Hawaii

Last summer me and my family went to Hawaii it was one of the best trips of my life. I have taken we stayed in a little condo by a big beach called hapona. The best beach I have been to about 90% of the time we where at the beach. But the other 10% we went to a active volcano. It was really cool we did not see any lava but I think we got close to some. It was really hot down there that day we hiked about 4 miles on the rockey lava rocks. That was one of the coolest experiences in my life I hope to go back again.

8th grade project

Last weekend for my 8th grade project I did the big climb for leukimia. First we handed out water for the climbers for 3 hours. Then me and my dad did the big climb it was really hard. 73 flights 1,311 stairs I thought I was going to pass out after I climbed the stairs. But I beat my dad by 20 seconds. My 8th grade project is on leukimia that is why I did the climb. I think we will do the climb next year too. I hope I am in better shape next year so I do not feel like I am going to pass out. But it was still a fun experience climbing the tower.

New Years

For the last half of winter break we went to oregon. We stayed at our friends house for 5 days. On new years day we went bowling for 3 hours then came back to his house at about 4. When we got back to his house we had to set up for the big party. 30 or 40 people came at about 10 at night we lite of fireworks big ones then after the fireworks we went bowling agian. With one of his friends it was fun because they turned of the lights and we got to bowl in the dark. We where done about 12:30 when we where done with bowling we went back to his house. There was still alot of people about 20. Then we played guitar hero 3 till 3:00 then we watched movie till 5 or 6.

Four day weekend

This weekend is our four day weekend I am going to work at my uncles other house that he just bought I worked once before I got to pull up tack strip that holds the carpet it was wasent very fun but I got 40 dollers for the work so I was happy I hope I dont do somthing that Is not very fun but I still hope I got a couple of weekends ago so I can buy a new paintball gun I also want to get on a paintball team and playmore because I dont play enought but once I get my new gun I want to find tryouts for a team because paintball is fun.

REI

Last weekend me and my dad went to REI to get all my stuff for the california trip that we take on saturday after we shopped for about 3 hours for stuff for the trip we got to go to a moive national treasure book of secrets it was really good I even think it was better than the first on the treasure they found was awsome and way better then the first first moive it was a whole town made of gold made by Indians it was one of the best moives I have scene so far I hope They make another national treasure I like those movies because they have to figure out all the clues to find the big treasure I also liked it because of the puzzle solving part of it.

The Mound Builders

The mound builders had many different types of mounds. The most common type of mound is the flat top pyramid. The flat top pyramid usually held the basic temple. The mounds came in many different sizes ranging from those built for one family to those built for whole towns. They could be massive in size or very small. The mounds had one flaw in the design, if the wood frame got water in it, it would rot and fall over. They later found the flaw and fixed it by using a rock frame instead of wood. They also had burial mounds, they were shaped like cones. They put the body under the frame then burned it. After they burned the body they put his treasures on top of him. Once they did that, they built the cone on top of the body. They were named the mound builders because of all the unique mounds they made. The mound builders have hundreds of thousands of mounds still up today. The mounds were used for ceremonial burial and living purposes. The mounds, like the pyramids of the Egyptians were massive in size. Some of the mounds were shaped like the animal they worshiped.


The mound builders grew and they hunted for many things. They grew corn, squash, beans, and tobacco in their farms and gardens. They also hunted for many things like fish, which they speared and trapped. Their hunting tools were the bow, spear, trap, and axes. The skin they got from the animal, they tanned and made into clothing. They believed in using the animal for everything they could, like cooking, clothing, and other tools. The main animals they caught were rabbits, bear, fish and deer. They sometimes caught other things like sea life. They caught the bear by trapping it with a bear trap then spearing it until it was dead. The deer and rabbit they caught with bow and arrow but sometimes spears. They used bear and deer bones to make garden tools like the hoe or spade. They invented a spear thrower called an atlatl, which gave the spear greater velocity on impact to kill the deer faster. Cities such as Cahokia depended on a combination of hunting, foraging, trading and agriculture for their food and supplies. As you can see, hunting and gathering are, or if not, then close to the most important thing they did back then. Their war tools were the axe, bow and spear. They did not go to war that often, but when they did, those are the tools they brought.


The chief’s burial was very ceremonial. First they wrapped him in a milkweed cloth. They only used the milkweed cloth for the chief. Most of the villagers made special gifs like bronze and silver breastplates and bracelets for him to take to the spirit world. The hunters made hammers, knives and bows for him to hunt in the spirit world. All the farmers gave him seeds to take to the next world to make crops. The mound builders had a strong belief in the next world. So they had to do all of the burial right for him to go to the spirit world. The artists made stone pipes carved like the things they worshiped, such as the bird. They also made funeral bowls and breastplates, but more detailed than the villagers made. The night they decide to bury him, they had a small ceremony. This ceremony had dancers, drummers and singers to morn his death. They also made human sacrifices for the chief. The sacrifices were his workers in the spirit world. They also scalped the workers for some ceremonial purposes.

The mound builders made their mounds by first digging up the ground. After they dug up the earth, they cut down trees. The trees came from outside of their village. After they cut down the trees, they drove the tree stumps into the ground and put mud in the hole to make the stumps stay in the ground. They put mud mixed with grass over the wood beams to make the mud stay and dry. After the mud was dry, they put an extra layer of clay on to make the surface smooth. Once all the basic things were done, they cut a hole in the top so they could have a fireplace to keep them warm in the winter. Also, some of them made windows, not very many, but all had doors. As you know, the mound is the thing they are best known for and it is what inspired many other tribes to make things like it. After they found out that the wood rots, they replaced it with a rock structure. They usually made them by large rivers which rotted the structures faster. Most of the mounds were made of earth. Some were made of all stone but that was very rare. Most were built in commanding positions like on hill tops in groups.


Their jewelry as you know was almost always used for ceremonial purposes. They made most of their jewelry out of bronze and silver. Those were the easiest kinds of rocks to find around that area of Mississippi. Their smoking pipes were carved to look like the animals they worshiped. Some of the animals they worshiped were the eagle, hawk and owl. They usually worshiped birds. All the different tribes had different animals they worshiped, mostly these were birds, but sometimes this was a dog or even a person. They made breastplates and bracelets of the animals they worshiped. They used the treasure from the burial to mark where a wealthy person was buried, like a chief. Jewelry was a very important part of their lives because they traded it for other goods like food or other jewelry. The mound builders also used shells that they carved at the burial. The believed in the spirits and carved them into their jewelry. The spirits were the animal, weather, ancestor and local spirits. But some tribes believed in more than one spirit, they called that mixing spirits. The jewelry they found at the mounds were from many different places so that means that they traded with many people. As you can see the mound builder tribes were an advanced society with an advanced trading system.


There is little known about the mound builders art. There is little known about it because the art was either destroyed or they did not make that much art. The most art that was found was around the burials. That did not surprise the finders because they always had big offerings at the burial of the chief. Like the jewelry, they put the animals they worshiped into their pottery. The one thing they found the most of was pottery at the burial sites. The pottery was carved as the spirits of their ancestors and animals. Like the jewelry, the pottery was used for trading of goods. They had very detailed pottery mostly carved as humans but sometimes carved as animals. The types of art they made depended on where they lived. If you lived by the sea, you made shell art. If you lived in the forest, you made pottery and pipes. They made about 10 different kinds of art. An example is ear ornaments or pipes, there are many different types. In my opinion, the art work was the coolest thing they did beside the mounds. The art they did was very pretty and best displayed their art skills and creativity.

Stop Frame Essay

Patrick Riebel
Stop frame essay
November 6, 2007

Stop Frame Essay

My stop frame claymation project that Cameron and I made will cover 3 main topics. These topics are the funnest part of making stop frame, the most difficult task and most important thing we learned while creating this project.

I think the funnest part of doing claymation was to create the little people and all the props that we put together for the scene and working their positions for the stop frame pictures so it looks as professional as possible.

The most difficult task of the claymation was the computer part and putting everything together. When we had to put our voice’s to the claymation and had to make effects then putting the pictures in order and then moving the whole thing onto You tube was really intense.

The most important thing I learned was how to use the Apple computers better than I had before and how to use some of the applications that I didn’t even know were there and what they could do. It took a lot of hard work and patience.

In conclusion, the new knowledge of the Apple computers and claymation applications we were able to make a really good claymation project that makes it look like they move by themselves and are alive.