Thursday, December 25, 2008
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Ughh!
I really want to know why our christians are so against new ideas. Didn't Jesus radicalize things? Why cant we accept change? It really depresses me.
Please leave your thoughts.
Please leave your thoughts.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Random Crap
So I've been meaning to write a blog for a long time. Haven't had time.
High School is so different! I always have something to do.
Today I had a really random day. Did a lot of nothing.
So, I would talk about how ridiculous Bible class is right now, but I don't want to get mad. We are basically learning about the evil socialists right now. Ahhh!
So, how about some lists?
(I'm sort of copying Micheal)
Top Books
1. Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
2. Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
3. Frindle by Andrew Clements
4. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Myer
5. The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy
Top Movies
1. A Beautiful Mind
2. John Tucker Must Die
3. The Secret Life of Bees
4. My Big Fat Greek Wedding
5. Ratatouille
Top Songs
1. The Little Things Give You Away by Linkin Park
2. You May Be Right by Billy Joel
3. The Logical Song by Supertramp
4. For You by Tracy Chapman
5. Be Yourself by Audioslave
6. (I had to) Viva la Vida by Coldplay
7. In Between by Linkin Park
8. Won't You Stay by Jackson Brown
Top TV Shows
1. Monk!!!!
2. House, M.D.
3. What Not To Wear
4. Arthur (Go PBS!)
5. Phineas and Ferb
6. Spongebob Squarepants
Top Music Artist/Album
The absolute best ever #1. Linkin Park!!!!!!
2. Queen
3. Billy Joel
4. Electric Light Orchestra
5. America
6. all 70's and 80's music period. especially 70's.
so thats about it!
High School is so different! I always have something to do.
Today I had a really random day. Did a lot of nothing.
So, I would talk about how ridiculous Bible class is right now, but I don't want to get mad. We are basically learning about the evil socialists right now. Ahhh!
So, how about some lists?
(I'm sort of copying Micheal)
Top Books
1. Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
2. Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
3. Frindle by Andrew Clements
4. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Myer
5. The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy
Top Movies
1. A Beautiful Mind
2. John Tucker Must Die
3. The Secret Life of Bees
4. My Big Fat Greek Wedding
5. Ratatouille
Top Songs
1. The Little Things Give You Away by Linkin Park
2. You May Be Right by Billy Joel
3. The Logical Song by Supertramp
4. For You by Tracy Chapman
5. Be Yourself by Audioslave
6. (I had to) Viva la Vida by Coldplay
7. In Between by Linkin Park
8. Won't You Stay by Jackson Brown
Top TV Shows
1. Monk!!!!
2. House, M.D.
3. What Not To Wear
4. Arthur (Go PBS!)
5. Phineas and Ferb
6. Spongebob Squarepants
Top Music Artist/Album
The absolute best ever #1. Linkin Park!!!!!!
2. Queen
3. Billy Joel
4. Electric Light Orchestra
5. America
6. all 70's and 80's music period. especially 70's.
so thats about it!
Thursday, October 30, 2008
The Blade of Grass
In 7th grade, me and a friend of mine had the average middle school blues. We were both depressed because we didn't know what to do with our lives. We needed something or someone to talk too, and we found it. We called it the "blade of grass."
In the middle school hallway at ETS, there is a locker at the end of the 7th grade lockers that always opens, even without a combination. I discovered it one day, and I thought it would be a great place to put a note to someone in, like a shared mailbox. (I had recently watched "The Lake-house") I told my friend that if he ever needed to talk, he could write it down, put it in the locker, and we would talk about it later. I personally think that writing is a great way to get out your frustrations.
We needed to call it something secret, so we could keep it secret. We decided "the blade of grass" would work. If we put something in there, we could say we watered the blade of grass, and no one would suspect anything. We both probably only sent one thing each, but it was great while it lasted.
The reason I am writing about this is because I was thinking about it at school today. We need an outlet for our feelings sometimes. Whether it's writing, or painting or talking, it's really nice to know that if something happens, you have somewhere to go. That's why the blade is such a fond memory. Knowing you have a friend sometimes makes life nicer, even if nothing bad is going on.
p.s. if anyone I know is reading this blog and ever needs to talk, I'm always willing to listen.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Cavalliering
Today was typical. Fall frenzy is FUN. A little ironic, considering the things we do, and the place we go to school, but still fun. We played a game called horse, knight and cavallalier (sp?) which is one I thought I had played before. Sort of. One minor difference with major impact- cavalliering.
Partners had to decide who was holding who. Usually my friend holds me. So far, so good. Except when she realized that I was probably just as heavy (maybe heavier) than her. We are both really competetive and we both don't like to admit it. In this game, everyone playing has to form two circles with partners in different circles. When the announcer announces what action that has to be done, everyone has to scurry to their partner and perform it. One "action" that has to be done is called cavallier. The holder has to hold their partner like a groom carries his bride out of a wedding cermony. My friend could barely grip me. I felt sooo bad. I wanted to not try, to spare her a ripped ligament (exageration) but then she would get even more mad at me. It was fun. not.
Other than that though, it was great. I had a lot of fun.
Partners had to decide who was holding who. Usually my friend holds me. So far, so good. Except when she realized that I was probably just as heavy (maybe heavier) than her. We are both really competetive and we both don't like to admit it. In this game, everyone playing has to form two circles with partners in different circles. When the announcer announces what action that has to be done, everyone has to scurry to their partner and perform it. One "action" that has to be done is called cavallier. The holder has to hold their partner like a groom carries his bride out of a wedding cermony. My friend could barely grip me. I felt sooo bad. I wanted to not try, to spare her a ripped ligament (exageration) but then she would get even more mad at me. It was fun. not.
Other than that though, it was great. I had a lot of fun.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Commencement
Commencement- Beginning in French
I thought I'd start at the beginning. I am blogging because I love to write, and I love to share. I will address many issues in this blog, and sometimes, I will just write about my day, or just something random I want to talk about. Sometimes I will blog a short story or poem, but I don't guarentee that will happen very often. I will try and have a post at least once a week. I love constructive criticism, so feel free to leave it.
Ok, now I will do the blogging part of this post.
Have you ever read the passage in 1984 when O'Brien tells Winston the reason to the party's madness? Read it with an open eye. It is extremely powerful. (no pun intended).
"He came closer to the bed. 'For ever!' he repeated. 'And now let us get back to the question of "how" and "why". You understand well enough how the Party maintains itself in power. Now tell me why we cling to power. What is our motive? Why should we want power? Go on, speak,' he added as Winston remained silent.
Nevertheless Winston did not speak for another moment or two. A feeling of weariness had overwhelmed him. The faint, mad gleam of enthusiasm had come back into O'Brien's face. He knew in advance what O'Brien would say. That the Party did not seek power for its own ends, but only for the good of the majority. That it sought power because men in the mass were frail cowardly creatures who could not endure liberty or face the truth, and must be ruled over and systematically deceived by others who were stronger than themselves. That the choice for mankind lay between freedom and happiness, and that, for the great bulk of mankind, happiness was better. That the party was the eternal guardian of the weak, a dedicated sect doing evil that good might come, sacrificing its own happiness to that of others. The terrible thing, thought Winston, the terrible thing was that when O'Brien said this he would believe it. You could see it in his face. O'Brien knew everything. A thousand times better than Winston he knew what the world was really like, in what degradation the mass of human beings lived and by what lies and barbarities the Party kept them there. He had understood it all, weighed it all, and it made no difference: all was justified by the ultimate purpose. What can you do, thought Winston, against the lunatic who is more intelligent than yourself, who gives your arguments a fair hearing and then simply persists in his lunacy?
'You are ruling over us for our own good,' he said feebly. 'You believe that human beings are not fit to govern themselves, and therefore --'
He started and almost cried out. A pang of pain had shot through his body. O'Brien had pushed the lever of the dial up to thirty-five.
'That was stupid, Winston, stupid!' he said. 'You should know better than to say a thing like that.'
He pulled the lever back and continued:
'Now I will tell you the answer to my question. It is this. The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake. We are not interested in the good of others; we are interested solely in power. Not wealth or luxury or long life or happiness: only power, pure power. What pure power means you will understand presently. We are different from all the oligarchies of the past, in that we know what we are doing. All the others, even those who resembled ourselves, were cowards and hypocrites. The German Nazis and the Russian Communists came very close to us in their methods, but they never had the courage to recognize their own motives. They pretended, perhaps they even believed, that they had seized power unwillingly and for a limited time, and that just round the corner there lay a paradise where human beings would be free and equal. We are not like that. We know that no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it. Power is not a means, it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship. The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now do you begin to understand me?' "
This is probably the most honest and true answer to the reason people want power. This shows how dangerous it is when someone who is honest with themselves get power. Human beings are always going to be selfish, and until that changes, watch out.
I thought I'd start at the beginning. I am blogging because I love to write, and I love to share. I will address many issues in this blog, and sometimes, I will just write about my day, or just something random I want to talk about. Sometimes I will blog a short story or poem, but I don't guarentee that will happen very often. I will try and have a post at least once a week. I love constructive criticism, so feel free to leave it.
Ok, now I will do the blogging part of this post.
Have you ever read the passage in 1984 when O'Brien tells Winston the reason to the party's madness? Read it with an open eye. It is extremely powerful. (no pun intended).
"He came closer to the bed. 'For ever!' he repeated. 'And now let us get back to the question of "how" and "why". You understand well enough how the Party maintains itself in power. Now tell me why we cling to power. What is our motive? Why should we want power? Go on, speak,' he added as Winston remained silent.
Nevertheless Winston did not speak for another moment or two. A feeling of weariness had overwhelmed him. The faint, mad gleam of enthusiasm had come back into O'Brien's face. He knew in advance what O'Brien would say. That the Party did not seek power for its own ends, but only for the good of the majority. That it sought power because men in the mass were frail cowardly creatures who could not endure liberty or face the truth, and must be ruled over and systematically deceived by others who were stronger than themselves. That the choice for mankind lay between freedom and happiness, and that, for the great bulk of mankind, happiness was better. That the party was the eternal guardian of the weak, a dedicated sect doing evil that good might come, sacrificing its own happiness to that of others. The terrible thing, thought Winston, the terrible thing was that when O'Brien said this he would believe it. You could see it in his face. O'Brien knew everything. A thousand times better than Winston he knew what the world was really like, in what degradation the mass of human beings lived and by what lies and barbarities the Party kept them there. He had understood it all, weighed it all, and it made no difference: all was justified by the ultimate purpose. What can you do, thought Winston, against the lunatic who is more intelligent than yourself, who gives your arguments a fair hearing and then simply persists in his lunacy?
'You are ruling over us for our own good,' he said feebly. 'You believe that human beings are not fit to govern themselves, and therefore --'
He started and almost cried out. A pang of pain had shot through his body. O'Brien had pushed the lever of the dial up to thirty-five.
'That was stupid, Winston, stupid!' he said. 'You should know better than to say a thing like that.'
He pulled the lever back and continued:
'Now I will tell you the answer to my question. It is this. The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake. We are not interested in the good of others; we are interested solely in power. Not wealth or luxury or long life or happiness: only power, pure power. What pure power means you will understand presently. We are different from all the oligarchies of the past, in that we know what we are doing. All the others, even those who resembled ourselves, were cowards and hypocrites. The German Nazis and the Russian Communists came very close to us in their methods, but they never had the courage to recognize their own motives. They pretended, perhaps they even believed, that they had seized power unwillingly and for a limited time, and that just round the corner there lay a paradise where human beings would be free and equal. We are not like that. We know that no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it. Power is not a means, it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship. The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now do you begin to understand me?' "
This is probably the most honest and true answer to the reason people want power. This shows how dangerous it is when someone who is honest with themselves get power. Human beings are always going to be selfish, and until that changes, watch out.
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