Christmas and Canada with Grandad and Nana

So yeah. I'm in Canada. Yup. For those of you who know me well, you know that it's not that big a deal. For those of you who don't know me well, then, prepare for some brief history.

My mom's family is from England. In fact, my mom grew up in England, near London (yes, she has an English accent). When my mom was 12, the family moved to Plymouth (Minnesota). Then, they later moved to Canada (I don't remember exactly when, but I think that it was before my mom finished high school). After my mom married my dad, she moved back to Minnesota, which is where we live now (duh). So now, my mom's family lives in Canada (her immediate family, that is).

Because of this, every other Christmas we come up to Niagara Falls, Canada to visit them. We also come up every summer for my birthday. I've only spent one birthday in America, my first one, and I've never spent a birthday without my grandparents, who we call Nana and Grandad because that's the English version of Grandma and Grandpa.

So yes, we are up in Canada again. Christmas was actually five days ago, but that's okay. We didn't get very many presents because most of them are at home, but I'm totally fine with that. I think my favorite gift thus far has been the DS game my aunt got for me: Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days.

That's what the case looks like. Actually, because of this game, I've been on a Kingdom Hearts kick. There's also a manga about the series. There are four series that make up the total series. I read all four online yesterday. Actually, the series holds a very special place in my heart because it was the first manga I ever read (it was also the first one I ever bought, too). The style isn't the best, but there are definitely some interesting expressions in there here are some examples (of the interesting expressions)

In the last two pictures, they have to smile because that's their ship's fuel. You  kind of have to look at their eyebrows and what they're saying to see the expression they want to make. I think it's funny, but that might just be my weird sense of humor.

In case you're wondering, yes, it's from Disney, and that's why there are a bunch of Disney Characters that pop up everywhere.

To put it (sort of) briefly summarize it, in Kingdom Hearts, which is the first series, the main character, Sora,

teams up with Donald and Goofy to find his friends who have been mysteriously transported to different worlds. On this quest, he runs into different Disney characters like Aladdin, Ariel, Belle and Beast, and so on. He also discovers that he has the ability to wield the keyblade,

which has the power to "unlock hearts" and destroy the heartless, who are these monsters who have been terrorizing the many worlds that Sora travels to.

In the second series, Chain of Memories, Sora travels to Castle Oblivion, where basically his memories are changed by a mysterious girl called Namine. In this series, he also encounters Organization XIII, who try to stop Sora from finding the secrets hidden in the castle. In the end of the series, Namine puts Sora to sleep in order to restore his memories.

Which brings us to the third series, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, which happens during Chain of Memories. This is the game I got. It follows a different main character, Roxas, who is a part of Organization XIII. He can also use a keyblade. I like Sora a lot because he's funny and enthusiastic, but I love Roxas because he's just so awesome and adorable!

I mean, look at that face! (Oh, and as a by-the-way, I'm sorry about that huge rant, I just love the series so much)

What was I talking about before this? Oh yes, Christmas and Canada. On Christmas, we had a huge feast. My auntie Bernadette  (yes, I still call my aunts "auntie") made appetizers, and my Nana and auntie Clare made the main dinner and desserts. It was super good, but my favorite was the dessert. My Auntie Clare made Turtle (chocolate and caramel) Cheescake and Chocolate Eclair with strawberries (that's right Clare made Eclair. Ha)

We also had Christmas crackers, which are always fun to open. I got a little blue car. It's next to my flashdrive so you can see how small it is.

Isn't it cute? So yeah. Now we're just hanging out, doing homework and whatnot. I don't know why, but it seems so much more peaceful here. It is without a doubt my second home. I even have a room that is mine

We drink tea a lot here, as I might have mentioned before. In fact while typing this post I've already had two cups of tea. I love it. My Nana actually doesn't like tea that much, but she still drinks it as often as the rest of us do.

You know, I really love my Nana and Grandad. They are so nice and I know it costs a lot to have seven of us up here. My Nana just had knee surgery this summer, but she is always moving around, making food, doing laundry, washing dishes, etc. I try to tell her to sit down, but she doesn't listen to me.

My Grandad works just as hard. He actually still works every now and then by helping my aunt manage the store (the store being the paint store that my Grandad used to own, but has now handed down to my auntie Clare). He got up at 6:00 this morning to help her with something, and he didn't get back until, like, 2:00 in the afternoon. In addition, he does a lot of woodwork projects. When I was younger, he made my desk. That's right, he made it. A couple of years ago, he made my sisters and me bedside tables. It's amazing how talented he is.

(sorry it's not the best picture, but they don't really like their pictures being taken, so it's the best I could do)

I especially love staying up late with them. After we put my three younger siblings to bed, we sit upstairs in the living room. Sometimes we talk, but usually we read (and drink tea). Most people would probably think that that's boring, but I think that it's really nice.

This is the living room where we sit. It's really comfy

 Of course, when we stay up late, we are joined by their cat, Missy Chrissy, or Missy for short. He (yes, it's a boy cat named Missy. We thought he was a girl at first) is adorable. He loves to be pet and played with. He thinks that he's the king of the house, which he kind of is.

 He's also super fluffy, especially his tail. Of course he's not as fluffy as one of my aunt's cats, Winston. We call him Sir Winston Fluffykins, because he's so fluffy and he reminds my Nana of Sir Winston Churchill (hence the "Sir" at the beginning of his name). Here's a picture I took of him a couple of years ago. I swear that this wasn't edited in photoshop or anything. It is honestly what he looks like

It's okay, you can laugh.

Anyways (I'm sorry this is so long! I promise that I'm almost done), since we're in Niagara Falls, Canada, I made sure that we did visited the falls so that I could post pictures. That's right. I made my family endure the cold just so I could post pictures. You're welcome. We went at night, because they light up the falls with colors. Right now, they use twenty one xenon lights that are 30 inches in diameter to light them up (I got this information from a poster in the convenience center). It's really cool because you can see the beams of light because of the mist from the falls

In the winter, they also set up a huge lights that are in the shape of different Disney characters in a park nearby. They're huge and a lot of them move!

Unfortunately, my camera started glitching out, and I couldn't get a picture of the actual falls....so here are some from Google!

If you've never seen them I very highly recommend it. They're beautiful, especially at night. And if you can handle it, I think going in the winter is even better. I really like how everything around the falls is frozen (like the trees and the lamps and stuff), but the falls themselves are still flowing and roaring over the edge.

There, now I'm done. Again, I'm sorry it was so long. Happy New Year!

Open Letter of Open Letteryness

Dear Idio- I mean, people standing in the middle of the hallway,

There's a....problem? No....conflict? Issue? Area of concern? Sure. There's an area of concern I would like to discuss with you. You see, when you stand, well, in the middle of the hallway during passing time, you cause what might be described as a traffic jam.

The heart of the problem is the fact that you insist on standing in just one wing of the school in huge clumps, which, for some reason, kind of remind me of the tops of broccoli - with those little individual seedy things forming lumps, and which are rather unpleasant to eat. Not that I'd want to eat you, just, you know, figuratively speaking.

Anyway, when you gather in such large groups, there is little room for others to squeeze by you. Imagine trying to hug a wall as you slide into people who are trying to go the other way. In addition, imagine that you are, say, five foot two, and don't particularly enjoy injuring yourself by trying to balance in ridiculously high heels, so it's kind of hard to maneuver through a group of tall people in the first place. I'm sure you can see why this might become troublesome after a while.

Now, I realize that I am the poor, pathetic, geeky teacher's pet who hurries to her next class immediately after the bell rings. I understand that I am looked down upon for being woefully inadequate when it comes to  following current fashion trends. And yes, my obsession with cats does border on the extreme. But I have a right to pull the stereotypical American move and say that I have a right to walk in the hallway without having to fight my way through.

So, please, if you could do a person a favor and distribute yourselves among the other wings and other hallways so that my fellow geeks and I can walk in peace, it would be greatly appreciated.

Humbly yours,
Kaitlin Heidelberger

How Dreadfully Risky

Are you ready for this? It's about to get deep.


Now, what did I risk with that opening? I risked you (the whole two or three people who read my blog) analyzing my post for deepness and then judging me based on said deepness. News flash: it might not be, and judging is bad. So there.

In all seriousness, I think the best risks to take are when they are about yourself. Especially when they deal with who you are. For example, on Thursday, I had an APUSH  presentation-y-thing in which I had to dress up like a certain historical figure. I wore a button up shirt, tie, vest, and nice pants. Oh, and a pocket watch. After my presentation, I very well could have changed into normal clothes. But I didn't. I felt awesome wearing it, so why would I change? I strutted down the hallways with my head held high and a smug grin on my face (okay, maybe not, but it creates a nice image, yes?). When I walked into my next class, my friend looked me up and down and said "You look like a guy."

I was very proud to wear that outfit, but there was a small part of me that was super nervous. What if people thought I was weird? What if they talked about me? But you know, I risked it because it's who I am. Yes, I do like wearing stuff like that. I shouldn't be afraid to hide it. So it is great to take risks when they deal with who you are.

In writing, I think it means showing your quirkiness. For example, I started this post in a pretty weird way. But that's just who I am. I do actually say stuff like that in regular conversations, it's not like I'm trying to be superficial. Also, risking in writing means sharing not only stories but also your feelings concerning those stories (or just your feelings in general). When you say "and then my brother ate my sandwich", it's kind of flat. But if you say "and then my brother ate my sandwich which made me so mad because I was starving not to mention the fact that it was for me and it was my favorite kind so I was really upset!" it adds something - it risks something (not including the risk that the people reading will get mad at your extreme use of run-on sentences).

So yeah, if you're just trying to show who you are, then those are the best kinds of risks. You can get real voice and heart into your writing (or just in general) when you do that. Don't be afraid to shine. As a favorite teacher always used to say "Take chances, make mistakes, get messy" (this teacher may or may not have had a magic school bus and a lizard and may have not actually been my teacher. Maybe)

There, was that deep enough for ya?

Argument using humor

The Two Ronnies

War of 1812

The Perils of Power Writing

So, yesterday we finished our second power writing session. I thought that I should share my thoughts.

First off, I don't actually mind the idea/practice of power writing. It will help us get ready for the AP test and it helps us notice things that should be revised (which is mostly due to the fact that Mrs. Cardona points it out). Additionally, the things we are told to write about are relevant to what we're talking about and interesting.

Why, then, did I title this The Perils of Power writing? Well, I'll tell you (duh)

So, it is a very well known fact that only three people can be in line at a time. Mrs. Cardona only told us this, like, fifty times. This, however, does not mean that you can lurk in the shadows just waiting to push other people in your mad dash for the line. It's kind of like this(click on it for a better view)

Okay, I'm exaggerating a little. But not by much. I hate it when people print something off and then walk over to the stapler and take for flipping ever to staple their essay and then  "Oh! There's an opening in the line? What a coincidence! Well, since I'm already here, I might as well just hop in line." Which ruins chances for others who have been waiting patiently in their seats. I also hate it when they start talking to people who are close to where the line is. Not only do they do it to just jump ahead of others, but they disturb the people who are trying to work. But the thing that is by far the worst is when they stand just to the side or around the corner. Just because there's a space between you and the next person doesn't mean that you aren't still standing in line. I mean, come on people! Do you really have to do that? Does one little stamp mean that much to you? (not that it isn't a very pretty stamp)

At one point yesterday (Friday), I noticed that one guy kept trying to get up to get in line. He was in the front row like me. However the lurkers - that's what I've decided to call them - kept pushing their way ahead of him. Eventually I told him, in a semi-joking manner, that I would sit in the middle of the aisle so that he could get up. He did manage to get in line after that without my help, but I think that I might have actually done it, because I was getting pretty mad at the lurkers.

So yeah. I like the power writing, but I don't like how selfish some of the people are. I don't think that we need to change power writing, but I think people need to be responsible and say to themselves "Yes, I have already gone up twice recently. I'll let someone else go right now."

An Epiphany of Geekyness

So, today I realized what a sad, pathetic little geek I am.

I mean, don't get me wrong. I think very highly of myself and I'm not trying to be depressing or anything. It's just, I finally came to terms with the fact that some of the things I do can only be described as "pathetically geeky". Here's what I mean.

In my bio, about me thingy on the side of the blog, I mentioned that I watch anime. Because it's hard to obtain anime in DVD form, there are a bunch of sites that let you watch it for free. This is a very good thing unless you are a procrastinator who doesn't have a lot of self-control (pshhhh that's totally NOT me! What are you talking about?). However, many of the players have a time limit for how long you can watch their player for free. After you reach that limit you have to wait a certain amount of time until you can again watch videos. Therein lies the problem I was facing tonight.

I was taking a break from homework, and watching some anime. Of course, after a while, I ended up hitting the time limit. As I tried to reload a video, a message popped up that I had to wait 26 minutes until I could watch my beloved episodes for free. Now, what was I supposed to do? Should I work ahead on homework? Should I go read a book (though that isn't that much better in terms of geekyness)? NO! I decided to mess around with my laptop until it would let me watch again. So I went on youtube and listened to a song that I am obsessed with and looked at some e-mails. And then I checked how much time I had left. 15 minutes to go. Shoot. I played with Google. And then I checked how much time I had left. 12 minutes to go. I sat there and stared blankly at my screen. 10 minutes to go. I read my friend's blog and commented on it. 5 minutes to go! What was I going to do for five minutes? Fine, I'd do some homework that's due in a couple of days. I got up and got my folder. Quick check: 2 minutes to go. Sigh. It was torture! But finally, It let me watch the video again.

And what is going on while I type this post? My episode is loading. Like I said: pathetic.

Popcorn and Selfishness

The other day, I was working at the movie theater the other day, behind the concessions counter. It was before we had opened, but there was a group that had come in for a special viewing. We were cleaning up and getting ready for opening when one woman walked up to us. She demanded that she speak to a manager as she plunked a large popcorn bag down on the counter. Hearing this, one of our managers, Fred, walked over and asked how he could help her. "Your popcorn tastes weird." she said "The butter doesn't taste like butter." Fred patiently explained to her that we cook our popcorn in coconut oil, and that that was what she tasted. I don't remember exactly how the conversation that followed went, but in the end, Fred told one of us to fill up her bag (because we give free refills for large popcorn bags). As the bag was being filled up the woman demanded "What are you doing?" confused, Fred told her that we were refilling her bag for her. "I don't want it to be refilled, she said "I want my money back."

It really made me realize that there really are people out there who are so selfish that they would demand that they get a refund after eating half a bag of popcorn that "tasted funny". And I find that sad. Why is it that as a society we have become so self-pleasing? And where will that lead us in the future?

In Which All the Answers are Revealed

Or at least some of them.

1. Narration: Today, I had a conversation with my friend about what music was “the best”. It started when a song came on over the radio. It was, in my opinion, a great song, which I pointed out. To which he (my friend) said that it was only “okay”. This was not okay with me. We quickly began talking about the different kinds of music, and what was considered “great”. In the end, he said “The music I listen to is the best”. But is it really? Why is his music the best? I think mine is.

2. Definition: When something is the best that usually means that it is better than everything else in that classification. The best football team is the one that wins the state championship. The best school is the one that scores the best on tests. But not all things can definitely be said to be the best. The best song is the one that every individual person likes the most. The best food is the one that is the most appealing. We can’t always say what the best is.

3. Example: Last year, the Wayzata football team won the state championships. Because of this, we were considered the best team in the state. The team got a trophy saying that they placed first. In essence it was a trophy that declared we were better that any other team in our class. It was a proven fact that we could beat the other teams. We were the strongest, the fastest, and the smartest. We were the best.

4. Compare/Contrast: Being champions in the state football tournament is the equivalent of being the best in the state. When a team beats all of the teams they are placed up against, they are considered the champions of the tournament. But it also means that they are better than all the other teams, that they are the best out of all of those teams. So, it a team is declared to be champions, they are declared to be the best. Therefore, being a champion means that one is the best.

5. Argument/Persuasion: Nothing is better than the music of the ‘60s and ‘80s. Popular music of today pales in comparison to popular ‘80s music. Current music gives us songs like Friday by Rebecca Black. A whole lot of it is auto-tuned crap with bad lyrics that encourage kids to do drugs and other stuff. Meanwhile, in the ‘60s, the Beatles were all the rage. They produced good, genuine music that actually told people good things. The ‘80s, too, was comprised of funky beats and catchy tunes. So radio stations should be paying old music, because it is the best.

6. Description: For me, the best dinner in the world is Shepherd’s Pie. A lot of people say English food, which Shepherd’s Pie is, is way too bland. But when that’s what you grow up with, you don’t notice the lack of seasoning. However, even if it doesn’t have a lot of seasoning put in, there’s something about the combination of ground beef (cooked in a special way) and mashed potatoes that just makes my mouth water. It’s the equivalent of a stereotypical American’s cheeseburger. I just can’t get enough. It is, without a doubt, the best.

Although in hind sight, some of these might be different than what I thought I was writing

What is "The Best"?

Here ya go. Good luck with guessing

1. Today, I had a conversation with my friend about what music was “the best”. It started when a song came on over the radio. It was, in my opinion, a great song, which I pointed out. To which he (my friend) said that it was only “okay”. This was not okay with me. We quickly began talking about the different kinds of music, and what was considered “great”. In the end, he said “The music I listen to is the best”. But is it really? Why is his music the best? I think mine is.


2. When something is the best that usually means that it is better than everything else in that classification. The best football team is the one that wins the state championship. The best school is the one that scores the best on tests. But not all things can definitely be said to be the best. The best song is the one that every individual person likes the most. The best food is the one that is the most appealing. We can’t always say what the best is.


3. Last year, the Wayzata football team won the state championships. Because of this, we were considered the best team in the state. The team got a trophy saying that they placed first. In essence it was a trophy that declared we were better that any other team in our class. It was a proven fact that we could beat the other teams. We were the strongest, the fastest, and the smartest. We were the best.


4. Being champions in the state football tournament is the equivalent of being the best in the state. When a team beats all of the teams they are placed up against, they are considered the champions of the tournament. But it also means that they are better than all the other teams, that they are the best out of all of those teams. So, it a team is declared to be champions, they are declared to be the best. Therefore, being a champion means that one is the best.


5. Nothing is better than the music of the ‘60s and ‘80s. Popular music of today pales in comparison to popular ‘80s music. Current music gives us songs like Friday by Rebecca Black. A whole lot of it is auto-tuned crap with bad lyrics that encourage kids to do drugs and other stuff. Meanwhile, in the ‘60s, the Beatles were all the rage. They produced good, genuine music that actually told people good things. The ‘80s, too, was comprised of funky beats and catchy tunes. So radio stations should be paying old music, because it is the best.


6. For me, the best dinner in the world is Shepherd’s Pie. A lot of people say English food, which Shepherd’s Pie is, is way too bland. But when that’s what you grow up with, you don’t notice the lack of seasoning. However, even if it doesn’t have a lot of seasoning put in, there’s something about the combination of ground beef (cooked in a special way) and mashed potatoes that just makes my mouth water. It’s the equivalent of a stereotypical American’s cheeseburger. I just can’t get enough. It is, without a doubt, the best.




As a side note, I'm sorry for how confusing some of these are, and how I ramble about the same things in all of them. It's almost 12:30 in the morning, and the championship football game is today, I'm listening to music, we just ate Thanksgiving diner a few hours ago (maybe a little more than a few), and I'm tired. I know that's a lame-sauce excuse for writing about the same things again and again, but it's the only one I've got.

Vocaloid, Tea, and Toby Turner

You know, I've begun to notice that my posts are turning into rants about my obsessions. Oh well.

I really dislike modern music. It has no soul, the lyrics promote bad things, and a whole lot of it is auto-tuned. I really dislike rap. Ew. I mean, I like a few artists like Daughtry and Taylor Swift, and stuff. But in general, popular music sucks right now. Because I am addicted to music (I listen to it all the time, and I feel wrong when I can't), this is a problem for me. Thankfully, I was saved by my friend late last school year. She showed me Vocaloid.

"What is Vocaloid?", you  ask. Simply, it is a computer program that makes music. Each voice is represented by a made-up character. A lot of people think "wow, that's lame" and that it's pretty much auto-tune taken to the extreme. But it isn't. To get each voice, they take samples from real people. Believe it or not, they are real voices. The only drawback? Most of it is in Japanese (they made the program, after all). But that really doesn't bug me, personally. The more important thing is that a lot of them have way better messages than modern American music does. My two favorite characters are Rin and Len. They're so cool because it's a guy (Len) and girl (Rin), but their voice samples are from the same person. Their official relationship is that they are "mirrors" of each other. They are usually viewed as either twins or "lovers" (destined, made-for-each other, kind of lovers).

This is the first picture that was released of them

And when their software was updated (so that it doesn't sound as computer-y) This was released

In addition, there are a lot of fan-made pictures that are super-cute

Another reason why I love them is that they don't always follow what society says. For example, Rin (the girl) is stronger that Len (the guy). Len also cries in some songs. While there are some songs where there are typical guy-girl things (like Len protecting Rin), there are also some "abnormal" things too. Here is a song called World is Mine. This is called Paradise of Light and Shadow. There is one more here called Hot Cocoa (there are way more, but these are some of my favorites). These are all super cute, even if you watch just a little bit of one of them, you'll see how awesome they are. And they all have subtitles so you can tell what they're saying.

Next, tea is awesome. This has absolutely no relevance to what I was talking about, but I shall continue. A bunch of my friends like tea too. My mom's family drinks a lot of tea. Yes, they are British and it's very stereotypical, but it's true. Seriously, I think we drink tea anywhere from six to eight times while I'm at their house. And it's always the same brand: Tetley (Orange Peoke). A lot of people would be like "gross, why would you want the same kind of tea over and over again?" I say to them, why do people drink the same kind of coffee day after day? So I am an avid tea drinker. I love it. And thankfully, I usually get home from school before tea time (3:00 p.m.).

Finally, there's this guy on youtube called Toby Turner. He is awesome. Generally, he has three series that he does. He has Literal Trailers, where he records songs for movie/video game trailers, where he describes what is going on in the trailer. Here is a link to one of his better known Literal Trailers (and it says Tobuscus at the beginning because that's his alias). Another series that he does are his daily video blogs (vlogs). He basically walks around and randomly talks to his camera. He's a pretty weird person, so they are usually quite amusing.  Here and here are some of the many. And then the third thing that he often posts are Cute Win Fail videos. Basically he gets one video that's cute, one that's a win, and one that's a fail. He comments on them and then the audience votes for which one is the most epic. Here and here are two of my favorites.

Because I know that people won't look at all of the videos, maybe not even one, Here is a picture of him, because he is just to awesome for you not to see him.

So yup, just another post about some of my many, many obsessions.

Dude, what does that even, like, mean?

In response eXplorations and eXtensions, pg 133. Slang, Colloquial Language, and Popular Expressions

I think that pretty much whatever I say about this will be ironic in the fact that I use slang on an everyday basis. Saying that, I think that it's a natural part of life. We can't eliminate slang from our lives, it's just not possible.

One of the most popular words that people use way too much is the word "like". We have distorted the meaning of this word in to one of the most vague terms we use. It used to refer only to feelings, but now we use it as, like, a filler. I can't even say anything bad against it! Because I do it too. My friend once decided to count the number of times certain people said the word "like" during class. By the end of class, some had used it more than twenty times.

Another example of overused phrases is "Achilles' heel". My coach was talking to my team one day and he mentioned that one dive would be the Achilles' heel of the team. After he said that he asked if everyone knew what that meant. I was the only one. Aside from being absolutely horrified that my teammates had seemingly no knowledge of Greek Mythology, it really made me think about all of the phrases we use that we don't really know what it means. But I think we still use them because they're just so familiar. As a society we have placed a general meaning on words and phrases, so even though we don't know what a phrase may actually refer to, we know what most people will think of when we say things like "Achilles' Heel" or "case in point" (as the packet pointed out)

One more thing I want to mention is that words fade in and out eventually. In french class, we were taught that one word meant "cool" (as in "Oh my gosh, that is so cool!"). But this year, my teacher told us that no one in France uses it because it is to them what "groovy" would be to us. It's old, and it's a little silly. Another example is from the book The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. At one point in the book, the main character finds himself in a casino with tons of video games. However, time doesn't effect the people in there. He starts playing some games with a kid from 1977 One passage reads:

"We played a game of sharpshooters together and he said 'Groovy,man.'...
    Groovy?
    Later, while we were talking, I said something was 'sick' and he looked at me kind of startled, as if he'd never heard the word used that way before" (pg 261-262)

I guess "groovy, man" would today translate to "Dude, sick!" It really makes you think about how we speak.

Finally, I asked my neighbor (he's in 7th grade) if he had heard any "interesting expressions" lately. He told me two that he personally had made up. If you every want to tell someone you understand what they're telling you, you can try
"I'm smelling what you're stepping in" or
"I'm eating your mashed potatoes"

How's that for creativity?

Shimeji: You'll Never Be Lonely Again

So during the summer my friend randomly skyped me and told me about something totally, amazingly awesome. They're called shimejies, also known as desktop buddies, and they are quite possibly the cutest things that will ever haunt your computer screen. Basically, what they do is they sit, walk, climb, and sometimes they throw your windows away.

At first, I had a ton of trouble downloading the program that would let me use them. It took almost a week before I could get it working. Of course, after that I went on an absolute spree. I have 22 right now. I mean, you don't have to have all of them on the screen at the same time. That would just be absolute chaos. In fact, it would probably make my computer freak out and shut down in a very catastrophic manner. And that would be very bad, because I'd probably lose a lot of data.

The only downside for most people is that they're kind of a geeky thing. Well, the buddies in essence aren't that geeky, but the characters are. They're things like pokemon, anime characters, and even a creeper from minecraft. If you didn't really understand anything I just said, then they definitely not for you. However, if you like these things, shimejies/buddies are so adorable and you should get one! Oh, and did I mention they multiply? That's right, leave them unattended, and you can soon have complete and utter chaos to the extreme. Imagine like twenty little things running around your screen. you wouldn't be able to do much. When I say little, they aren't actually that small. You can see details like creases in clothes and stuff.

Another thing I don't think I mentioned is that you can interact with them too. There's a little button in the program that says "follow me" and if you click that, every shimeji/buddy on the screen will follow after your mouse like little ducklings. You can also pick them up. They hang there, but if you shake the mouse (as in moving it back and forth) they make funny faces an they swing in a way that's similar to a clock pendulum. And then when you let go of the mouse, they fall down and land on the bottom of the screen (which is actually very sad, so I avoid it whenever possible). But yeah, it's a very cleverly designed program.

In fact, the program is so well written, that you can make your own shimejies/budddies if you want to. Basically you just write over the existing pictures and then put your own over it. But it takes a really, really, really long time because there are somewhere around 54 images to replace. So yeah, only very ambitious people can really do it.

Aaaaaand since I have pretty much run out of things to say, here are a couple of pictures of some of my shimejies/buddies being super cute

So yeah, they're cute and awesome and keep you company when you're doing your homework.Yup.

I leave you with this final thought: the videos right here and here aaaaaannnnnnddddd here are awesome (the second, and third are by the same person. He is one of the funniest people on youtube, and the first one is our french song right now. It will be stuck in your head, even if you don't know the words) So go click it! Go click it now!!!!!

I'm too tired to think of a creative name

I am a pretty creative person. I play flute, I draw, and I will on occasion write. This year, however, my writing well of awesome ideas has dried up. Currently, the only thing that gets me motivated to actually write is when it's assigned. Sad panda. Of course, once it's assigned I immediately check to see when it's due. I know what you're thinking, "Oh, what a good student! She checks to see how much time she has to make her writing the best it can be". Hahahahahaha no. I am a procrastinator. A bad one. Although I am getting better. But anyway, I check to see when it's due so that I can mark it in my assignment notebook in an attempt to get myself to start early. I usually just ignore it. So, a week or two before the paper or essay or poem or what have you, I might begin writing. Maybe. It usually depends on how important the assignment is.

I usually start by clicking that Itunes symbol on my desktop. Teachers always say that we shouldn't listen to music while doing homework. Well, I'm addicted to music. Not only that, but the best way I learn is through music. So I have an excuse. Next, I open a blank word document. You're probably like "Well, yeah, duh." but that's unfair. I COULD HAVE BEEN WRITING ON PAPER! So there. Anyway, I stare at this document for two minutes minimum. It would probably stare back if it had eyes. Then, I get up and get a blanket. This may seem random, but my house is always cold. I use blankets in summer (and we usually don't even use our air conditioning). Once I return to my perch in front of the computer, I think about what I want to say in the assignment, what my task is, what I need to accomplish. Then, I just start writing. I form thoughts in my head and type them out. I don't stop to think about how I should word something unless it's super confusing. It's like freewriting in a way. I kind of go into a trance. By the end, I don't honestly think I could tell you a majority of the stuff I wrote about. Only after I have done this, do I start to really type my essay/paper/whatever. I go back and add things in; I take things away. I fix punctuation and grammatical errors. After that, I go back and do it again, and again, and again. In fact, what you are reading right now is the four-time edited version of my original post.

Mmmmmmmmm. Now that that's done, let's talk about something fun! I was on youtube the other day. Actually, it was a couple of weeks ago. On a Saturday. I found this really weird and kind of scary video. It wasn't scary as in horror movie, zombies coming to get you scary. It was scary as in "what the heck? This makes absolutely no sense whatsoever and I think my brain might have just exploded from the sheer wierdness of this." Essentially, when I was watching it my face was like

Except for, you know, I'm not an old man.

This video was part one for a movie. You would think that after reacting like that, I would stop watching the movie. Wrong. I was strangely addicted, but I have no idea why. I think I got through about a half an hour before I had to go do something else. I can't wait to finish it.

In case anyone is interested and/or is bored with some time on his or her hands, this is the link to part one of the movie. I feel like I should warn you though, It's in Korean (with subtitles). That's right, it's a Korean drama. Be afraid. Be very afraid. The main characters are members of one of my favorite bands, yes they are Korean, and yes, I know I have weird tastes. Get over it. But, in my defense, they are all pretty. I mean pretty good. Actually, they are amazing at singing. And dancing. And general awesomeness. Here is a link to the first song I ever heard of theirs called Hug and here is a link to an awesome Christmas song that they did called Magic Castle (I think it's a Christmas song, anyway). If you watch the first video, please watch the at least one of the other ones. I feel like I have to defend them. And if you don't want to watch the first video, watch the second or third anyway! They have some serious talent. I listen to them a lot while writing.

I don't know if what I just said can be considered "substantial" but it is what it is.

Random Awesomeness

So I found the following short comic a couple of days ago by one of my favorite artists on Deviantart (see previous posts for more details) and it almost made me snarf my tea. So, yeah. I thought I'd share it

This is it (I wanted to include it as a picture, but you couldn't really see the words)

I'm not really sure what to say

So, first off, I must say that I think 2 Million Minutes gives a mixed message. The entire argument is that the American education system is falling behind and that if America wants to remain a world power we have to "step up our game" (so to speak). Throughout the documentary they show the American kids slacking off and the Chinese and Indian kids working their (figurative) tails off. I mean, they open the documentary with Neil (the American boy) saying "Yeah, I , like, never do my homework. I mean, maybe sometimes on the weekend..." or something to that effect. And while this bias is all fine and dandy, in the end, the only kids who got into their first choice for college were the American ones. So I'm just kind of like, "...What are you trying to tell me?" Because that really doesn't drive home the argument the documentary is trying to make.

On the other hand, the other two readings made an argument of some kind and ended in a very clear way. I really liked the I Just Wanna Be Average reading because it was not only well written, but also very concise. And it does tie in a bit to the 2 Million Minutes documentary because Rose, the author, talks about the school system that he went through. He says that students will "float" towards the expectation the teacher sets for them. So if America is setting its expectations low, then obviously we are going to fall behind, just like 2 Million Minutes was saying in the first place.

Weekend Post

Okay...This is an open-topic post-assignment-y-thing. So be prepared for some rambling and whatnot.

First things first, I got The Son of Neptune on Friday! (cue spaz attack) I have seriously been waiting for this book for a year. I am so very, very, very, extremely happy! It's by Rick Riordan, who, in my opinion, is a genius. He also wrote the Percy Jackson series (love love love) which is about Greek mythology, and The Heroes of Olympus series (Son of Neptune is the second one in the series) is the spinoff series. Mr. Riordan is also working a series about Egyptian mythology called the Kane Chronicles. Honestly, I think the only thing that kept me going whilst I waited for Son of Neptune to come out was that the second book in the Kane Chronicles The Throne of Fire. So, yeah. I absolutely adore his books!

Here's a link to the Percy Jackson website, but you can also get to Heroes of Olympus and Kane Chronicles website from there

So, over the summer, I became absolutely obsessed over this one website called Deviantart (there is a relevance to what I was talking about before if you'll hang on for a moment). Basically, people can post and therefore share their art through the website. And there are so many amazing artists on there! My favorites are AishaxNekox, frzdragon, and Burdge-bug. Burdge draws so many wonderful pictures of stories she likes. Including Percy Jackson (see? RELEVANCE!). Well, she also draws Harry Potter (more lovey love love), The Hunger Games (not so much love, sorry), Doctor Who, some characters from her sister's stories, etc. Augh she's so awesome! I mean, look at that! (It's a Harry Potter one, by the way)

or....or....This one! It's Percy this time

So yeah, I just have way too many things that I obsess over. Especially since I've only mentioned two of the many, many things I obsess over.

Yup, I think that's the end of my rambling...maybe

Oh! And I sprained my ankle and am on crutches for at least a week. Kay! Bye-Bye!

Obama Speech

Obviously, when watching a speech, the first thing you really notice is the speakers appearance. President Obama, when he walked onto the stage, was dressed up, looking very professional. He seemed to be not only confident, but at ease too. Immediately the listener/watcher knows that he is well prepared and is knowledgeable about what he's going to talk about. While giving the speech he stood in a very relaxed manner, not slouching, but not super stiff. His hands were either making gestures to accompany his words (all of which were very natural), or they were resting on the podium.

Throughout the speech, he remained very calm, and collected. He sounded almost as if he was having a conversation. He was articulate, but not overwhelmingly so. In fact, he stuttered on occasion, which on a professional level doesn't look very good. However, I thought that those stutters made him more believable and intimate, especially since he was talking to students. Also, he used "easy words" so that everyone he was speaking to (students, in particular) could understand what he was saying.

There was no obvious climax like in Dr. King's I Have A Dream speech, but you could sense that there were several within the speech. Like Dr. King, he uses lots of logical appeals (but not nearly as many emotional ones). For example, when he was talking about how we can make a difference in the world right now, he told three stories about students who are doing exactly that. I especially found the story about the girl who came up with a new desire for cancer inspiring, so I guess that was also kind of an emotional appeal too.

He talks about his daughters and how he wants them to do their best, which was an ethos appeal, because it tells us that he knows what he's talking about. Other ethos appeals he uses are when he tells about his own school experience, and also when he says that he, and many other people in the government are working hard for the students' sake.

Personally, I didn't think it was the best motivational speech in the world, but then again, can anything seem super motivational after hearing the I Have A Dream Speech? Anyway, I thought his argument (do the best you can in school) came across nicely. I did like the simplicity of his speech, and the almost easy-going feel it had. All in all, I thought it was a nice speech that made good use of the appeals, but it wasn't the most motivational speech I have heard.

JC Laws

I knew that there were a bunch of laws like this, but it still makes me sad to read them. It makes me wonder how ignorant we must have been to think that just because the African Americans have different skin color they are less human that us. And this was after slavery had ended!

I just finished reading one of my friends' reaction to the JC laws, and she said they they reminded her of two little kids who are standing across the room from eachother, but one keeps saying that the other did something to him/her.

But I think that it's more like the whites were afraid that the blacks would give them some sort of disease. I mean, they couldn't even be in the same room unless there was a seven foot high wall with separate entrances. I don't understand how people could do that to others. It really makes me mad. And even if there were people who wanted to stand up for blacks, they couldn't say or write anything because it was forbidden by one of the laws.

It really makes you sympathetic towards what the Black Liberation movement was doing. If I were reading the Birmingham letter, (and if I was black) I would be like "there is no way we are going to stop until you get rid of all these ridiculous laws and treat us equally!"

On Conroy, Dillard, and Gill

I think I took something different from each author's essay. But I found the most inspiring, touching things it Conroy's, Dillard's and Gill's essays.

Conroy's essay was different from what I was expecting. She (?) told the story about how her father abused her family, and how it led her to write. My favorite part was the last paragraph, where her sister told her it didn't officially happen unless they had written it down. "He was raising an American novelist and an American poet - and we wrote it down" was how she ended. It left a really big impact, and was a great way to end the story. I felt like she was saying you should write down things that happen to you, so that you can remember what happened.

With Dillard, I found a great connection because I love drawing. But you can relate her story to writing also. "A given object took no particular time to draw." she said, "Instead, you, the artist, took the time or you did not" This is true for both writing and drawing. Either you take the time to make it good, or you don't. It really tells you about how you get as much out of it as you put into it. And in the end, she said that she just stood up and went to play some baseball. While initially it seemed like she was giving up, but thinking about it, I realized that she was also saying that sometimes it's good to take a break too.

 Finally, Gill's one seemed to be about discovering words and how they can describe the world around us so brilliantly. I feel like a small part of his writing is almost a tribute to his mom, who first introduced him to words. I found that really sweet, especially since she had died while he was still young. But his essay also talked about words in themselves, and his wonder at their magnificence.

Why I Write

I think there are three reasons for why I write.

The first, and most often occurring reason, is school. Papers, Essays, Assignments, Free-Response questions. They all are writing, but for the most part are dry and don't have a lot of heart in them.

Next, I write to vent. When I'm super stressed out or sad, I'll sometimes write to just let it go. I often write poems when I'm in this kind of mood. They tend to have a lot of emotion, but can sometimes be very weird or depressing.

Finally, there is the third reason for why I write, and probably the one that happens the least often. Sadly, it is when I have good, solid inspiration. Obviously these works tend to be the best ones I write, and I spend a lot of time on them.

That isn't to say that I don't sometimes combine two, or even three of these reasons, but they most often stay separate.

Let's Test This Out

Yay! It works!

 More stuff coming soon (assignments and such)