Darwin's Controversy

The cold harsh winds of the winter whistled through the ranch. Nothing moved, the grounds lay bare the only sign of life was an illuminated window on the far side of the silent ranch. The light came from a small wooden shack; the shack appeared newer than the rest of the weather worn buildings, it also looked better cared for than the other buildings. Next to the shack was a small garden and in it were gravestones. Two were lined side by side, but another sat lonely in the corner of the garden. The lonely gravestone was simple it was made from wood unlike the other two that had been carefully crafted out of stone. Then a creak echoed around the garden and the shack, it was no louder than a whisper but in a place where nothing made a single

In the article, “Was Darwin Wrong?” By David Quammen, Quammen speaks about how evolution by natural selection is a theory and the main idea of life. Quammen also goes into speaking about people who are living their lives off of those scientific theories and how their discomfort are being paralleled by Harun Yahya, who is an author of a current volume called “The Evolution Deceit, “which, he points out a story about the six-day creation in the Koran as factual truth and calls the evolution theory a deception forced on people by those who rule the world organization. Furthermore, it is mentioned that 37 percent of Americans were pleased with letting room for both god and for Darwin that is, godly creativity to get things ongoing, evolution as

This is demonstrated through Sadie's interactions with Waa the Crow and Constable's use of time slips, shown through Jimmy Raven, "that's how it is for my people...that was a meeting place... a holy place." Earlier in the novel, we are introduced to the importance of the past through Crow's rhetorical questions, "Crow's people come from this place. Now they are gone. Who tell's Crows stories now? Where are the stories when no one remembers?" Thus, through a close study of "Crow Country", we are able to unearth new, important reasons about Australia's history.

Robert Desmarais is no ordinary caretaker, living as he does in a ghost town 8200 feet above sea level. He is also an historian, story teller, geologist, chemist and licensed blaster. He speaks of the people who inhabited this place as if he’d known them all personally, which due to the eerie nature of this town, he might well have. Robert is in the process of putting together a book on the history of the town. Hopefully it will be available before long, as just the few stories he told us made me want to learn more.

This road borders a wide expanse of land that is scattered with white crosses, which were used to collect and burn methane gas, and is marked by a soaring black monolith, the tombstone for the whole grave. Initially, it was a military base during World War Two, but it was converted into a government building and park in the late 1990’s. Following Elisha, a large portion of the land was converted once again into a massive graveyard. Requiring dump trucks and garbage trucks, the hole eventually filled up with bodies and subsequently, layered with dirt and

The Australian remote landscape, commonly known as ‘the outback’ is a powerful symbol that has shaped the Australian identity. Many foreigners and even locals, without any knowledge of the harsh climate, would enter the desert at the risk of never returning alive. In 2009, two men had perished in the harsh Northern Territory outback. Acting Superintendent Steve Heyworth said, “Both men who died fell victim to the harshness of the arid conditions of the Northern Territory.” This horrific incident is just one example of the severity of ‘the outback’. From this local folklore, a metaphor of the

In the summer of 1961 our family leaves the familiar suburbs of Portland, Oregon for the unknown wilds of Eastern Oregon. Sandwiched between the east side of the Elkhorn Mountains and a seemingly endless sagebrush desert, this valley, our new home, is a stunning green oasis in the desert and a

The summer of 2016, my family decided to shake up our annual summer vacation by heading out west, and chose to go to Sedona, Arizona. Let me tell you, this place radiates beauty. If you've never heard of Sedona, I’ll give you some background real quick. The city IS a desert city. Everywhere you look there's just dirt or sand on the ground and lots of cacti. But the trait that distinguishes the city IS that it sits within a valley in the red rock. All around you stand mountains made of this fiery earth. During our stay there we hiked along many trails through the red rock to almost every tourist spot, some of which gave you a panoramic view of the mountains. The views appeared surreal and took my breath away. Yes, I could go on and on about the beauty of this city, but that's not quite what this story IS about. On this trip, my family and I got up close and personal with some areas of Sedona that one wouldn't call “tourist hotspots.” The town of Jerome is an old mining town built at the base of a mountain, that now has lots of shops and restaurants, and we decided to make this our next destination. So my dad plugged the town into his iPhone GPS (first mistake) and we headed out to reach our destination. Blue sky and deserted land rolled by as I stared out the window. Time seemed to slowly trail by and we did not see signs of the town anywhere. Then suddenly, the smooth asphalt turned to gravel, and immediately something seemed off. “Are you sure we’re going the right way??”

The introduction quickly introduces the humorous tone found throughout the piece with his use of anecdotes. In the opening anecdote, two young fish fail to recognize that they are surrounded by water. By juxtaposing the academic setting with the fish exclaiming “what the hell is water?” the speaker creates humor with the fish’s unexpected colloquialism. Furthermore, Wallace connects the irony of the fish anecdote with the that of most adults, who are unable to see what really matters in life just as the fish can not see the water that encompasses them. The speaker follows this story with another about an atheist and a theist arguing about the existence of God. By refusing to see the other’s perspective, Wallace shows the humor in their rigid belief systems. The speaker also pokes fun at his liberal arts audience by asking why they accept both men’s position without questioning their rationale for doing so. By doing so, Wallace displays audience

If you were alive in the 1930’s you may recall the Dust Bowl era and if you lived in the eastern part of the United States you lived in the storm. The Dust Bowl was the era in which a drought lasted from 1930 to1935. It formed with contributions from humans, it affected the people in the storm dearly.The supply and demand, caused people to lose land, money, and had to live in devastating conditions.

It takes a lot to rip apart a town. It takes a lot to ravage a community, particularly one as tightly-knit as Ridgway, Pennsylvania. Nestled snugly at the southeastern edge of Allegheny National Forest, Ridgway’s population has dipped to just below four thousand in recent years, though in its 191 years of settlement, it’s never once been called home by more than roughly six thousand people at once. Its proximity to the forest attracts huntsmen and hikers alike, but unless one were actively looking for the town—the square mileage of which comes in at just over two and a half miles, total—it would be remarkably easy for Ridgway to not make a blip on someone’s radar at all. It’s small, out of the way, and most of all, quiet—a recipe for insignificance.

In Allendale, California, there lies a lonely house whom manages to take care of it’s killed owner, Mrs. Mclellan. In the visionary short story, “There Will Come Soft Rains,” Ray Bradbury values personification; he gives soul and feelings to the lonely house and all of the non-living objects within it. The last standing house in Allendale, California, pursued its active, occupied agenda uninformed its owners were demolished by an atomic bomb in the year 2026. It was the last house in good condition, it was stable, and it functioned perfectly, until nature raised up. “The house stood alone in a city of rubble and ashes” (Bradbury 216)! Bradbury uses personification to describe how the house was lonely, didn’t have company, and how it was isolated

Quickly the tall buildings and bright lights fade away and start to meld with nature giving way for the tall, thick trees that lined the side of the highway. The signs, which were big and green in color, was suspended above. Directing our way, the signs stated the gas stations that appeared almost every two exits, assisting us greatly. Overhead were bridges that crisscrossed this way and that as if it were shielding the drivers down below. Traffic, which was little to none did not hinder our passage to Ridgecrest. Occasionally a car passed by racing towards some sort of imaginary finish line

The town was fairly small for a while, but exploded in population when someone apparently found a 10 pound gold nugget in the mountainside. The town went from 40 to 500 people. Large mining companies paid people for their land, causing them to forget why they originally lived here for. Not only did these companies come and tirelessly excavate the mountains for gold, but they excavated The Northern Town’s reason of existence. The forty of us that originally lived in this Northern Town were here because we liked the town and wanted to life a calm life. After the nugget was found, others came for money and power instead.

The clearing was quiet, it seemed lifeless. The Salinas River still flowed merrily near the hillside. The water was still warm from the afternoon sun, and still reflected a green hue. On one side of the river, the smooth foothill slopes still curved up to the strong and rocky Gabilan Mountains, and the other side was still lined with trees. The willows and sycamore branches still swung gently in the wind, and the leaves still created a green light within the space. It was totally calm and peaceful… but something was wrong. The air seemed heavier, and the sun seemed dimmer. No animals stirred, and everything seemed to be aware of a deep sadness. Nothing moved save for a small group of men standing around an unmoving figure.