55-107 Ghost Map

In the next part of Ghost Map, the story begins to focus on a man named John Snow. Snow was a scientist that had made great improvements in the delivery and use of Chloroform and ether so that it could be safely administered to patients. He became interested in studying and trying to solve the cholera epidemic that was sweeping the Soho and broadstreet area in London. The current theory of what spread cholera was smell or some sort of airborne disease, but Snow didnt believe that was the case because of the way the disease seemed to be spreading and how it was confining itself to certain areas. I think its interesting however that Snow was able to pick up on water as the possible carrier of the disease. It would be interesting to know if that was his first hunch, or if he pursued a few other theories to the spread of cholera at the same time before he settled on the waterborne theory. It was fascinating to see Snows foresight and ability to piece together a huge amount of information on the micro level to the city wide level in helping to determine a theory and discover how cholera was assailing London.

Ghost Map–entry II (Brenda D.)

I really enjoyed Stevenson’s take on how cities contribute to innovation and the spread of ideas. He specifically describes how the teamwork of Snow and Whitehead allowed for the Vestry to acknowledge the fact that the miasma theory was wrong.

Furthermore, the idea of the internet providing a new source for interactions and the spread of ideas is a very fascinating topic. On one hand the internet allows for many different connections to be made, however, its downfall lies in the  fact that people are not as motivated to ask questions and wait for there to be answers. People need that immediate gratification of having an answer on the spot, a quality which most networking sites does not provide. Thus, while the internet provides a vast amount of data and a boundless medium for networking among individuals, it falls short of human interaction. Maybe one day Stevenson will have his dreams met.

Ghost Map 1-55 — Zack Long

In Pages 1-55 of the book “Ghost Map” by Steven Johnson talked about the epidemic in London where millions of people died from an outbreak of Cholera. The reason why they had this outbreak was because of an unsanitary living condition. For example, their sewage system wasn’t that great that they’d hire people know as Night Soil Men to clean the pits below the houses of the waste. As the population was growing, it became harder to remove the waste from people’s homes which eventually lead to the waste being transported out through the drinking water thus only spreading the Cholera when people would drink from the contaminated water

Jekyll and Hydy Movie 1932 and 1941Marshai Mc

I thought both of the films looked good for movies that were made about 60 years ago.  I enjoyed the 1941 firm the best because Mr. Hyde still looked the same. This feature made the movie more realistic.  Mr. Hyde didn’t look like a giant monkey like he did in the 1932 movie.   

The firms’ plots were very similar; there were a few differences though.  In the 1941 movie Mr. Hyde looked more like a crazy man, but in the 1932 movie Mr. Hyde was a furious beast. The ending was also slightly different.  Dr. Jekyll was shot by different people.  In 1932 Jekyll was killed by the police man, and in 1942 Jekyll was killed by a detective.  Mr. Hyde’s girlfriend, Ivey was a prostitute, while in the 1941 version Ivey was just a bartender.  I like the part when Dr. Jekyll sends Ivey some money.  In the 1932 version Ivey ran to Dr. Jekyll for help, but in the 1941 Ivey went to see Dr. Jekyll because her friends told her she was acting funny.   

I enjoyed watching both movies.  The book was still better, but the movies were still interesting. 

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Novel v Movie

The novel and the movie were pretty different in the way they portrayed the case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Compared to the book, there was no mystery for the audience about what was happening to Dr. Jekyll even though people in the movie did not know what was happening. I enjoyed the mystery presented in the novel version of the story. The Novel also made no mention of any women in while the movie introduced two. The romantic and lust element added to the movie helped to portray the differences between Jekyll and Hyde more so than the novel revealed in my opinion. It was very clear how split his personalities became when you could view them being acted out than reading people’s opinions in the novel. Overall I found the movie surprisingly enjoyable and even funny at times compared to the novel which was an interesting mystery, suspense story, but overall very dry.

World’s Fair

The part of the World Fair that I found interesting was the landscape.  The documentary stated how the people were more attracted to the landscape than they were by the expo.  That is shocking news because the contractor had to rush to get the World fair done. The other thing that I found interesting was Edison voice recorder.  Edison voice recorder is like the modern day telephone.  The documentary tells a tale of a couple in two different countries who speaks into a voice recorder and sends a short message to their lover.  I would have never imagined technology to be that advance in the 1920’s. 

Devil in the White City 4

The chapter starts with H.H. Holmes as the main suspect.  Holmes moved to Inndaipolis to get them off his trail.  We found out that Holmes has some children with him.  Holmes get capture and he begins to write a book. He also wrote a letter to Carrie Pitezel, telling her where her children were and asking how she could believe he would hurt her children or her husband.Geyer’s search led him to Toronto, Canada. He found a house Holmes had rented and found the bodies of Alice and Nellie. This is start of tying holmes to the murders. Then the attorney question Holmes about the body but Holmes saw the paper and didn’t say nothing. Holmes got his book published and accused minnie and howard for the murders. Geyer succeeded in finding Howard but  Howard had been murdered.  All that was left was to put the murders on Holmes. Holmes was indicted for the murders of Benjamin, Howard, Alice and Nellie Pitezel in their respective cases in several states. Many hoped for a conviction in Philadelphia, which would give him the death penalty.

Master and Commander

“Master and Commander” was a great movie about the war between England and France.   It explained many things about life on a ship.  I thought it was interesting to see how France kept finding England during stormy night.  England knew that the French had more weapons and more people, so if France had attack one more time England would have lost their crew and their ship.   When England realized they were becoming closer to French’s ship, they disguised their ship to through off the French, and when they were close enough they attacked.  French’s idea to pretend to be dead was great.  They pretend to be dead, then everyone pop up and attacked.I thought the Doctor was the most interesting character.  He was a doctor, a naturalist, and a psychologist (he was always aware on how the sailors were feeling).  What seem even more interesting was their knowledge of surgery.  The doctor conducted brain surgery, but he couldn’t heal the little boy’s broken arm.  I didn’t think the y was going to amputate his arm.  It was also strange how they sewed up the body bag and then sew the thread through the nose.   I enjoyed watching “Master and Commander,” because it wasn’t a documentary.  I wish we could watch more historical movies.

Devil in the White City

I am really starting to like this book. Its different than a lot of other books I have read before, just in the way that the story is told, for a non-fiction book that is. I think it is a pretty fast read also which is good. The way that he is able to describe things with such detail that you feel like your there while at the same time avoiding the route that Steven King takes and describing everything in such detail that you are simply bored and cant wait to put the book down. This story keeps you turning the pages. I didn’t get that kind of feel from “The Years or Rice and Salt”. I like the way that it discribes Chicago at the time it takes place, it is very easy to imagine. I also find it interesting that women are starting to get more jobs. Its is neat to see how the world is starting to make that transition.

The Years of Rice and Salt-Book 5

In the book Warp and Weft I found some interesting historical references but also found that they live a regular life. At the beginning its starts with the doorkeepers went to announce a council meeting.