels in Italy, Villas in Italy, Lodgings in Italy, Traveling to Italy and Information about Italy. Web. 10 Nov. 2009. [http://www.initaly.com/gene/flag101.htm].

"The Story of the New York State Bird." New York State Bluebird Society Home page. Web. 10 Nov. 2009. [http://www.nysbs.org/nysbird.htm].

"Symbolism - eagle." Coats of Arms (Family Crests) & Surname Histories. Web. 10 Nov. 2009. [http://www.houseofnames.com/xq/asp/keyword.eagle/qx/symbolism_details.htm].

"Symbolism: Colors." Three-musketeers.net -- Fun Stuff For the Web. Web. 10 Nov. 2009. [http://www.three-musketeers.net/mike/colors.html].

Mobile Phones with Tracking technology 11-5-09

http://news.cnet.com/Mobile-phones-that-track-your-buddies/2100-1039_3-6135209.html

This article on CNet is about how cell-phone service provider Boost Mobile has offered a demonstration of their new technology called Loopt, which helps cell-phone users track their friends’ location.

http://news.cnet.com/Helio-adds-new-GPS-enabled-phone/2100-1039_3-6133856.html

This CNet article is related to the previous one, as it also involves a cell-phone that uses “tracking” technology. The phone is called Drift and is offered through the cell-phone service provider Helio.

This phone uses a Global Positioning system (or GPS for short, hence the headline) to track where the cell-phone owner is, just in case they’re lost.
Frankly, I’m surprised as to how far the cell phone has gone. GPS cell phone apps can be helpful in the long run, especially when you get lost while camping or your car breaks down. It can also reduce the reliance on paper maps if it could, since you’ll always have a map with you, provided that you don’t lose the phone or your phone doesn’t lose battery power. Moving towards a more “paperless” future is especially important for the environment. Also keeping track of your friends is also important in keeping your social life intact. You’ll be able to meet your friends at the mall, or at school to study, or any other activity.