3a: World Cities(Heart of Silicon Valley, CA)

Heart of Silicon Valley, CA

1. Contains a title using the format listed above .25 points
2. Contains a web link to your locations. (eg you can use the tools in your blog where you paste your work; there is a little icon that looks like a link) .25 points

http://www.city-data.com/city/Sunnyvale-California.html
http://www.city-data.com/city/Palo-Alto-California.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palo_Alto
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunnyvale,_Ca
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_University

3. Contains an explanation regarding how this component (any aspect of it; eg content of videos & websites) connects to your study of humanities. .25 point

Sunnyvale and Palo Alto are two of many cities that make up Silicon Valley, the headquarters of many well known high tech companies in the world. These high tech companies put California in the spotlight, most of these companies play a part in our daily life. Everyday millions of people use the computer to surf the internet, chat with friends, buy specialty items or books or at the very least talk on their phone. Without this modern technology, I would not be able to do the research assignment or post it in a blog or even chat with my friends online. We are quite dependent on our tech devices that many could not imagine a day without it.
These cities are also known for their history, initially Sunnyvale was known for its fruit industry but during WWII it began to change into the tech industry where they built marine steam engines, guns and rocket launchers to aid the war effort. Many street names in Palo Alto are Spanish to reflect the local heritage and former residents. Palo Alto has numerous Craftsmen and California Colonial homes that date back to the 1890s and numerous Joseph Eichler style homes built in first 20 years after WWII.

4. Contains the following elements that will be used in upcoming projects for analytical purposes:
a. What are some assumptions/stereotypes you think people have of each location: 1 point

Palo Alto:

* The wealthy are snobby because they think they're better financially and intellectually than others.
* Only the smartest kids get into Stanford University unless they play sports like basketball which the university is also known for their basketball championships.
* The city is full of tall, green trees.
* Residents must have a high income to live there.

Sunnyvale:

* Gamer world(video games)
* Populated mostly by families
* Housing is more affordable
* Lots of shopping

b. List 3 things that make each location similar: 1 point

1. Headquarters to many high-tech companies such as Yahoo!, NetApp, Palm, Inc., AMD(Sunnyvale), Hewlett-Packard, Facebook, and Photobucket(Palo Alto)

2. Both cities make up Silicon Valley(high-tech companies & research facilities) and Santa Clara County.

3. Primarily populated by the Ohlone in the 1770s when the Spanish first arrived.

4. Both have many famous residents which include politicians, athletes, actors, musicians & reknown scientists

c. List 3 things that make each location so different: 1 point

1. Before Femont H.S. opened in 1923, it served as a military base through WWII where planes could fuel-up. The school kept some of the old military buildings including a Quonset hut which is now a wrestling facility. (Sunnyvale)

2. Sunnyvale has almost twice the population of Palo Alto. According to 2007 statistics, Palo Alto had 58,246 residents compared to 131,140.

3. The avg. price of home in Palo Alto was $1.3 million according to 2006-07 statistics and is the 5th most expensive U.S. city.

4. Sunnyvale has consistently ranked as one of the safest cities(amongst cities of similar population) in the U.S. according to FBI reports.

5. Palo Alto means "tall tree" and is named after a tree of the same name.

d. Questioning: What else would you like to know about these places? When completing the question section, lead your audience into the question by stating a fact you do know, yet you still have the related question. This way, both your audience and you will have an educational experience. .5 point

I would like to visit the Sunnyvale Heritage Park Museum that just opened last month. The museum was built to commemorate the Martin Murphy family who founded Sunnyvale. The Museum architecture was modeled after the Murphy family home. I would like to know more about the Colonial homes in Palo Alto, like what Craftsmen, California Colonial or Eichler-style homes mean in terms of architecture.

5. Using your classmates work from last week, tell us one thing you learned from 1 student. Is this one thing some common experience you share or some experience that is completely different than what you experienced? Is this one thing related to our class theoretical foundation and if so, how? Is that one thing related to historical or cultural context of this country or a different one? Link that persons blog to this entry (eg cut paste that blog entry here) . .5 point

I found the research on Frida Kahlo done by Yesenia Chavez was very touching. Frida was a realist painter who portrayed her Mexican culture, her sexuality & personal feelings through art. Her paintings are said to be very vivid and full of raw emotion. I found it quite interesting how some of Frida's artwork has brought Yesenia to tears, it just shows the power of creativity. Many people express their emotions through art & the viewers can sometimes feel as if it were them or their emotions being portrayed. The only piece I have seen of Frida Kahlo's is her self-portrait so I will have to do some more research on her and her paintings.
http://yeseniachavez.blogspot.com/2008/09/2a-frida-kahlo.html