Culture Capsultes: People and Places
Jesse Koller
John Wooden
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John Wooden was born on October 14, 1910 in Hall, Indiana. In his college playing career he was named basketball All-American and also won a National Championship at Purdue. Then was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame. He started his coaching career at a high school and his record was 6-11, which was his only losing record as a coach. For 10 more years he coached at the high school level. He coached both at Dayton High School in Kentucky, and at South Bend Central High School in Indiana. He spent two seasons at Indiana State, where he only entered the NAIB one out of his two years.
In 1948 he began his career for the college team he is known for coaching, and would spend the rest of his coaching career, at UCLA for 27 years. Being the amazing coach that he is, it took him over 13 years to place for the first time in the NCAA tournament, and then over 15 years before he won his first National Championship. The following year he went back to back and took the NCAA Championship another time. Skipping a year form an appearance in the tourney, he then came back and had a seven - peat at the Championship. While he was at UCLA he had four flawless seasons, a record shattering winning streak of 88 games, and won 32 games straight in the NCAA Tournament alone. He also won the National Coach of the Year award eight different years.
In 1943 – 1946 he took a lapse form his coaching career and went and served as a full lieutenant in the U.S. Navy because of World War II. In 2003, George Bush awarded John Wooden with the Presidential Honor of Freedom (the highest honor given to a civilian). He was married to Nell, his wife, for 53 years. He had 2 children, which provided him with 7 grandchildren and 13 great grandchildren. Over his 40 years of coaching, he went 885 – 203. His 81% win percentage over his college coaching career is part of why he is considered one of the greatest basketball coaches of all times
Vince Lombardi
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Vincent Thomas Lombardi was born in Brooklyn, New York on the date of June 11, 1913. He was the oldest of five children of a very religious Catholic family. He went to St. Francis Preparatory High School where he would star as the fullback on their football team. After he graduated, he moved onto Fordham University where he accepted his full ride athletic scholarship and also played football. There was when he adopted the nickname “Seven Blocks of Granite”. He was 5’8’’ 183 pounds and started at right guard on the Bulldogs defensive line. In the 1936 season the team went 5-0-2 and lost 7-6 in the Rose Bowl to New York University. He calls that the most devastating loss of his life.
After his college career he was invited to become an assistant coach at his high school, St. Cecilia High School. Another place where he also went to high school. After that he went back to Fordham University and started coaching, and teaching a variety of classes (Latin, Chemistry, and Physics) with an annual salary of $1700.00. After the 1948 season he went to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and accepted the assistant coaching position. He served as the offensive line head coach. Finally at 41, he began his coaching career in the NFL. The year was 1954 and he was the offensive coordinator of the New York Giants. He went on to win a championship against the Chicago Bears 2 years later. Lombardi introduced something that changed the game forever, rule blocking, where the lineman would block an area not just a single player. That would make the running back run to wherever was open, not just a specific hole. In the year of 1959 Lombardi started to coach the Green Bay Packers.
In his very first year of coaching he went 7-5, and then won Coach of the Year. In the second year of coaching he won the Western Conference and went on to win the NFL Championship against the Philadelphia Eagles. The NFL’s “World Championship Game Trophy” was changed to the Vince Lombardi Trophy in January of 1967. In 12 years of coaching he won the Super Bowl (or NFL Championship) five times and coached in six. He had a career total of 73.8 winning percentage when he died in Washington D.C. in 1970 at the age of 57 form colon cancer.
John Wooden Vs. Vince Lombardi
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The two people that I am comparing and contrasting together are Coach John Wooden, and Vince “The Pope” Lombardi. Both are amazing coaches, and both are arguably the best ever at there sport. Both of them coached during the same era, but Lombardi’s career was cut short due to an early death. Both had great athletic ability and a stupendous understanding for the sport that they were playing, which made them the great coaches they are remembered to be. Both had full ride scholarships into Collage, and had a fairly good career. Neither went on and played at the professional level. After college, Lombardi and Wooden immediately started their coaching careers at high schools around where they grew up. After that they both went on and started to coach colleges.
First off for the contrasting portion I would like to start by saying that they coached, and played different sports, Wooden basketball, and Lombardi, Football. Lombardi coached at the professional level after coaching a few years at college, Wooden stayed at college level for the rest of his life. Wooden, over his lifetime of coaching, has one of the best winning percentages ever, for any sport. Recording at over 81% puts him almost 10% higher then Vince Lombardi (who is stationary at almost 74% winning percentage) both are extremely high winning ratios but Woodens stands out the best. Wooden had also coached for almost more then double what Lombardi had, which may be one reason why his win percentage is also higher then Lombardi’s.
Both of these great men are deceased now, but they lived long, fruitful lives. They have so many great, prosperous quotes, that show their great knowledge of life, and everything in general. After learning so much about both of these men who changed their chosen sports forever, I personally think that John Wooden was the better coach in the long run. Coach John Wooden died of old age at the age of 99, while Lombardi died because of cancer at the young age of 57. Both shall be missed greatly.
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Created by: Jesse Koller
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April 1, 2011
Culture Capsultes: People and Places
Jacob Moore
Adolf Hitler was born on April 20, 1889 in Austria. His father was Alois Hitler. His mother was Klara Hitler. Adolf attended school from the age of six to about the age of 16. Adolf had a younger brother whose name was Edmund but he only lived until the age of six. In 1896, Klara gave birth to Adolf’s sister, Paula. Adolf Hitler grew up with a poor record at school and left, before completing his tuition, with an ambition to become an artist. Between the ages of sixteen and nineteen, Adolf didn’t work or study, but began to get an interest in politics and history. Hitler had a major interest in art and he applied for admission to the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts but did not get in. Hitler not only didn’t drink and smoke but also was a vegetarian.
Between December 1918 and March 1919 Hitler worked at a prisoner-of-war camp at Traunstein. Shortly after his return he witnessed a takeover bid by local Communists who seized power before being ousted by the army. As part of his duties he was also asked to spy on certain local political groups. Hitler finally agreed to join the committee and became their seventh official in September 1919. By 1921 Adolf Hitler had virtually secured total control of the Nazi party.
Up to November 1923 Hitler continued to build up the strength of the Nazi Party. During this time he also plotted to overthrow the German Weimar Republic by force. On November 8th 1923 Hitler led an attempt to take over the local Bavarian Government in Munich in an action that became known as the "Beer Hall Putsch." This coup was not successful and ended on the morning of November 9th. After his trial for treason he was sentenced to five years in Landsberg prison, however he had successfully used the trial itself to gain publicity for himself and his ideas. During his term in prison Hitler described all of his thoughts and philosophies to Rudolf Hess, which became the book "Mein Kampf" .
President Hindenburg died on August 2, 1934. Hitler had already agreed with the Cabinet that upon Hindenburg's death the offices of President and Chancellor would be combined. The last wishes of Hindenburg were that upon his death the monarchy should be restored. Hitler didn’t want this and was able to avoid his wishes and did not publish the President's will. Having already ensured the support of the Army, Hitler went a step further by making the armed forces swear an oath of loyalty to him personally. Hitler had become "Fuehrer and Reich Chancellor" and the title of President was then abolished.
Hitler ordered the army to be tripled in size, from the 100,000 men, all that was allowed by Versailles Treaty limit, to 300,000 men by October of 1934. In March 1935 Hitler decided to take a gamble and test the resolve of Britain and France by authorizing Goering to reveal to a British official the existence of the German Air Force. Even though this was a direct challenge to the Versailles Treaty, there was little reaction.
Gandhi was born in 1869 in Porbandar, a small village on the west coast of India. After studying law in England, he accepted a position in South Africa. For the first time, Gandhi experienced rampant, institutionalized racism. Gandhi rallied the Indian community with community meetings, marches, and boycotts. He was imprisoned on numerous occasions. Yet, he was steadfast in his willingness to sacrifice his freedom, and even his life, if necessary, in his statement for social justice and racial equality. During this time, Gandhi started the term 'satyagraha' to describe the pursuit of justice on a massive scale, by an entire people or nation. He defined Satyagraha as holding to truth. He set out to prove that love, truth and nonviolence could transform political and social institutions. Gandhi was a Vegetarian not only because his religion but also as a personal choice.
After nearly twenty years in South Africa, Gandhi returned to India and committed himself to a life-long fight for India's independence. Over the next thirty years, Gandhi waged his legendary and successful campaign of non-cooperation against Great Britain. He called for a day of national prayer and fasting throughout India, bringing the country to a complete standstill. Years later, he led thousands on a 240-mile march to the sea and picked up small clumps of salt in violation of British law, again displaying the true power of the Indian people.
What is remarkable about Gandhi is not just his accomplishments, although they are extraordinary. Gandhi recognized early in life that all of the ancient religions convey the same essential truths. He concluded that love, truth and nonviolence were synonymous of each other, and synonymous of God. Gandhi's gift to the world was applying the spiritual truth of love and nonviolence to political and social struggles. As Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote in Stride toward Freedom: "Gandhi was probably the first person in history to lift the love ethic of Jesus above mere interaction between individuals to a powerful and effective social force on a large scale
Hitler Vs. Gandhi
Hitler and Gandhi were two very different people. Gandhi believed in social and racial equality where as Hitler believed in one superior race and all others should be persecuted. Gandhi believed in a peaceful solution in all of life problems where as Hitler used war to settle his problems. While Hitler and Gandhi both used some similar techniques to gain their power, once in control, they were very different men. Hitler abused his powers, while Gandhi wanted nothing more than to free his people. . Hitler accomplished not only killing 6 million Jews, but he also destroyed Europe and especially Germany. And while Hitler was out running his concentration camps, Gandhi fulfilled his dream of having a separate, free India. He single-handedly freed 315 million Indians, Muslims, and Hindus from British control. . When his non-violent marches all of the sudden turned into a brutal murder of 8 British military officers. Gandhi thought this to be worse not being free and he refused to eat or drink until all the killings has stopped and the Indians once again began to march and use passive resistance to gain their independence. Gandhi loved everyone and everyone was forgiven.
Although they had different interests, they had some common life styles choices. Both Hitler and Gandhi did not drink and were vegetarians. Hitler tried alcohol at the age of 16 (after dropping out of school) and claimed it to be the most humiliating experience ever and never drank again after that. Both kept their bodies very healthy and believed in keeping their bodies preserved. Both Gandhi and Hitler were very stubborn. Both of these leaders accomplished their goals. Both of these leaders gave their countries what they needed, a person to tell them what to do, a figure of power, a leader.
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Created by: Jacob Moore
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April 1, 2011
Culture Capsultes: Las Vegas vs. Los Angeles
Matt FitzGerald
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Las Vegas, Nevada
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The history of Las Vegas is very interesting. It all started 10,000 years when in the Las Vegas valley the Paleo-Indians arrived. They camped and traveled in many locations and lived as nomads. In 1864 Nevada was admitted into the union as the 36th state. In the early 1900s the completion of the main railway, linking Southern California with Salt Lake City, establishes Las Vegas as a railroad town. On May 15, 1905, Las Vegas became a city. On March 16, 1911, the population is 800. Then in 1930 the population rose to 5,165. Now the population in 2010 rose to 1,951,269.
Las Vegas is definitely one of the world’s greatest tourist attractions. It is a town where you can visit exotic sites such as Paris, ancient Egypt, and Venice all in one day. Believe it or not the Sign of LasVegas is the number one tourist attraction in Las Vegas. A salesman named Ted Rogich thought of the idea of having the neon sign, in 1952. The Las Vegas Strip is the second top tourist attraction in the United States. The Time Square of New York is in number one. The Las Vegas Strip attracts 31 million visitors per year. That is 80 percent of the city’s total visitors, which are 39.2 million people. That’s a lot of visitors.
There are many known people that live in Las Vegas. These are just a few. Lucille Ball has family in Las Vegas and as well as a career. She was in Las Vegas in 1965. On June 30th, 1975 two of Lucille Ball’s specials were released on DVD. There was a boxer who was born Arkansas whose name is Sonny Liston. He won against Floyd Patterson to be the world heavyweight champion on September 25, 1962. He fought Patterson once again on July 22, 1963, at the Las Vegas Convention Center, knocking him out in the first round.
Los Angeles, California
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The history of Los Angeles is as well as very interesting. More than 60 people led by Gasper de Portola, who were Spanish people, in 1769, once explored the area now known as Los Angeles. The people camped by a river and were accompanied by Juan Crespi. Juan named the river El Rio de Nuestra Senora la Reyna de Los Angeles de Porciuncula, which means "The River of Our Lady the Queen of the Angeles of Porciucula." On September 4, 1781, a group of 12 families and led by Captain Rivera y Moncada, which they called the Pobladores, established a community in the area discovered by Portola, and named it the same name as the river. As time went by, the became known as "City of Angels". It became the City of Los Angeles on April 4, 1850.
There are too many tourist attractions in Los Angeles so I'll give you the top 5. The one in number one is the Getty Center, which opened in 1997. In the number two spot is the Getty Villa. This attraction closed in 1997 but reopened with some 44,000 pieces of art. The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) took the number three spot. Its at Miracle Mile District as well as Beverly Hills and Hollywood. Taking number four is Hollywood and Highlander which has the comedy, the characters, the stars and the theaters, making it a great place to be at any hour. Last but not least is the Santa Monica Pier. In 1909, this 1,600-foot-long pier opened.
There are many famous people in Los Angeles. Here are many people that you may know. Ben Affleck who is a very famous actor and has been in many movies. All of the Jonas Brothers are singers. Jerry Jones who is the owner of the Dallas Cowboys. Megan Fox who is a model and an actress. Shawn Estrada who was a 2008 Olympic boxer. Snoop Dog who is a rap artist. Blues Boy Willie who is a blues singer and a musician. Miley Cyrus and Billy Ray Cyrus who are singers and actors. Paul Gray who is the bassist of Slipknot. James Hahn who is the former mayor of Los Angeles. Paris Hilton is a model, singer, author, and actress.
Comparing and Contrasting: LA and LV
LA and LV
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There are many similarities in Las Vegas and Los Angeles. They are both very large cities. They also have many tourist attractions that attract thousands of people each year. These two cities are both on the west side of the United States. They are only 270 miles apart and it would only take you 3 hours and 40 minutes to get from one to the other. They are both the biggest cities in there state. Los Angeles is the biggest in California and Las Vegas is the biggest in Nevada. A bad thing about them is all the crime that goes on in both cities.
There are as well as many differences in Las Vegas and Los Angeles. They are both large cities but Los Angeles has 4,065,58 people and Las Vegas Only has 478,434 people. Las Vegas is also in a more desert like climate as Los Angeles is next to the Pacific Ocean an has nice long beaches. Las Vegas has a place called the Vegas Strip which is the most popular part of Las Vegas, but Los Angeles has a place called Hollywood which is its most popular part of Los Angeles.
Los Angeles is the second biggest city in the United States but it seems like Las Vegas has more things to do. These two cities definitely have more differences than similarities. People seem to rather live in Los Angeles than Las Vegas. It shows that 67.74% of people would live in Los Angeles, and only 22.58% would rather live in Las Vegas. There is 9.68% who would not want to live in either of the two cities. Over all that I have researched I think that I would rather live in Los Angeles because I think it would be really nice to live next to the ocean on those nice beaches, but I would want to visit Las Vegas every once in a while.
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Created by: Matt FitzGerald
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April 1, 2011