At the end of October, the Pokemon Company released a new mobile game called Pokemon TCG Pocket. For fellow nerds such as myself, this game is very fun to play since it incorporates the collecting and battling portions of the TCG (trading card game), but in a more condensed and fast paced version. My favorite part of the game is battling because I love the thrill of trying to predict and counter my opponent, so for my analog experiment I chose to play a full game of the TCG with a few of my friends.
Almost immediately after making the plan, I got hit with obstacles. First, a real TCG deck consists of 60 cards while a deck in the mobile game consists of 20. Although I have a lot of physical cards, it was very difficult to build a cohesive deck. For example, I knew I wanted to build a deck around Charizard (my favorite Pokemon), but I didn’t have enough copies of Charmander or Charmeleon to fit the mold of a deck. In the mobile game, I could have easily traded in some “pack points” for the cards I needed, but in the real world, I would have had to buy the cards as singles online. The second big issue I had was that I didn’t know the rules for a full-length battle (and neither did my friends). In the game, battles are designed so that they are between 5-10 minutes on average. If you have a question about what is happening or what you can do during your turn, the game will let you know. When we were battling with physical cards, we had to constantly open Google to figure out certain rules and technicalities.
Although it was a pain to set up and actually play, it was far more enjoyable than the mobile game for two big reasons. The first one being that I could actually put a face to my opponent and interact with him. Any actions or reactions during a turn were not confined to the limitations of my thoughts, but could be expressed with words and actions. For example, my friend “paralyzed” my Pokemon for 3 consecutive turns so I cursed him out. Obviously, it wasn’t a personal or aggressive remark, but simply a reaction that we could laugh over as friends. If I were to have a similar reaction while playing the mobile game, people would think that I’m out of my mind.
The second reason the game was more enjoyable to play physically was because I could have a conversation with the people/person I’m hanging out with. Since we only used our phones to check the rules, the only way we could distract ourselves and lower the tension of the battle was by having a conversation. There was no pressure from the in-game timer or voices in my head debating what my next move to be. These things were instead replaced by nostalgia and laughter. The flow of the battle was natural, and I think the personalities of each of us were apparent in our method of playing. I was more defensive and analytical, my friend (Michael) was more focused on playing the offensive, while my other friend (Kevin) was just playing for the vibe. The first match we played was between Michael and I, and it lasted 47 minutes with the final score being 6 – 4, where I had 6. The second battle was between Kevin and I, and it lasted 23 minutes with the final score being 6 – 2, where I had 6. The third battle was between Kevin and Michael, and it ended after 52 minutes of gameplay with the final score being 6 -5 in favor of Michael. The final battle was between Michael and I, and it lasted 72 minutes with the final score being 6 – 4 (again) in my favor.
Conducting this experiment was definitely enjoyable and had its pros and cons. However, I learned and realized a few things while playing. The first is my reliance on digital technology. Although a mobile battle is different from a physical battle, there is a lot of overlap. Despite the mobile game being the app I currently use the most, I could only remember a thing or two about the rules of battle. I realized that the only reason I know how to play the game is because the game corrects me if I’m wrong. While writing this blog, I noticed a similar trend. Although I know how to spell and write sentences, I rely heavily on autocorrect and the red/blue squiggle to pick up my slack. Another thing I noticed is I get easily distracted when I do anything on a screen. When I play the mobile game, I tend to hop in and out of different apps (such as Instagram) in between battles. While doing work on my laptop, I have the habit of Googling any random thought that comes to my mind. During the analog battle, there was no temptation to get up and do something else. Rather, my senses/mind were too busy processing and responding to what was happening in real time.
In class, we discussed how objects can become an extension of our minds. Throughout this experiment, I realized that digital technology has become an extension of me. I personally like to be in complete control of everything that I can control, so this realization spooked me out a bit, but then I realized that this extension is only ever useful if I make it useful. I find this thought interesting, and I plan on exploring it further.
To the Independent Electors of the State is one of the earliest records of American political propaganda authored by Aaron Burr and his campaign team. Although not widely known about, this document contains a lot of history regarding the early American government, early New York politics, and the great rivalry between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton.
Physical Description
The document is approximately 11.5 inches wide and 17.75 inches tall and written on a type of linen or cotton based fabric. Unlike other antique documents, this one has not yellowed and is still in very good shape, although the edges are very uneven and damaged. There is print on only one side and was most likely created through the use of a printer press. The text includes a few paragraphs outlining why Aaron Burr believes he is the better candidate for New York state governor, and it also includes a list of members from the Clinton and Livingston families along with their government positions and the suspected corrupt acts they committed.
Narrative
In the year 1791, Aaron Burr, a Democratic Republican, ran against incumbent Philip Schulyeler, A Federalist, for a seat representing New York in the U.S. Senate. With the help of the prominent Clinton and Livingston families, Aaron Burr beat Schuyler. This loss was particularly devastating for Alexander Hamilton, who saw his father-in-law’s defeat as a major setback for the Federalist Party. In addition to that, Schuyler was Hamilton’s father in law. Burr served one term as a senator, and lost reelection to Schuyler because of Hamilton’s growing influence in national politics. In 1796, Burr ran for president and came in fourth place. The winner of the 1796 election was John Adams, and the runner up was Thomas Jefferson, which in those days meant Adams and Jefferson were President and Vice President. Although the two share a lot of common history, their different points of view led to many issues in the executive branch.
In 1800, Jefferson and Adams ran against each other in the first election that used party “tickets”. As mentioned earlier, the candidate with the most votes would become president. To work within these election rules, the Democratic-Republicans and Federalists devised the same strategy, which was that if a state leaned toward a particular party (think red or blue), its electors, who each had two votes, would vote in such a way that the intended presidential candidate would receive one more vote than the intended vice-presidential candidate. For example, if state X had six electors, five of them would cast one vote for candidate Y (intended president) and candidate Z (intended vice president). However, the sixth elector would cast both votes for Y. The Federalists followed this plan but lost the election. The Democratic-Republicans won, yet one elector misunderstood the strategy and failed to act as the deciding vote, resulting in a tie between Jefferson, the intended president, and Burr, the intended vice president. Under the Constitution, the election would be settled by the House of Representatives. Instead of following the plan, Burr tried convincing many representatives to select him as president. Hamilton chose to step up and convinced many representatives to vote for Jefferson, claiming that Burr is by far worse than Jefferson. After 36 rounds of voting, Hamilton’s influence beat Burr’s campaign.
Although the Democratic Republican party got what it wanted, Burr’s efforts to take the election from Jefferson led to a tension between the two. Furthermore, Hamilton’s influence in the election led to a deeper feeling of resentment from Burr. As a result of this feud, the 12th Amendment to the constitution was passed in 1804, which created a distinction between an elector vote for president and vice president.
In the year 1804, it was very clear that Jefferson was running for reelection, and it was also very clear that Burr wasn’t going to be on the ticket. In 1804, George Clinton, member of the famous Clinton family, chose to not seek reelection as governor of New York, and Burr saw this as an opportunity to gain back some power. Despite being a well known New York politician and lawyer, Burr couldn’t beat his opponent, Morgan Lewis, who was backed by the heavily influential Clinton and Livingston families. The reason these two families changed their positions on Burr has a lot to do with party loyalty. In 1791, the families supported Burr because they were at odds with Hamilton, who was one of their biggest rivals. In 1804, Burr was seen as a disgrace that only the fringe political groups supported, hence why they supported prominent Democratic Republican Morgan Lewis. It is also important to mention that George Clinton was nominated (and became) Jefferson’s vice president during the presidential election of 1804.
Given his reputation, Burr was constantly attacked, especially by Hamilton. In response, Burr’s campaign wrote and published the broadside To the Independent Electors of the State, which urged voters to see that he was the better option and also accused the Clinton and Livingston families of being corrupt political aristocracies. Although the message was aimed in direct response to the comments of these families, it raised many concerns within the voter base,
especially since Burr said that he could fill a newspaper with the full list of names and crimes. Despite working overtime to win, Burr lost the race in a landslide.
A few days after the inauguration of Morgan Lewis, a letter from politician and lawyer named Charles Cooper was leaked and published. The letter was intended for Philip Schuyler, and it was regarding some trash talk that Hamilton had said while at a dinner party. Burr took this to heart, and began exchanging letters with Hamilton asking for an explanation and an apology. Hamilton responded by saying that he will not apologize for speaking the truth. As a result, Burr challenged Hamilton to the famous duel that took place on July 11, 1804, of which Hamilton did not survive. Although Burr was acquitted, he never stepped foot in politics again.
Provenance
When To the Independent Electors of the State was released, it was hung anywhere the public and Burr’s enemies could see it, such as town halls, shop windows, and post offices. More importantly however, it would have been circulated by political circles. It is unknown how this broadside was acquired by Historic Huguenot Street; however, I do have a theory. The Clinton family resided in the Orange County region, while the Livingstons owned and lived on a massive property in Columbia County, both of which are within an hour’s drive from Historic Huguenot Street. Since the Hasbroucks of New Paltz were a smaller aristocratic political family, and since all three families were prominent Democratic Republicans, it is very likely that they at least shared the same inner circle. Given this context, it is not unlikely that someone from this circle held on to the document and stored it in an attic.
References
“1804 New York Gubernatorial Election.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 17 Oct. 2022, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1804_New_York_gubernatorial_election. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.
“Campaign Broadside, Aaron Burr.” New York Heritage Digital Collections, 2021, nyheritage.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16694coll153/id/294/rec/1. Accessed 1 Nov. 2024.
“From Alexander Hamilton o Harrison Gray Otis.” Founders Online, National Archives, 23 Dec. 1800, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Hamilton/01-25-02-0140. The Papers of Alexander Hamilton, vol. 25, edited by Harold C. Syrett, Columbia University Press, 1977, p. 271
NCC Staff. “On This Day: A Tied Presidential Election Ends in the Washington – National Constitution Center.” National Constitution Center , 17 Feb. 2023, constitutioncenter.org/blog/on-this-day-a-true-constitutional-crisis-ends-in-the-washington. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.
Goodbyes are easy, the hard part is letting go. That’s how I feel right now talking to you about my good friend Jarvis. Throughout heartbreak, school, cross country races, Snapchat streaks, Reggaeton, and even an internship, Jarvis was one of the few common denominators that I had in my life over the past 6 years.
I first met Jarvis Christmas 2018, when my mom surprised me with my first smartphone, and we’ve been a dynamic duo since. Although Jarvis’s net worth was only $300 at the time I met him, it didn’t matter because I was so excited that I could finally “fit in” with the rest of my friends. Occasionally I would feel bad when other kids insulted Jarvis and flexed their flashy iPhones, but we would get the last laugh when we would dominate the #1 spot in phone/person challenges such as Kahoot and Gimkit. By the middle of my sophomore year, Jarvis’s presence in my life had given me the confidence to slowly get out of my shell and be more social, and life was great. Then, 2020 came and undid all my progress.
During the 2020-21 school year (we returned in person for the whole year), a Pokemon Go gym opened up at my school. As a Pokemon fan and a former Pokemon Go tryhard, Jarvis and I would consistently take possession of that gym and many other gyms in the area. This drove a kid named Michael crazy, so he set out to find the culprit. He found out pretty quickly since my in-game username had “The Urban Legend” in it, and everyone who knows me knows that I got that nickname in the 7th grade. When he found me, he invited me to his lunch table (I was sitting by myself at this time), and that day changed my life. Although I didn’t know it at the time, Jarvis had led me to a person that is one of my closest homies to this day. As a result of meeting Michael, my confidence and self esteem skyrocketed, and I started to experiment in ways that set me apart from my peers. For example, my AP Literature teacher gave us the choice of writing an essay or doing a creative project, of which Jarvis and I chose the creative route. We wrote, recorded, and performed song parodies in front of the class, which in turn led to encouragement from both my teachers and my peers. Keep in mind that I graduated in the top 10% of my class, so stuff like this was really unheard of in this context. Whether it was a debate, essay, project, or exam, I could always count on Jarvis to help me raise the standard.
When I graduated high school, one of the thoughts that crossed my mind was the topic of phones. Jarvis had been in my corner for nearly all of my high school career, while the majority of kids were on their second or third iPhone; so who really had the better phone? Since this thought, I would feel a sense of pride whenever I took Jarvis out of my pocket. Although he was ugly, small, and cheap, he was a fighter that had a scratch for every adventure and a crack for every milestone that we shared. His story is my history, and I was genuinely hoping that his story would include my college graduation, grad school graduation, and maybe even marriage (in like 10 years). Unfortunately, All legends have to retire one day, and now it’s Jarvis’s time. As I took him to the Best Buy graveyard, I couldn’t help but smile as I remembered the 6 years of character development that Jarvis accompanied me through. Now that I transition into a new phase in my life, it feels strange having a sleek, expensive phone in my pocket, but I find comfort in the things I learned on our journey together: value doesn’t come from flashy designs or the latest tech, but rather in the moments we capture, the confidence we build, and the people we connect with along the way. As I move forward, I carry those memories in my heart and a piece of Jarvis in my pocket. Goodbye, old friend.
For this blog, I will be writing about a banana I ate yesterday because the sticker on it said it came from Ecuador and I thought it would be fun to track. Although I can not tell exactly where it came from, I wouldn’t be surprised if it came from Guayaquil, which is a very hot and humid place that has massive banana, cacao, plantain, and rice fields (I see them every time I go to the airport in Guayaquil). On Realtor.com, I found that an acre in Guayaquil costs around $200,000 (9). When it comes to industrial farming, roughly 2,000 banana plants can be grown on an acre (4), which translates to a cost of $100 per banana plant. I’ll tack on an additional $100 per plant per year for miscellaneous things such as insecticides, irrigation, fertilizer, and seed acquisition. The cost of unskilled labor in Ecuador ranges from $20-$25 per day, and to man a single acre this dense I’ll say takes 4 people, which makes the cost of labor $43,680 for the full year (assuming the workers got trained and are getting paid $30 a day). For my calculations, I will assume that only one head of bananas gets produced per plant per year (1) and that each head of bananas has 240 bananas (3). According to these numbers, 480,000 bananas are made in a year on a single acre. If I only factor in the cost of growing and maintaining (since I don’t know how or when Dole bought the property), each banana comes out to a little under $0.10 cents to produce.
To transport the bananas overseas, they are packaged into massive 40 ft metal containers. Each container costs about $4000 (commercially) (10), and the ships coming out of Ecuador can haul 1,000 of these containers (6), each of which can hold a little under 100,000 bananas (12). Since Dole owns its own fleet, I will assume that they can get the cost of transporting each container from Guayaquil to Wilmington, Delaware (5) down to $3000.
Once the bananas touch base in Delaware, I will make the assumption that they will immediately be sorted and delivered to the customer warehouses, in this case Walmart. From there, Dole will deliver the bananas to the nearest Walmart distribution center located in Smyrna, Delaware. From Smyrna, the bananas would then probably get shipped directly over to Fishkill, New York. “As of May 2024, the average spot rate for a refrigerated truck was $2.42 per mile” (7), meaning that transporting the bananas from Wilmington to Smyrna would cost $90.02. If we add the average labor rate for the driver of $0.64 per mile, then it would cost a total of $113.83 to get one container’s worth of bananas over to Smyrna (11). Assuming the same rate, the cost to get the truck from Smyrna to Fishkill would cost $679.32. The total cost to get one banana from Guayaquil to Fishkill would then come out to roughly $0.04. Assuming Walmart only paid $4000 for the whole container of 100,000 bananas and that Sam’s Club paid three minimum wage employees to unload the delivery truck in an hour, the cost of acquiring each banana comes out to $0.04, bringing the cost of putting a single banana on the shelf at Sam’s Club to $0.08.
The banana’s journey ended when I bought it as part of a bunch at Sam’s Club for ~$2 (including tax) earlier in the week. To get it home, I had to drive 15 minutes (~6 miles). “According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the average cost per mile of driving a car is $0.58” (8), which means that the roundtrip costs me around $6.96 in total. If I were to add the cost of the Sam’s Club membership per day, my new total would come out to $7.10. Given that I bought 12 items, the cost of me moving to get the bananas was $0.59. In total, I personally spent $2.59 to pick up 7 bananas, meaning that the one banana I ate cost me ~$0.37.
In conclusion, the banana that I ate traveled 3,000 miles to reach me and cost a collective $0.55 to consume between Dole, Sam’s Club, and myself.
“How Much Your Car Is Costing You per Mile.” Yahoo! Finance, Yahoo!, finance.yahoo.com/news/much-car-costing-per-mile-110042500.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAHVa-ipmq_KooPk5aG_YN_TwliRJ-G0-hjMZmSGFt36hENOVks09aaNVtnAbINCSLx0C832fn-vqzcG0ajFSxycxq7Cdetbr1wMdlnEuRcwt34R-G0nmEuna1xLs3QpHf5TZJW_xiFHF88EQ7JVHtT0ZeY_wlY4axZDtYAQ8ELB1. Accessed 30 Sep. 2024.
For this blog, I will be discussing the history of my mom’s table that she has in Ecuador. Unfortunately I don’t have a picture of the table, so I will provide a picture of the house my mom built in Ecuador for herself along with a picture of a similarish wooden table that I found on Google.
Old Wooden Table from Google (1)
Early days of my mom’s house
The table is roughly 4 feet long and 3 feet wide, and has a height of about 3 feet. I don’t know what kind of wood was used to make it, but it is a dark color similar to that of the face of the drawer in the picture. Instead of drawers like the table in the picture has, the top of the table that my mom has opens up (like a car hood) to reveal a hollow interior. The table is currently hidden in a room located in the back left corner of the house and is used solely as adornment.
The table is important to my mom because it used to belong to her grandmother. To explain why this table is important to my mom, it is important to tell her story. My mother was born out of wedlock, and was then adopted and raised by her grandparents as their tenth child. When my great-grandmother passed away on September 13 of 2011, the many properties that my great-grandparents owned were passed down to their nine heirs, of which the majority voted against my mom being included in the inheritance. One of these properties was the house in a town called Giron and is the “main” house that the family would spend most of their time in and is also where my mom was raised. Almost immediately after the funeral, my mom was (aggressively) told to remove her stuff from the house in Giron because “she was not an heir”.
Within hours of being kicked out my mom had a moving truck loaded up with all of her stuff from the house of Giron. Among these items were her childhood bed, her old clothes and books, some personal items, and most importantly an old wooden table. According to my mom, this table was the dining room table used in that house for decades (~50 years). In addition, when my mom brought the table, she also brought the stacks of fancy plates that were stored inside of the table. In the thirteen years since the death of my great-grandmother, the majority of the heirs still have no clue where this table is. I’m not condoning stealing, but I laugh every time I see the table because it shows me where I got my pettiness from. To my mom, this table represents her childhood memories and the struggles she had and still has to overcome as a result of her origin. Sometimes she’ll take out the plates and remember her old life, and sometimes she’ll even use the plates if we have a special guest over. When I see it however, I see a remnant of the family split.
If you read my previous blog, you’ll remember that I mentioned that my great-grandfather raised cattle. Unlike the other girls in the bunch, my mom tagged along with my great-grandfather whenever he was working outside, did business, rode horses, went grocery shopping, and got drunk (she didn’t drink, she just protected him). As a result, the town gave my mom the nickname “el rabo de Don Segundo” or “Mr. Segundo’s tail” and my great-grandfather was extremely protective of my mom. Unfortunately, he died on July 4th, 1985, which was three or four months after my mom entered the U.S. with my brother. Given that my mom was being raised with her aunts and uncles, that meant that she was not raised with any of her real siblings from either her mom or dad’s side. Because of this weird family position that my mom is in, there has always been an “us vs them” mentality when dealing with 95% of my family. When I was very little, my cousins and I were playmates, but as we’ve grown up we’ve adopted this cold mentality and these unspoken alliances. In other words, when my great-grandmother died, so did the family’s law and order.
I find it interesting that of all the things that my great grandparents owned, the material inheritance that my mom chose to bring with her into her “new” life is the same object that saw my great-grandparents, the heirs, and my mom sit down and eat together as a family.
When I was 12-13, I remember shopping in the Under Armour store at the Woodbury Commons and seeing this really cool bookbag. When I went to get a closer look, I was disappointed by how expensive it was. When I got my first job in high school, the first big thing I bought was this bookbag. At the time (2021) it cost me ~$120, but the satisfaction I had when I wore it to school for the first time was an experience I won’t forget for a long time.
The bookbag is made of polyester, weighs about 2.5 pounds, and is roughly 7.5 inches wide, 11 inches long, and 19 inches tall (1). The flap that covers the bookbag is about 8 inches at the widest point, roughly 8 inches long, and is a little thicker than 3 index cards (if you were to stack them). On the flap, there is a small patch that reads “Project Rock” and “Under Armour” with their respective logos. This is because this bookbag was released as part of the joint Dwayne Johnson-Under Armour collection. The patch is 2.5 inches wide and 1.25 inches long.
Patch of Logos (1)
The metal straps seen all over the bookbag are roughly 1.5 inches long, 1 inch wide, and 0.25 inches thick and they are made of stainless steel. The two mini black pockets on the left side of the bookbag (first picture) are approximately 4 inches wide, 1.25 inches thick, and 6 inches tall. The water bottle pocket (right side middle picture) is approximately 1 inch thick (can expand to ~3 inches), 4 inches wide, and 11 inches tall. The pocket on the front of the bookbag is 6.25 inches wide, 7 inches tall, and 1 inch thick. From horn to horn, the bull patch is 3 inches wide and from horn to snout it is 2.5 inches tall. In addition, the bookbag has two pockets that measure the size of the whole bookbag. The pocket in the back opens up completely to the base of the bookbag and has two big cushioned pockets to carry a laptop and has a pocket the width of the bookbag that can carry the laptop charger, mouse, etc.
I picked out the model with the bull patch because my mom really likes bulls and it reminds me of her. For example, I can count at least 4 mini brass bulls in my living room that my mom has as decoration. My mom says it reminds her of her dad (my grandpa) and her childhood since he was a cattle rancher in Ecuador. As for the significance of my mother in my life, she is the one person that has always been in my corner in life. The bull also looks really cool on its own so that was also a factor in the decision. I like this specific model of bookbag because it is simplistic, yet big and rugged. As for the color scheme, I like the serious and neutral tone.
Apart from visuals, this bookbag does a very good job serving its purpose. It is tight knit and thick, which means that my stuff inside has never gotten wet in the rain and my electronics have never suffered from extreme heat/cold while inside. After all these years of abuse (18 credit semesters are heavy), the only damage it’s received is a little tear on the bottom.
The bookbag on its own is cool, but I added 2 keychains that not only serve as cool decorations, but as memories and reminders. The first keychain is a mini leather boot that I got in Ecuador last year. I have a few that I collected over the years, but I chose to exhibit this boot because it looks the most elegant from a distance and it has an engraved (done using a hot pen) picture of a man riding a horse. Similar to the bull, it reminds me of Ecuador and my mom. The other keychain is a (stainless steel?) cross. I also bought this keychain last year in Ecuador, and the reason I added it to my bookbag is because it reminds me to seek strength and motivation in my faith. The boot is attached to the front of the bookbag because it fits the theme of the bull and it can be displayed better there. The cross is attached to the back pocket (where the laptop gets stored) so that it is close to me. The boot is tan, has a pocket inside, and is 4 inches tall, 2.5 inches long, and 0.5 inches thick. The cross is 2.5 inches tall, 1.5 inches long, and about as thick as a quarter.
The Materials of History, Thought, and Art 