What's a Blog?

Go for the gold!

2009-12-08T17:08:00.001-08:00

Kyle Klein

Samuel Howard

English 2010.010

1 December 2009

Go for the gold!

Have you ever wondered how you know how to dress? Where did you learn that the standard tip for waiters is 15%? When did you come to understand that its rude to stare at somebody you don’t know? Where did the common knowledge that it is inappropriate to pick your nose in public come from?

The answers to these questions are not based on law. Nor did public polls determine any of them. There are no written rules laid down that determine your fashion, tips, or where your eyes linger. I have never seen a posted notice or heard someone with the proper authority tell me that these things should be this way. Why, then, am I willing to admit that these trends are important? Why do I take great care not to break any of these unwritten rules?

The social norm

Social norms exist in every society and play an integral part of everyday life. They help govern the way you act in public, how long your socks should be, and in some cases moral standards. Many aspects of human behavior are controlled by social norms that you probably didn’t even realize were in place. Even though there is no legal repercussion or any set punishments when they are violated, everybody expects them to be upheld. Often, when we violate these standards, we feel foolish and out of place and take great care not to mess up again.

Although commonly accepted as part of life, "the substance of any norm is neither inherently good nor inherently valuable; its power is granted by its acceptance within the culture" (Berger & Luckman; Solomon, Greenberg, & Pyszczynski as cited in Cialdini and Trost, 153). These commonly accepted guidelines generally guide good etiquette for a society and tend to make life a little better; however, just because “everybody’s doing it,” doesn’t mean that it’s the rational thing to do.

For example, from a neutral point of view, leg shaving isn’t necessarily good or bad. It is a natural human phenomenon that both men and women grow hair on their legs, so is the removal of it really valuable? A natural course of thought from this neutral view might even lead us to realize that leg shaving is somewhat silly. However, the social norm associated with this act has extremely high influence and power. I have four older sisters, and not one of them is willing to be seen in public if they haven’t shaved. When I see a hairy woman, my first reaction is generally, “sick...just gag me!” None of us would feel that way if the social norm governing leg shaving were not so influential.

I once found a sweater at a second-hand clothing store that I absolutely loved. The color, material, and style really appealed to me. However, the first time I wore it to school, people gave me queer looks and ridiculed me; apparently my tastes were not fashionable at all. Apparently, I had bought an extraordinarily ugly sweater. I felt embarrassed and very uncomfortable wearing it. I wanted to torch it as soon as I got home and forget all about that ugly thing.

My sense of fashion had no power in society because I stood alone. People around me accepted brands like American Eagle or Aeropostale. That acceptance gave that name-brand fashion—that norm—great power. My sweater wasn’t inherently good, bad, or ugly from a neutral standpoint; I’m sure God loves all his children’s sweaters equally! However, my sweater was immediately rejected by society because it went against the norm that was widely accepted.

Just as most Americans would agree that women should shave their legs, the vast majority of Americans also believe that public nose picking is an unacceptable activity. As evidence, I recently surveyed 88 people (37 Males, and 51 Females, ages ranging from 18 to 30+, 83 of them American), and found that 96% maintained that American culture looked down on the act. 84% claimed that their parents discouraged them from picking their nose while growing up (Klein, Kyle). Obviously, American society, in general, has placed a taboo on nose picking.

It is probably a surprise, then, to hear that 89% of people polled admitted that they pick their nose, of which 58% admitted to picking at least once every day with another 18% picking every few days (Klein, Kyle). It shocks me to know that a society that picks its nose so commonly in private is able to hold a taboo for it while in public. What are the motives that drive people to maintain that social stigma? How did this norm even start when such a large majority of people pick their nose?

When asked how often they pick their nose in public, 48% of nose pickers indicated that they never pick their nose in public, and another 45% stated that they rarely pick their nose in public. That means that only 7% of nose pickers that are willing to do so fairly often in public. Not one person admitted that public nose picking is a common activity for them (Klein, Kyle). These numbers suggest that the social norm in place, while accepted by individuals in public, has little power over how we act in private. There must be certain aspects of nose picking that, while ignored in private, are undesirable from a public standpoint.

The spread of bacteria

When I asked the participants to explain how they feel about nose picking, I found a few common concerns that arise from picking in public. The first such concern had to do with sanitation. Many people indicated that its “gross” to find other people’s boogers, shake hands with somebody that they had seen picking their nose, or touch anything that person has touched. Also, 50% of people who used to pick their nose but don’t anymore indicated that they stopped picking their nose due to sanitary reasons (Klein, Kyle). Germaphobia is apparently quite rampant in today’s society.

Based on these numbers, it would appear that sanitation is a big reason this social norm continues to govern our society. Avoiding germs is indeed a valid concern, but the question arises: in reality, how unsanitary are boogers? According to the University of Pittsburgh Nurse Anesthesia Program, boogers are formed when the nasal mucus that lines the nasal cavity traps any foreign objects in the air being breathed, including dust, bacteria, or other particulates and congeals into a solid. This is a filtering process that cleans the air we breathe before it gets to the lungs (Cwynar). This information suggests that the only bacteria found in a booger are the bacteria inhaled and trapped in the nose.

Considering this information, it seems to me that I'm more likely to get sick by breathing through my mouth all day than I am by touching somebody's booger. To get sick from someone else’s booger that I came in contact with, I'd have to first ingest the bacteria in it. That means that any bacteria found in a booger would have to first cling to my finger and then be transferred to my mouth. Unless the booger was still wet and gooey, I don’t think much of the bacteria will get stuck to my finger anyway. One the other hand, if I breathed through my mouth all day, I would be subject to all the bacteria I had inhaled; the air would have gone straight to my lungs without getting filtered by my nose. I’ve never heard tell of someone falling ill because they chose to breathe through their mouth; the notion seems absurd.

However, let’s examine the worst-case scenario. As you are sitting in class, minding your own business, your finger happens to find a big, juicy booger deposited on the under-side of a chair 5 minutes ago. Your finger has just been subjected to the bacteria found in that booger. Lucky you! Assuming all of those bacteria cling to your finger, the amount of bacteria on your finger is exactly the same as the amount of bacteria inhaled through the nose of the person who deposited the booger. For argument’s sake, let’s say the depositor, the hick Cleatus Joe, cleaned the wild boar exhibit at the local zoo today and then sorted through a large section of the local landfill to find some toys for his 12 kids, so his boogers contain an unusually high amount of bacteria. Cleatus Joe has some highly nutritious boogers for the bacteria in them, and the population growth in his booger is exponential. You have a lot of bacteria on your hands now. However, in order for the bacteria on your finger to enter your body and make you sick, you must first ingest it. You generally don’t make a habit of licking your fingers after touching dirty things in public, so I don’t imagine that bacteria will enter you any time soon. As long as you keep your finger out of your mouth until you have a chance to wash it, you run no real risk of getting sick from Cleatus Joe’s nasty booger.

Still concerned about the bacteria? Perhaps this will assuage your fears, in the remote chance you do accidentally ingest the bacteria: some people argue that the bacteria found in boogers, when ingested, actually make you healthier. Lung specialist Dr Friedrich Bischinger claims that this is one of the best ways to strengthen your immune system. You may shudder at the thought, but his argument is rather convincing: “medically it makes great sense and is a perfectly natural thing to do. In terms of the immune system the nose is a filter in which a great deal of bacteria are collected, and when this mixture arrives in the intestines it works just like a medicine. Modern medicine is constantly trying to do the same thing through far more complicated methods, people who pick their nose and eat it get a natural boost to their immune system for free" (Ananova).

The "more complicated methods" he referred to are called vaccines. They consist of weak strains of bacteria or viruses injected via needle that the body is capable of fighting off. Once the body has fought them off, that person becomes more immune to stronger strains. Although studies have not proved or disproved that ingesting bacteria found in boogers works the same way as vaccines, he does make a convincing argument. Wouldn’t eating your boogers accomplish much the same feat? I submit that the presence of bacteria in our boogers is not worth worrying about; on the contrary, they may even prove beneficial.

The slime factor

Going back to the hypothetical situation with Cleatus Joe, I admit, even though there is no real risk of getting sick, finding a booger that somebody left behind is never pleasant. This leads to the second common concern of nose picking. Dirt, slime, sticky things, and other foreign objects on people’s hands tend to irritate and gross out most people, regardless of how much bacteria are present. Personally, when I get something on my hands, I immediately try to wipe or rinse it off. I find it very uncomfortable to have something slimy, gritty, or sticky on my hands.

For this reason, public nose picking can indeed be undesirable; who wants their hand covered in somebody else’s gooey nose residues that they wiped on some random object? However, there are ways to avoid this problem. A public nose picker can easily dispose of his bounty in a more sanitary fashion. Rather than wiping a booger on some random surface where it can eventually be discovered, if it were simply dropped on the floor, it is very unlikely that it will be encountered. In a public place, like a classroom, in your car, or walking across campus, a booger dropped here or there makes no real difference. It is tiny compared to the amounts of dirt, grime, and dust that have been tracked in by people’s shoes. A booger on the floor can easily be swept or vacuumed up later, and nobody will be the wiser.

The unsightly excavation

Another common complaint about public nose picking in my survey was that it is simply unsightly or distracting. There are ways around this too. My mother, who has spent a lot of time in Japan visiting her sister, explained how it is considered impolite to let somebody see you using a toothpick to remove food from your teeth. However, toothpicks are still used quite commonly; as they are picking food from their teeth, they simply bow their head and cover their mouth with one hand while the pick with the other. Everybody knows what they are doing, but nobody has to sit and watch them dig at their teeth (Klein, Carol). A similar method could be adopted for picking your nose in public. When the need arises, simply bow your head, and cover up what your one finger is up to with your other hand. True, people might know what you are doing, but they couldn’t complain about being distracted by your digging in your nose.

Private picking preferred to public picking… how puzzling!

These arguments are supported by other statistics collected in my survey. This graph compares the number of people who pick in public to the number who pick while driving their car or walking. These numbers are out of the 89% of people that admitted that they pick their nose.

How interesting that our population's willingness to pick their nose increases as the level of privacy is increased from a classroom setting to driving a car or walking. Somehow separation from others is a situation that is much more conducive to nose picking. While 37 of 78 people who pick never pick their nose in public places, only 14 of 78 people never pick while driving or walking. For this group of people, the willingness to pick while driving is fairly even across the board, while a huge majority of them refuse to pick in public. (Klein, Kyle). People in our culture are much more willing to pick when they aren't as likely to be caught in the act. Apparently, the reason we don’t pick in public is because we fear what other people think of us if we are seen and because we don't want our boogers floating around where other people can come in contact with them.

Picking Pros

Obviously, there are pros to picking your nose. Otherwise, nobody would pick their nose, and it wouldn’t be an issue. In my survey, people claimed to pick their noses for multiple reasons. Of the 89% of people who admit to picking their nose, 94% claim they do so to relieve discomfort or itching, 74% do so to open their airway, and 21% do so out of habit. 13% claim that it is an instinct or that it is more convenient than other methods of clearing the nose. As a humorous side note, 4% admit that they pick their nose for pleasure (Klein, Kyle). I can assure you that most of these percentages would be slightly raised if I had included my own survey submission. (And that includes the statistic on pleasure! Some people like a good back massage. I happen to prefer a good nostril kneading now and again.)

The reasons that people pick their nose are not barbaric or distasteful in nature. Rather, most people (myself included) primarily pick because it’s simply the easiest way to relieve discomfort from dried boogers blocking the airway or itching the nose. Should relieving discomfort be inherently offensive to others?

According to one of the people who replied to my survey (a male American, age 19, who lived in Indonesia, Thailand for at least 3 months), it “was not such a social faux pas to pick your nose there. It was just a regular thing” (Klein, Kyle). How interesting that something that is so unacceptable and seemingly offensive in America could be “just a regular thing” elsewhere. People in Thailand are not offended or grossed out when they see somebody else picking their nose. It is just a part of life. This again makes me wonder how this social norm ever started in America. At some point, we chose to make it unacceptable to pick your nose. And yet, almost everybody here picks their nose in private without a second thought. Why then do they turn around and look down their nose at people pick them in public?!

Standing Proud

I never actually burned my second-hand sweater. Once the initial humiliation from wearing it had dissipated, I realized that I had cared way too much what others thought of me. I loved that sweater, and I shouldn’t be embarrassed about that. I started wearing that sweater to school frequently, and I received ridicule time and time again. And yet, I wore it with boldness; I wore it with pride. Nothing anybody could say would make me leave it home. It took some getting used to all the negative comments, but slowly, I started noticing a change. The hostility I felt from others was being replaced with respect. People saw that I was willing to stand up for what I personally liked, and I started receiving complements on my sweater. Things like “snazzy sweater, man!” and, “I dig the wool,” reached my ears like rush of cool air. I admit that it came as a pleasant surprise when I found friends and acquaintances wearing equally ugly sweaters and T shirts. I had overcome a social norm that had held me back and revolutionized our sense of fashion. I was now free to wear my sweater without any judgment being passed.

Why do we live this double standard of nose picking? Why do make hypocrites of ourselves by picking our noses behind closed doors and turning them up in public? If we allowed ourselves to pick in public as we do in private, we would never have to suffer through the discomfort of an itchy, clogged nose. Proper precautions could be taken that would greatly reduce any sanitation risks, concentration of waste under seats or tables, or the unsightliness of the act. If these steps were taken, our lives could be made that much simpler.

The bottom line is, practically everybody picks their nose, but we are all too scared of what others think of us. In public, most of us suppress our instinct and desire to pick because we don’t want to embarrass ourselves. Most of us allow this social norm to govern us because we are too scared to make a stand for ourselves.

When I catch someone picking their nose, I don’t see bacteria, grime, and distraction. I see a natural, logical process and a comfortable individual. I say we join this comfort revolution and overturn this outdated norm; let’s free ourselves of this self-imposed bondage. In the words of the ever-reliable Justin Timberlake, “I pick my nose and I’m not ashamed to admit it. If there’s a bogey there then just pick it man!” (Celebguru) It would save us all discomfort, embarrassment and mountains of tissues if only we made the natural, logical choice: go for the gold!

Sources Cited

Annanova. “Top doc backs picking your nose and eating it.” Ananova Ltd., n.d. Web. 15 October 2009

Celebguru. “Justin Timberlake confesses picking his nose.” The Insider. CBS Interactive Inc., 17 April 2007. Web. 23 September 2009. <http://www.theinsider.com/news/133954_Justin_Timberlake_confesses_picking_his_nose>

Cialdini, Robert B. and Trost, Melanie R. “Social Influence: Social Norms, Conformity, and Compliance”. The Handbook of Social Psychology, Volume Two. Compiled Gilbert, Daniel T., Fiske, Susan T., Lindzey, Gardner. Published Vaicunas, Jane, 1998. Pages 151-168. Web. Scholar.Google.com, 23 September 2009

Cwynar, Justin. NURSAN 2720 (Applied Physiology and Pathophysiology). University of Pittsburgh Nurse Anesthesia Program. 2003. Web. 7 October 2009. <http://www.pitt.edu/~anat/Head/Mouth/Mouth.htm>

Klein, Carol. Personal interview. 26 October 2009.

Klein, Kyle. “Need-to-Nose.” Survey. 21 October 2009.

Master Chief vs. Professor Jimbo

2008-10-17T21:00:00.000-07:00

Sometimes its hard to say "no". We've all heard of people who couldn't decline the drugs offered to them. Many people have dozens of credit cards because they don't know when enough is enough, and choose to say, "yes, I think I do need another one". When Mom asks, "will you clean your room today?", its never something you want to do, but always something agreed to. When you are all alone with that certain someone, "no" is the last thing on your mind.

While I've never experienced any of these things, the latter somewhat regrettably, it is clear to me that there are some forces in this world that are extremely difficult to blatantly turn away. Different people are susceptible to their own individual banes, and not one person on this earth is exempt. That's just how life works.

My folly today was nothing of a serious matter. I'm still reading positive numbers in my bank account, proud owner of one credit card. No "happy hour" with my "Mojo", or raging hormones opposite some girly friend. And yet I am rather unnerved and glum about how the day has passed. Here I sit at 10:19 PM, exactly 12 hours after waking up, wondering how on earth those hours passed without exerting one bit of effort to do anything worthwhile. You see, I was in my appartment all day today alone, and decided to take my vacation time seriously. It was no more than 10 minutes after I woke up this morning that I was on my couch, X Box controller in hand, saving the galaxy from the ill threat of the alien forces of the Covenant and Flood. At exactly 6:30, I put the controller down after successfuly destroying Halo to watch the credits roll.

Granted, I didn't play straight through that entire time. I played Ultimate for about 2 hours in the middle there, and...no wait...other than that, it was pretty much straight though.

So there I was, content with beating Halo, ready to do get on with the day and do what I had planned to do today: Physics homework. I was ready to get to work and get a jump start on my homework, but in the back of my mind, my mind was curious as to what happened next in the story I had just concluded. The Monitor said there were more Halos! Did the Covenant ever discover where Earth was? How is mankind going to defeat the Covenant?!

Halo 2 seemed to be calling my name from its resting place in the front room. It wanted me to play it, and I definitely wanted to oblige.

But here I had my choice: stay on top of my homework and give the gaming a rest, or screw Professor Jimbo, my Physics teacher, and continue the mindless, unsociable mess that had consumed so much of my day already.

Alas, I couldn't say no.

Of course, I could have said no. But that's besided the point. I didn't say no. So, after filling my belly, I resumed my position on the couch and let my Physics untouched.

Even now, several hours later, I'm only sitting here writing about not doing my Physics, rather than actually doing my Physics.

Obviously saying "no" to Physics isn't one of those things that I struggle with.

In all honesty, I had fun today. Ultimate was good times; I got to hang out with some really cool people. I made plans to hang out with Annie and Emily tomorrow, and I got to relax and veg out the rest of the day. Good times.

Yes, I am disappointed that all that time went to pot, but I can make up for it tomorrow. I'm at a ridiculously hard part of Halo 2, so saying "no" ought to be a little easier tomorrow :D

So, tomorrow I have some fun plans, but I've also got a lot to do because it didn't get done today. I have a lesson on Sunday that I have to plan, and a whole chapter of Physics to do. I'll try and get my lesson done in the morning before I do anything else, then I'll have some fun, and then I'll get my Physics done before it gets too late. Then, hopefully I can enjoy tomorrow evening as well. I'll have to really motivate myself to stick with the plan so I don't end up trying to get it all done tomorrow night. Yeah, that would be ugly.

So, I guess the moral of the story is don't fornicate, pop some Mojo, or sell your soul to Capital One and chances are you'll end up alright.

Oh yeah, and follow all those other commandments too. Them'r some good'ns.

On My Own

2008-09-22T17:44:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is my one-month anniversary of living on my own. I can't believe that. Its crazy to think that I haven't had my mom around to make me one meal, do my laundry, or do all the shopping. It was a rough transition, but I really feel like I've started to settle into the college life. Even though the title of this post suggests loneliness, I'm feeling pretty good. I miss my parents, but I call them occasionally and have nice chats with them; I don't feel homesick at all.

I think Molly is right though. If I weren't here with my best friends, things would be a lot harder. I'm really starting to feel very grateful that I'm here with my friends. I'm not going to take things like that for granted anymore. I hope I've been as much of a help to everyone here as they have been for me.

I hope that if anybody ever needs anything that they won't hesitate to ask. We are here together, we might as well help each other out.

Anyway, that's the end of my soap box.

One thing I need to get better at here at college is managing my time. For instance: I have an entire chapter of Physics to do before 1 AM tonight. Its 10:05 right now, and I haven't started. What was I doing for the last 2 hours? Watching Heroes. What was I doing before that? Playing Halo. Yeah, I definitely need to work on managing my time. I wanna go to bed right now, because I'm super tired. Not gonna happen :D

That being said, I should probably get to work.

"We're all in this together. Once we know that we are, we're all stars." HSM FTW

Virtue

2008-05-21T22:46:00.000-07:00

She strives to live the words of God,
the truths that have been taught her
Ever holding to the rod;
She is the Father's daughter.

Her sacred beauty she holds dear,
as a gardener loves her rose
The virtue that she keeps within
flourishes and grows.

Every day I yearn to see
her beauty and her grace,
The smiling eyes and upturned lips
that sit upon her face,

To hear her voice, rich and sweet,
as soft and warm as air,
And hold her gently in my arms,
pure love forever shared.

The day she kneels across the altar,
our souls entwined forever
Will only come if I prepare
and worthily endeavor.

Above all rubies and wealth of worlds
is the virtue priced
Of the woman in my dreams
who strives to follow Christ.

Tribute

2008-05-12T19:27:00.000-07:00

So many memories.

The last 6 years have flown by. I really can't believe its been that long since I sat down at a desk for the very first time in 7th grade at Eisenhower Jr. High. I sat there in Mr. Beagley's room, eyes open for any potential crushes, my brand now forest-green zip-up folder resting in front of my scrawny body. Courtney, if you read this, kudos to you. I apologize for my immaturity several times over.

The weekly sleepovers with my best friends, the Gardner twins and Chris Thatcher, always included a weekly report of who we thought was cute or otherwise repulsive. Occasionally we also debated who Levi ought to like, how much we liked or disliked Ms. Alsop, Mr. Lyman, Mr. Brough, Morris, Earl, or Wong. I don't even know how many times we acted out the scene of Mr. Earl in lederhosen saying, "GT Puzzle".

The hours we have spent playing Super Smash Brothers, Battle Tanx, Mario Tennis, Mario Party, Fusion Frenzy, and Halo have been astronomical. Honestly, the four of us could be pro ballers by now if those hours had been spent on the court rather than in one of our basements, our eyes wide and our hands firmly gripping a controller.

But that's not what I'd want. The good times we've had on those games will be something I will remember for a long time, and I wouldn't even trade that for Brewer's shoes, and Brewer's my homie. No sir, I wouldn't trade the Eternal Order of the Dead Sock Society for anything.

Lunchtime. Oh, the joys of lunch in the EJH cafeteria. We had our table reserved all three years; that was home to us. The chocolate milk bubbles, the tomatoes on the crotch, the ladies flocking to us...err...to Thatcher...the data matches, opened anxiously as we sat in our designated spots.

I always finished my lunch last, and was left alone for a good 5 minutes while my posse fortified the corner by C Hall. You'd think they would have waited for me, but no... Shoot, and what about our excursions to the drinking fountain in the corner of the cafeteria? That was an every-day event for us!

Band class. How can I even begin to recall the good times spent in that room in that remote hallway of the school? The first memory I have of Cadet Band is playing the Stars and Stripes Forever, the same arrangement the 4 of us played the year before in elementary band with Ms. Ryburg. We dominated that song hardcore; that was the shock and awe of the century, that was.

Before Jazz Band every day, waiting for Smith to get there was awesome! Turning all the combination dials in the hall to '0' was ever so much fun. I owned the alto sax during Jazz Band, with Thatcher behind me on his bone, sitting beside the Child Molester, and the twins and Nickmo off to the left with their clarinets on the Tenor 2 part. Beseme Mucho, Abracadabra!, Pennsylvania 65000, that crazy Spy Medley Song, Tequila, Smooth, Shaft, Channel One Suite, My One True Friend, La Bamba. Those songs were the ultimate. We were the ultimate.

Spirit week. The best week of each year, hands down. Oh man, the things I wore. It was awesome. Bathrobe with the waist tie around my head, my sick nasty nerd get-up (head-gear included), the Vietnam get-up (which, by the way, gave me the name CombatKyle), the decked out EJH colors (complete with Dracula cape), cowboy a freaking awesome Ninja Turtle, and many more. I even came to school dressed as Marge Simpson once, with everything from the tall blue hair to the long green dress. And yes, lets not forget the time Thatcher and I were a cow. Freaking awesome. We did a runway walk on the cafeteria stage and won a Smores Bar for our awesome-ness. I took Spirit King 2 years in a row, and feel pretty good about taking it Freshman year, had they had a spirit king. I even complained openly about the stupid coconut that was cut open at the Spirit Assembly one year. I won't ever forget dethroning the Freshmen our 8th grade year either. We got a day at Hollywood Connection for our amazing spirit.

Spanish class. I was bilingual by the time the summer of 9th grade came around. BYU Spanish fair was ridiculous, Thatcher and I dominated the impromptu conversations. We were unstoppable. Even when Horton trapped me in a box or threatened to make me eat my way out of the dung I'd stepped in I was unstoppable. And lets not forget, "I am I, Don Quixote!" or the annual "Dia de los Muertos" video. Wow, we were good enough to even make Caminos Peligrosos. "You've got Francisco!" Dang straight Levi. I remember walking every step of the way on La Gran Aventura de Alejandro. What a stud he was.

Academic Team. Sure, I scored more negative points than I did positive, but how could I ever forget the practices after school with the best kids ever? I loved learning those things, even if I didn't use them to dominate like my boys in the games. Peck, Mann, and Chambers were awesome. I can still taste Peck's cookies and pop. My circumcised square still smarts too :S I still listen to Thatcher's Nerd Jump and Nerd Win CDs, they rock. "I just torched a building downtown, and I'm afraid I'll do it again!" "...dinner with friends..."

Running. I was the skinniest runner ever. But man, did I run. I'd say not too shabby if you ask me actually. Chris dominated me in the long run (ha!), but I'm still proud of my 5.42 mile time. How many skinny 9th graders do you know who did that? Look at me and my bad skinny self. My skinny bad self that just loved to pee a hundred times before a race and puke a dozen afterwards. Bladder the size of a walnut, as I recall Thatcher saying several times.

Good times with Earl, thats for sure. Yessir, Coach Earl and his calfs. We even worked out with him in the weight room during CC. What a stud.

I do recall the time Thatcher's backpack was stolen from the park down by Lion's Club Fitness Center. Sucks to his ass-mar.

Seminary. Best seminary class ever. Good old Brother Whitmer. I read the Book of Mormon for the first time ever that year. I also learned all 25 Styx Mastery through the awesome power of music. Those songs rocked my world. I'm sure Whitmer would be proud that I still Remember Euticus too. :P

Oh man, Chris, your girlfriend is smart.

That girlfriend of yours was an adventure in and of itself too :D

Man, EJH was good to us. Thats the moral of story. And look at us now, 3 years later. It really has gone by in a blur. We've grown so much (in more than one way), and I've only gotten closer to my friends. My friends are freaking awesome. New and old friends alike; the group I hang with is certainly the cream of the crop.

So thanks everyone. Thanks for an awesome 6 years. And for Chris, James, and Levi, Katie, Molly, and M. We: lets rock next year hardcore. Utah State, hey, Aggies all the way!

This has been a walk down memory lane by yours truly, CombatKyle.

11 Months

2008-05-11T17:46:00.000-07:00

It has now been exactly 11 months since last I posted. Why did I ever stop, I wonder. Time, habit, nothing to say. It all played a part. But here I am now a month until the one year anniversary of my interweb silence.

I've been talking to my sister for the last 38 minutes about something that has been bothering me. It is something that I really haven't ever experienced before, and I feel like a complete moron because of it. I even felt stupid talking to her about it, and the answers she gave me don't give me much hope.

I'm a happy person. I love life. School is a blast, water polo provides me with so much happiness (it has given me everything from raging pecks, to friends from all over the valley, to something to do with my time after school every day, to the fiercest competition of my life every week) and I have the best friends and family I could ever ask for.

And yet, despite my awesome life right now, I still feel like a moron. And really, I should feel like a moron, because lately I've acted the part.

Man, I don't even know what to say. I'm just glad to be on here venting once again. I don't want anybody to worry about me, because I really am happy. I'm awesome actually.

Just acknowledge the fact that I'm a moron and let me relish in my moronish-ness. I'll figure something out that'll help me tip the Scale of Moronity back towards neutral.

It'll take time and a lot of discomfort. But I guess if thats all it takes from me I'll be able to consider myself a lucky guy. Very lucky indeed.

Flight Plan

2007-06-11T19:32:00.000-07:00

PLC was great. I learned a ton of stuff about leadership and the gospel, and my testimony grew through the roof. I feel much better about myself after coming home from it that I did before for several reasons. The boost of spiritual strength I got from it is the biggest reason. I came home with a lot of things to help me out. One of the biggest things I learned--or rather, relearned--is the importance of making and meeting goals. This is probably the the biggest way that we can progress as individuals, even if we don't always realize it.

So, at PLC, we were all challenged to make a Flight Plan--a detailed outline of what you want to achieve in the near future. It consists of goals that can be completed in a timely manner; goals that can be met, but are a challenge to do so. These goals are meant to make you a better person as you strive to meet it, and once you do, new goals can be set to further yourself even more.

So, with no further ado, I will now lay down my Flight Plan for you. I do this so that you might be encouraged to make your own objectives that you can strive for personally. It is something that each of us should do, and maybe I can give you some ideas for your own Flight Plan.

1) Graduate High School with a 4.0 GPA and 4.0 CPA
2) Reread the April General Conference talks this summer and do my best to follow what the Prophet and Apostles said.
3) Read the Book of Mormon again by New Year's.
4) Make it to every Cross Country and Swim practice this summer that I can make it to. Give 100% effort to make it worthwhile.
5) Live up to the Purposes of the Aaronic Priesthood and keep myself worthy to hold it.

The Purposes of the Aaronic Priesthood are:

• Become converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ and live its teachings.

• Serve faithfully in priesthood callings and fulfill the responsibilities of priesthood offices.

• Give meaningful service.

• Prepare and live worthily to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood and temple ordinances.

• Prepare to serve an honorable full-time mission.

• Obtain as much education as possible.

• Prepare to become a worthy husband and father.

• Give proper respect to women, girls, and children.

6) Go to the Temple at least once a month for the rest of my life.

These are the things that I am striving for at this time. These are some of the most important things in my life right now, and I am going to do my best to meet them. Some of them are going to be a real challenge, but I know that by doing my best to meet them, great things will happen. I hope that those of you who see this will follow suit and make your own personal goals. Make them "realistic, yet challenging" (in the words of Thatcher) so that you can grow.

I guess that is all I really have to say right now. I challenge all of you to do what I've talked about; it will make a difference in your life.

Summertime Blues

2007-05-17T18:55:00.001-07:00

We all know how tiring this last month of school has been. With AP classes coming to an end, we crammed to prepare ourselves for the ever-feared tests. For a month solid I worked harder than I ever worked in my life. I really didn't even work that hard looking back on it, but at the time I thought I was going to die of work overload.

Now that the tests are over, school is basically coming to a close. I played Frisbee in English class yesterday, and I watched a documentary that tried to convince me we never landed on the moon in Physics today. Life has calmed down from the torrential hurricane it was before to a nice cool breeze.

Along with a big stress release, this breeze has blown something our way. It has brought in the prospects of the future. What will summer bring us? What will next year bring us?

As I began to think of such things, a realization hit me like I was a rabbit on the freeway. This summer is going to be harder than the last month of school has been for me. As Thatcher mentioned, I have a new interest in running Cross Country this summer with the team. Whether or not I run on the team next year is to be determined, but I am going to run with them as often as possible this summer. I am going to hang out with the team, run with them, and get ripped legs with them. When I went running with Chris and James last night, I realized just how much more in shape I am than when I ran at Eisenhower. We ran at a pretty good jog, and we went for about 3 and a half miles; back in the day, I would have died. When we stopped, my heart wasn't beating that fast, I wasn't gasping for air, and I didn't hurt at all. I felt pumped.

So, while I'm excited to run this summer and be crazy ownage, I remember the other two teams that I am going to be practicing with. The swim team is going to be practicing for 2 hours every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at about 9 o'clock in the morning. That means that I will be running every morning at 7, and going straight to the pool upon return to the school, getting in, and swimming for two hours. I'm determined to be a much stronger swimmer this year, and I'm going to give it my all at practice instead of the lousy half-way covenant of the previous year.

This means that before lunch time every day, I will have already had a four hour workout. that is really depressing. I know its going to be incredibly good for me, and I'm gonna get ripped doing it, but its going to be dang tough. Especially when I will be having water polo practice with a team I'm joining several times a week in addition to all this.

I'm really excited to exercise so much, because, lets face it, I'm really skinny. I'm gonna get ripped, and its going to be great. I am also going to get very rich this summer. See, in addition to these three team practices every day, I will have work for about 6 hours every day Monday through Thursday, meaning I will be in the water about 10 hours a day. I don't know about you, but I'd classify that as amphibious. That is a LOT of treading water. I guess it pays well, which is a good thing. For teaching for 6 hours, I'll be getting about 64 dollars a day. Very nice.

So, between Cross Country, Swim, Water Polo, 6 hours of lessons a day (plus whenever I'm scheduled for lifeguarding) and, of course, the weekly Frisbee Friday session, this summer is going to be DEATH, plain and simple. If I don't die of exhaustion, I'll prune to death in the water. I'd advise you to take some before and after pictures, because you'll be amazed at the changes...if all goes according to plan. I'm gonna be a few thousand dollars richer, a few more pounds heavier, have recognizable pectorals, calfs, abs, and biceps, and chlorine-bleached hair. I'm gonna be a new sort of guy.

Overall, this summer will be good to me, but I can easily see it being the hardest time of my life so far. However, the endless hours of movies that we are going to watch are going to be good times, and I am very excited for them. Let us not forget the list we have compiled, which I still have, and may we go through with our plans of watching each one of them.

Here we go, death comes for me, but I'll only be made stronger for it. Come and get me summer.

Procrastination

2007-05-14T20:20:00.000-07:00

Procrastination

In the hustle and bustle of everyday life, the world can be a tiresome place to live in. With so many quotas and deadlines to meet, the world is constantly caught up in one huge rush order. We all know people who are obsessive compulsive about every little detail. They are the people who keep every piece of paper that comes under their possession in a marked file. They mark every due date in their planners, and get to work on it the moment they get home from school, no matter how long they may have to get it done. You may say that it is an admirable quality to be prepared, but upon closer examination, anybody can see that a person consumed by such a characteristic is simply robotic.

Why rush life? It’s a question I ask myself frequently. I look around and I see so many lost souls, confined to their programmed routines, never stopping to enjoy their surroundings. They have a deadline to meet, and their primal instincts tell them their project must be complete before its actually due. In the words of Ryan Shupe, these are the kind of people who miss things every day, simply because they are driving in the fast lane. They don’t get to smell the flowers or enjoy the ride; their destination is far more important to them than the process of getting there.

I am the kind of person who likes to smell the flowers along the road. In fact, I’d say that I’m the person most people see picking the flowers as they wiz by going a mile a minute. Everyone makes the word “procrastination” out to be an abomination, but in my opinion, it smells rather nice. While everyone else has the wind in their face and a huge assignment in the back of their minds, I find myself care-free and relaxed, strolling along on my merry way.

Of course, when the due date comes and everyone else has finished the work, I am still smelling the flowers on the wayside. Those finished with their work scoff at me and tell me there is no hope for one such as I. They tell me my procrastination has gotten me nowhere, that I can’t possibly accomplish my aims. If they could see clearly, they would realize that their workaholic mind-set has gotten them even further behind than me in the race of life, and they wouldn’t be chastising me. It is at times like this that I leave my flowers and pick up my pencil and gather my thoughts. I begin a steady sprint to the finish. I weave into my work every conscious particle of my refreshed mind, and I finish the race.

Panting at the finish line, I read back over my work and find something far more profound than any automated response my hasty counterparts pulled together. In their rush to finish early they forgot the most important element of work: play. Procrastination is not putting of work until the last possible second; rather, it is making work a walk, a game, and a sprint in the park. In my defense, I never put off work. I simply start my work with something that will get my mind off of it.

It is plain to see that procrastination is the real key to success. Forget automation. Infuse work with play, and with a little bit of a kick at the end of the race, you’ll finish stronger than any robot could ever manage. Take the time to smell the flowers. “Time flies too fast, I got to make it last. So enjoy it; relax, chill out, just give it a try. I say simplify.” Ryan Shupe has definitely got the right idea.

The Orange AP Test

2007-05-14T16:21:00.000-07:00

Here's a little first-draft English assignment that I just wrote. It was due a month ago, but thats besides the point. What really matters is that I did it, and I'm going to turn it in tomorrow.

The Orange AP Test

Taking an AP class is a lot like peeling an Orange. When you sign up for your classes at the beginning of the year, you want to choose the juiciest, most plump classes you can find. It is your design to get the most for your money, so you choose carefully. When choosing, you must remember that you can only handle so many AP classes, just like you can only eat so many oranges before you tongue feels raw. Once you sign up for the classes, and the year begins, you begin to peel away the undesirable exterior, little bit at a time, trying to get to the good stuff on the inside. In any AP class you take, there is always a peel of worthless crap that you have to work your way through before you can get to the juicy, nutritious knowledge. You are always being fed the “how to pass the test” part of the orange—that’s the worthless part—and you never really get to the good “this is how and why this works this way”. Nobody is to blame for this, but that’s the way it is. The guy at the store who sells you the orange knows that you are gonna have to peel your way through the orange, just like the teacher knows that you have to learn how to take that single test at the end of the year.

So, the entire year we struggle with the peel. We can smell a hint of the really juicy part of the class all the time, but it is always out of our reach, because we can never really get the peel off completely. By year’s end, when it is time to take the AP test, the peel has been removed, but now you are left with an orange that went bad a year ago! It stopped smell good a long time ago, but you spent $83 bucks on it, and endless hours trying to peel it. You aren’t about to throw it out the window. So what do you do? You take the test, and you eat the orange. Its just terrible. The material that you learned all year long has gone bad, and the tasty juices are all but gone. You find yourself eating a dried up, worthless piece of biotic stuff that isn’t benefiting you in any way, shape, or form.

But you can’t stop eating it. You are in the middle of a test. The counselors are standing there, forcing you to eat the nasty orange. All you want to do is throw the orange at them, but that would benefit you even less, as you would lose all “privileges” to eat it as you are sent to the hall, your 83 dollar orange behind closed doors.

So instead, you muscle your way through the test. You plug your nose and force it down. You do everything you can do finish the orange in the remaining time, and make the best of your crappy situation. You do the best you can, despite wanting to hurl, and then, in the blink of an eye, the orange is gone. You’ve eaten the entire rotten orange.

You don’t know how you did, because the entire process became a blur to you. You feel a sense of anxiety as you realize that you won’t see the results for another few months. Your digestive system and the AP readers are so slow that you will have forgotten eating the orange when you finally see the results. The results are there, staring you in the face, and man alive does it stink.

The First Week of High School

2007-05-13T19:12:00.000-07:00

The First Week of High School

As I am now nearing my senior year of high school, I look back and remember my first days of attendance at Taylorsville High School. My first week as a sophomore met me with several challenges and instilled in me a variety of emotions new to me. Looking back on that week, I think of several items that, would have saved me a lot of trouble had I known them at the time. I found these secrets myself through the course of natural events. I believe that, if applied, they will make the first week—and following high school experience—of any sophomore who applies them much easier and more fun. It is my hope that the secrets I am about to share will be for the benefit of the new students of the high school I love so much. May the sophomores who read this take it seriously, and may their first week of school be all the better for it.

My first word of advice is confidence. It can be easy for new students at any high school to feel intimidated or overpowered. However, those feelings will pass with time as you grow more accustomed to the high school life. Every other student at the school has gone through the exact same experience, and they all came out alive. Confidence is the primary factor for your success at school in every aspect of it.

The next thing all you sophomores need to remember is that high school—besides being bigger and busier—is a much different place that what you are accustomed to. With more diverse classes, many new people from other junior highs, and dozens of teams, clubs, and cliques, it can be even more intimidating. Just remember to be confident; open yourself to these new ideas. Introduce yourself, and get to know the people in your classes. You will be with them for the rest of your high school experience, and the longer you wait to introduce yourself to them, the harder it will be. If you enter your classes with an open mind and make a good first impression, you will find yourself making many new friends very quickly.

To add to this friend-making business, I am going to let you in on another little secret that I have discovered: the opposite sex does not have cooties, contrary to popular belief. Keep your eye out for that cute girl, or that studly guy, and then introduce yourself. High school is meant to be a fun time of your life. Eventually you will realize that the more friends you have of the opposite gender, the more fun it is. However, a word of advice: try not to get into a steady relationship. A good friendship with multiple people of the opposite gender is much more fun than a really tight relationship with one of them. Remember that you are only in high school once, and that you will have plenty of time later to have relationships. For now, take it easy, and have fun. Make wonderful memories that will last a lifetime, not a phony relationship that will last to graduation.

Another good way to have fun in high school and have awesome experiences is to involve yourself with the school. If you want to join a club or a team, join it. Remember that confidence is key; don’t back down from something that you want to do just because you are afraid to try it. Personally, I haven’t gone straight home after school since elementary school. I have involved myself with many teams, including Cross Country, Track, the Academic Team, Swim, and even Water Polo. When I joined the Swim team as a sophomore, I didn’t really even know how to swim. I joined Water Polo later that year not even knowing what it was or how it was played. If I had never gotten involved with my school, the only memory I would have of high school is going home and playing endless hours of video games. Yet here I am two years later, and I can look back on my high school experience and recall so many wonderful times that I’ve had on these teams. I have met many wonderful friends and gained many new skills; where I couldn’t swim before, I can now swim all four competitive strokes. Where I didn’t know what Water Polo was before, I can now tread water with ease, play the sport relatively well, and have a great time while doing it. I can say that I am proud to be a Warrior, because I have fought, lost, won, and become a better person by being Warrior. One of the best words of advice I can give is to take pride in your school and join the clubs and sports that will make you happy. It has made all the difference in my experience.

To sum it all up, start the year out how you want it to end. If you want good grades, start working for those grades immediately. If you want to have a lot of friends, start meeting people right off the bat, and it will happen. If you want to be a student body officer, a star athlete, the President of a club, part of the school musical, or even just a good student, then the best time to start is the first week of school when your slate is clean. Get on top of your work, investigate what the school has to offer you, and give the school what you have to offer it. Remember that your year will end the way that you want it to end, but you have to start now; confidence is the key.

I do not think that I have much more advice to give that can help you with your first week (and year) of high school. The only other pointers I can think of are to bring a chair to mass class change day (because the line is horrendously long) and to not be afraid to try the cafeteria food, because it is actually pretty darn good. Other than that, remember what I’ve said, and you should be ready to rock and roll. High school is what you make it; nothing more, nothing less.

Stem Cells: The Other White Meat

2007-04-10T19:14:00.001-07:00

K, so this is my first post in ages. I just got on Google News because I was afraid that I don't know enough current events for the AP tests coming up, and I read an article about a proposed bill that would eliminate the restrictions to do stem cell research that Bush put up in 2001. The new Democratic Congress thinks they will be able to pass this bill with the majority that they have now. Well, the reason I am writing this post, is to state my opinion on the matter. Take it for what it is; my own, unbiased opinion. Argue it with me if you want, smile and nod, or just go on with your merry lives. Just don't criticize the way I think.

Reading this article, I got two impressions:

First, I thought about how great curing certain ailments and medical conditions would be. I mean, doing this research could ultimately cure my good friend Thatcher of his "diabetus". Yes, we couldn't make fun of him anymore for it; no more poking fun at his regular shots, asking the question, "does that sting?" just to irk him. No more snide comments about the 5 dozen bunches of bananas that he eats every day. No more peanut-butter blood. Shame for us, less hassle and longer, more comfortable life for Chris. Boo/Hooray. Mostly hooray :D

People worldwide could be cured of terrible things that they have to deal with every day. They would no longer have to accept that there is no cure for their ailments. They could live with hope of someday being cured, and living normal (medically speaking) lives.

But second, I thought about what the cost of this would be. One stem cell could save the lives of who knows how many people who are constantly living in a state of agony or crapped out blood sugar. The only problem comes when you look at what a stem cell really is. Are stem cells alive? Is there some form of life in that cell? Is using that stem cell, and killing it, murder?

That is where the debate comes in. Some people say that the cell is nothing but a bit of bio-matter, which could potentially grow into something some day. I think its murder. I believe that there is life in that cell, and that the mere fact that that cell will be a baby human some day, makes the use of that cell murder. Even though it would be for a good cause--to potentially save another's life--it would only be killing another living person to do so.

My view of abortion is the same. Its a baby. Let it live. Killing it is the same crime as dropping a baby of a balcony, as Michael Jackson is wont to do. Its murder, plain and simple. How can killing a baby be justified? I can only think of maybe three rare cases in which is would be. In the case of rape, if the fetus didn't have any chance of living anyway, or if having the baby would kill the mother, then abortion can be considered (maybe not even in the last one though...one life for another).

I guess this point of view is somewhat Republican, if I'm not mistaken. Even if its not, thats my opinion, and I'm sticking with it. I hope that Congress won't be able to pass the Bill, because doing so would only be the murder of who knows how many people. Yay for Bush and his stand for morality :D

Wow

2007-02-08T20:25:00.000-08:00

Wow, so it has been a reaaaaaaly long time since I have postz0rzed, and I sorta miss it. I haven't read up on anyone's blog lately either. I sorta dropped out of the Bloggosphere there for a while. Here I am, writing again. I don't know if this'll turn into a habit again or not, but hey, you'll get at least one more post. Ahem:

I am going to make an analogy here: simple machines. Its all about efficiency, right? Everyone wants that perfect machine. The frictionless machine. Everyone wants the car that puts 100% of the stored energy that you buy in the form of gasoline to go into pushing the car. Nobody wants the energy to get lost to friction or sound. They want efficiency, straight up.

Well, tonight, I am am simple machine. I am built for making work easy. I say this because if you haven't noticed, I'm sorta tall. As such, people expect me to be good at basketball. I am asked at least 5 times a week by strangers if I play basketball. Today, I think the count is 3 times, all within about 15 minutes of each other. The point of that is, people expect efficiency from me. They expect me to get out on the basketball court and stop every kid driving the ball my way, swat every shot, and jump on every rebound.

News flash: I am not a very efficient machine. I am definitely nowhere near that 100% efficient. My supposedly perfect machine is not so perfect.

In tonight's basketball game, I think I made 2 rebounds the entire game. Maybe 3 or 4. Whats my point? I was playing against kids half my height. They managed to get the ball before me nearly every time.

Why is that? Lack of efficiency, straight up.

Skill doesn't require height. Skill requires practice and dedication. Height helps, but only if you have that skill. What good is lever without a fulcrum?

So, here is to making that machine efficient. Here is to building up my frictionless fulcrum. Here is to practice. Oh, and maybe a dash of aggression and coordination. That might help too.

Same goes for water polo. I'm getting good this year, and nobody is going to stop me. I'm practicing like a beast, and I am going to improve my skills as much as I can. The more efficient my machine, the better. Here we go boys, lets do it.

Mine Notebook

2006-12-10T21:34:00.000-08:00

Wow, its been a very long while since I have posted. For this, I feel badly. So, with some begging and pleading from Nick and Molly (more like "you should post....." "okay"), here I am again. A few things: ahem ahem:

Fact the First: The Messiah is amazing. I love that music, whether it be singing it or listening to it. I am definitely going to go to the sing in thing at Abravanel Hall next year, no battle. I am already awaiting it eagerly. I already miss singing the Messia, and we just barely had our concert. Lets give Handel a round of applause, shall we? (h5)

Fact the Second: after some reflection, I am actually excited about this new English assignment. We have to keep a notebook with us for the rest of the year in which we can record our thoughts and feelings on certain observations we may make throughout the days. At first, I just saw it as a lame way to have our English teacher to make us write. Now I see it as motivation to get back into writing in my journal daily. I will be recording tidbits here and there every day in my notebook--things that I can look back at in the years to come to help me remember the Me of the Present--and use my notes for the outline of a quick journal entry every day. I have misplaced so many memories that it makes me sad to think about all the times, both good and bad, that I have forgotten. Let this be motivation for us all to record our daily happenings, that he present may not be lost to the past.

Fact the Third: life is great. With such a great family, so many wonderful friends, my education, talents, and so many opportunities, I can't see how my life could get much better. All I can say is Glory to God in the Highest. Amen, amen, amen, and so forth, etc.

English Synthesis Essay: Puritan Perfection

2006-12-04T17:18:00.000-08:00

Puritan Perfection

In the proximity of the Atlantic tides where the forests were old and the soil virgin lay the beginnings of something new. The world was being reborn through the birth of Puritan civilization in the New World. With a new life ahead of them, these plain people set out to shape a community, building it on the only foundations they had: a common goal and a hope for something better. Board by board, their future was built. The land was tamed, and subsistence became their way of life. Conditions were grim, but they carried on, eyes always on their goal. They had braved the New World, endured everything that was thrown at them, and laid the cornerstones of their foundations deep. Yet something in their planning went awry. Somehow, despite their careful planning, terrible things were seen coming from inside their own community that they had strived so diligently to fortify. Injustices were committed against each other. Individuals were publicly shamed and tormented by their own. In time, they would see one another on the gallows. Some of us today say that people such as this are not worth learning about. We call them shady, abstract, or even cruel. We see their crimes as unforgivable, and cannot find any reason to study their history. These assumptions are shallow. There is something to be learned from their example. The Puritan people were united, and shared common aspirations, just as we do today, but in the end, they could not meet their goal. Perhaps, there is more than meets the eye to these bleak people. We should study them to understand what went wrong in their society, and perhaps, we may find a better outcome than they did by learning from their example.

To better understand these people, we must first be aware of what their common goal was that they strived so hard to achieve. The Puritan people came across the Atlantic Ocean from England to rid themselves of the Anglican Church which they viewed as corrupt. Away from oppression and free to do as they pleased, they set out to purify the church that they had left behind. Their goal was nothing short of perfection. In the poems “Huswifery” and “Upon a Spider Catching a Fly”, written by Edward Taylor, a Puritan, it is evident that the Puritans had a strong belief that the only way that they could be redeemed was through God’s grace. It was always in their prayers that God would make them His tools and fill them with glory so they could glorify Him in return. They strove to cleanse all sin from their community and to remove pride and vainful things from their lives.

To accomplish this great thing that they hoped for, certain measures were taken in the community to provide protection from the Black Man. As a basic defense, congregations were assembled regularly around Reverends who gave them instruction and motivation. At times, their words were consoling, and at others, they were damming. In the words of Jonathan Edwards, a Puritan Reverend, “the wrath of Almighty God is now undoubtedly hanging over a great part of this congregation. Let every one that is out of Christ, now awake and fly from the wrath to come.” For many, the sermons they heard kept them on the straight and narrow path and prompted them to repent. For others, more harsh methods were needed. Just as The Crucible depicts, a court system was set up, in which suspected sinners were prompted to confess, and known sinners forcefully purged. In The Scarlet Letter, we learn that the founders of new Puritan colonies would build a prison as soon as their community was under way. They knew that crimes would be committed along the people’s path to God, and by making the prison one of the first things they built, they outfitted themselves with means of controlling and persuading those that would be reluctant to repent.

While their intentions of becoming perfect were good, their methods of obtaining perfection had faults. Their system was meant to help individuals and the society as a whole, but in the end it hurt their progress more than it helped. Humans are bound to make mistakes. Greed and corruption abide in us all. Even when our intentions are for the best, we make mistakes that bring us down as well as those around us. The court systems and social unity were organized to help bring everyone to justice. Only human desire and emotion were the downfall of this harmony. Just as The Crucible depicts, Puritan judges could be too easily swayed from just decisions. Their desire for status and wealth, fear of repercussions of their verdict, and human prejudices would move even the wisest and most educated among them to unfair decisions. The social unity they tried to establish was also corrupted by these human traits. It was a goal of human perfection brought down by human imperfection; an impossible dream.

In the proximity of empty space and lifeless planets, where many an age and people have survived, something ancient is coming to an end. The world has been reborn through the birth of democracy, technology, and religion the likes of which has never before been seen. With a new life ahead of us, we have set out to shape a world with the only foundation we have: a hope for something better.

When we look at ourselves in this light, a connection can be made between ourselves and the Puritan people who we call shady, abstract, and cruel. We have something new to build a better world for ourselves with, just as they had. Our hope for something better is something we share with the Puritans, is it not? But where is our common goal? What aspiration do we share as a nation, or as a world? Before we judge the Puritan people, let us first unite ourselves. The Puritans had the greatest goal that none of us could hope to achieve, and they fought to achieve it. Although the things they did could be considered harsh and damming, their intentions were in the right place. Being human, they were unable to reach perfection; does that give us a right to ignore these people and put ourselves above them? He who is without sin among us, let him cast the first stone at them. We are just as human and cruel as they were, and no more perfect, nor are we united as they were. The crimes we commit cannot be ignored; the injustices of the world today are just as cruel as those of their day. There is something to be learned from the example of the Puritans. They did what they knew how to do to achieve something great. They did not meet their goal, but they put forth all their effort in a great attempt to do so. The world of today would be much different if we applied our knowledge and technology with their effort in meeting a goal such as theirs. Let us learn from the Puritan example, and make the world a better place.

Hope you guys liked it...I dont know how good it was, but I saw it going well in my head. Who knows what happened on paper. Let me know how you liked it, eh?

English Response: Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family Genus, Species? Nope, Evaluation, Synthesis, Analysis, Application, Comprehension, Knowlege

2006-11-14T21:07:00.000-08:00

~~Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family Genus, Species~~

Evaluation, Synthesis, Analysis, Application, Comprehension, Knowledge

Forget binomial nomenclature. Linnaeus? Nah, he was full of it. Fungi, Animalia, Protista…yeah, his taxonomy is a thing of the past. There is a new craze sweeping the nation, and this time, we are moving on to bigger and better things. This time, we get to classify our own brains, not mere organisms. This time around, metacognition is key. Bloom is the new driving force here, not some Swedish dude with a name like Carolus.

Really now, what importance does Bloom’s Taxonomy play? Does one really have to evaluate how one thinks when the act of thinking takes place without us even realizing we are thinking? That is something to think about. Thinking takes place inside our heads nearly all the time. We don’t even realize we are doing it. Its like breathing or making our hearts beat. Our brains do that automatically; thinking is the same way. Has someone like Bloom ever stepped forward and tried to classify our breathing or heart beat? For the sake of my argument, I’m going to say that no, nobody ever has. So, why does Bloom have us thinking about thinking? And better yet, why does he think he can classify thinking into separate parts? The whole thing is a little confusing when you look at it in that perspective I think…there I go again, thinking again. Huh, I guess this Bloom character was onto something. Maybe thinking isn’t just automatic.

Here is something worth thinking about, are Homo sapiens (that’s binomial nomenclature for humans if you didn’t know—thanks Carolus) the only organisms capable of thinking? Oh, the thinks you can think.

Masks

2006-10-27T22:55:00.000-07:00

Last year in Stevens I was *blessed* to have Ms. Stevens for English. Don't get me wrong, she was a very nice lady. She just wasn't a very good English Teacher. Looking back, however, I can remember one good thing that she taught us. It was the metaphor of a mask. In a distorted sense of the word, we all wear masks. We change our appearance and how we act according to the setting, the people we are with, etc. At any given time, we could change our mask, our dispostion, and become, essentially, a different person.

I have been reflecting on my own masks today. Do the masks I wear give me a bad name? Do the masks I hide behind really reflect what I am on the inside? Do my masks make me a different person altogether? What masks hurt me, and how can I change that? Should I have to change the masks I wear for different people? All of these questions have really made me ponder myself. I have really tried to find inside myself the real me, and then compare that blurred image with the masks that I wore throughout the day.

I shall now attempt to lay out for you how I really see myself -- my real self, without the maks. I am going to be completely honest here, so don't think I'm being egotisctical or anything. This is deep folks. Here we go, this could get messy. *Deep breathe, cracks knuckles*

At the very center of all of us is what I know as the Natural Man. It is what makes us human. It is what makes us prone to mistakes. It is what makes us capable of sin, what keeps us from being perfect. It is inside of all of us merely because of our bodies of flesh and blood. All of the sin we commit can be linked back to our own body in one way or another. We all naturally have a tendency to sin, and one of our main purposes for being here on Earth in this life is to conquer that natural man inside of us. What makes us who we are is how we deal with the natural man inside of us.

The other factor at the center of our being is our personality. It determines the way we react to things. It is ingrained in our soul, it defines who we really are. It marks us as individuals. It is what makes no two people the same. We'll come back to this idea later. For now, back to the natural man.

I try to live my life the way that I have been taught to live it. I read my scriptures, I go to church and seminary, and everyday I do my best to honor my Priesthood, as every young man who holds that authority should. Now that I think of if, the Priesthood really is at the root of my motivations in life. My Priesthood connects all my ideas, all my beliefs, my intentions. The ideas presented in the Purposes of the Aaronic Priesthood are guildlines in which I try to follow daily to help put off the Natural Man inside of me. The Purposes of the Aaronic Priesthood are to:

• Become converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ and live its teachings.
• Serve faithfully in priesthood callings, and fulfill the responsibilities of priesthood offices.
• Give meaningful service.
• Prepare and live worthily to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood and temple ordinances.
• Prepare to serve an honorable full-time mission.
• Obtain as much education as possible.
• Prepare to become a worthy husband and father.
• Give proper respect to women, girls, and children.

These ideas give shape to my day. They effect how I act around people, especially around young women. They change the way I treat them, because they change the base instinct, that given to me by the natural man, from a carnal instinct to something sacred. When I am around young women at school, the thing I always try to aim for, first and foremost, is respect. I beleive that young women hold something sacred, something profound. It is up to us as young men to honor and respect the young women for who they are. Its not just about hold open doors for them. Its not just being nice to them. Its about treating them with the respect that they deserve.

When a young man does not honor and respect a young woman for who she is, then respect is lost on both sides, and a relationship of any kind cannot form. I really beleive that friendship between opposite sexes at any age is based upon how the man treats the woman. I always try to be as kind as I can towards the young women at school, because it is something that I have a desire to do. I always try to give young women their space. I feel that intimate or close contact -- outside of a friendly hug -- with a young woman is inappropriate; in my mind, it does not portray the respect that a young man should have for a young woman. Overall, I know that by being as courteous, kind, helpful, and true to our female friends, trust can be built, and everything else in those relationships can fall into place.

With that being said, I would like to revert to my topic for this post. What are my masks? I think that my masks I wear are the ways that I put off the natural man inside of me. We all have the tendencies to be carnal, and through law, order, common sense, and motivation, we are able to mask that carnal side of us and become more respectable. The ways that we behave either mask our base instincts or mask our personality.

Let me explain.

Reflecting back on my day, I realized just how much I mask myself at school. I am always trying to wear my "respect for young women" mask. I am always trying to mask my most base instincts concerning girls, and I try to give them the respect they deserve. This would be ideal, except for one thing: I beleive that this mask has begun to mask not only my natural man, but my personality as well. I feel that in my attempts to always respect the young women around me, I can never really connect with any of them because I am afraid of insulting or turning them away with my personality. I act very unusual around the opposite sex. I think some random side notes from Pride and Prejudice would fit here. Ahem...I alter my personality to try and fit the perfect "Mr. Bingley" appearance, the Mr. Nice-Guy who all the ladies love. By doing so, my real personality is masked, like poor Mr. Darcy. He means good, but he is just too stupid to figure out that he has to not only be a gentleman, but himself to make his impression and show who he really is. I lose my personality in the depths of the respect for young women, and find myself making a complete idiot of myself. I guess a kind idiot is better than a rude rich dude, right?

So, the way I see it, I have two options: A) I rewrite the Pride and Prejudice of my life, and respectfully introduce myself as the real me to the female population of the world, and flatter said Elizabeth Bennetts right from the start of the book, or B) I continue on with life as it is, and hope that my story ends the same as Mr. Darcy. Frankly, I need a new mask. One that fits me better; one that masks my natural man and lets my personality shine through. Bear with me o respectable young women. Once I find me a mask that fits me just right, things will be different. For now, just try to be my friend, as I shall try to be yours.

Now, I have written of but one of my many masks, and have covered only one of the Purposes of the Aaronic Priesthood. Alas, it is late and I must retire. Hopefully this post made sense, I had one heck of a time trying to write it. The ideas were all in my head, but I couldn't group those ideas into sentences and paragraphs very well. It either made perfect sense, or no sense at all. If it is the latter for you, sorry for taking up your time. Forget this post ever happened, and just smile and nod.

Expect more on my masks soon. For now, I leave you with this. Adieu.

English Response: "Eat Poop!"

2006-10-24T19:57:00.000-07:00

We had to read this super long sermon that was written by some dude in 1741 in English last time. For those of you who don't have Parrish, you can read it here. Its pretty boring, but you might appreciate it. Here goes.

“Eat Poop!”

I’m beginning to think that the Puritans weren’t really all that pure. After reading the first half of the sermon by Jonathan Edwards, I was beginning to question if any of the Puritan people ever had any hope in their lives. After hearing, “there is nothing that keeps wicked men at any one moment out of hell, but the mere pleasure of God” several dozen times, it actually occurred to me that this guy was serious. His opinion was, “you suck, if God doesn’t like you, you have no chance”, and he really believed that. He was convinced that the only reason that the people in his congregation woke up that morning was because God didn’t feel like casting them all to Hell just yet.

In his talk, he called his congregation vile sinners, who we so filthy that provoked the eyes of God just by being in his holy house. I don’t know about you, but if I heard stuff like, “you are ten thousand times more abominable in his eyes, than the most hateful venomous serpent is in ours” at church, I would probably throw a Hymn book at the speaker and tell him to suck a lemon.

It is my opinion that God loves all of us. He wants every one of us to do our best, and he stands ready to let us all in to his presence if we follow his commandments. He is our spiritual Father in Heaven, and he is a loving father who wants us all to find our way home. I say that this Jonathan Edwards guy needs a reevaluation of his scriptures, because I haven’t ever seen any doctrine that says God wants us to burn; rather, I have read the contrary, as I have already stated. My message to any of you who might read this---and I will make it considerably shorter than my good friend Jonathan’s message---is that God loves all of you, and we all have the opportunity to return to his open arms. Do your part; you’ll reap what you sow.

Jason Ownage

2006-10-24T17:10:00.000-07:00

I don't know how many of you guys know Jason Liu, but get a load of this. This is impressive. The kid's got skills. Go Jason go, you are my new hero.

Check it out, my name's Jason.

A Few Realizations

2006-10-22T20:48:00.000-07:00

I've come to realize a few things today. Here they are, for your enlightenment/knowlege/entertainment/whatever. Enjoy.

Number One: There are three musical groups that I can think of that aren't recognized nearly enough. The first two are Backstreet Boys and Spice Girls. They need to make a come back. Really, I loved their music when they were "in style" (or "not in style" as some people thought then), and I realized that I still love it. I still know most of the words, and wow, they are pro. Go go go boy bands. (N*Sync was/is pro too). Spice Girls got me jumpin, although I really didnt know too many of their songs. The last artist that I just absolutely love is Yanni. I dont even know what the guy looks like, assuming that it IS a guy, or that he is even Asian or not, but wow. Let me tell you, there really isnt anything else like his stuff. His music is so pro. Right now I'm listening to "True Nature" and its just like, "wow, this is pro." Seriously, if any of you have Limewire, get on there and search for it, or some of his other good ones like "Quiet Man" or "The Mermaid". "Flight of Fantasy" is the coolest song of his though, by far. If you don't have Limewire, or any other way to hear that song, then ask me, and I'll send you it. Its great. Its very relaxing stuff, and its very fun to listen to. Great sound. He (she? Probably he...) need to be to listened to a lot more, cus its just too good.

Anyway, moving on.

Number Two: There is something magical about region dances. It could be the heat of the room, or the smell; or the masses of people who feel either out place or all over the place; or it could be the lighting and the refreshments. These things all bring magic to the dance, along with line dances such as Cotton Eyed Joe (h), classic songs like Forever Young, and DJ's that you can't understand, but who you know are out there. However, I've come to realize that these things are all just there to add to one final, determining factor of a region dance: the beautiful, modest girls. It is the girls that are so happy to be there, who somehow overcome their repulsion of one such as I to dance with one such as I, whether it be on or off the stage. I gotta say, a modest girl has got to be at the top of my ideal social caste, while guys like me are the untouchables in the doung heap, only looking up to what they can bring to a dance. Good work girls, stay modest, you really are the hottest.

Number Three: School musicals have great potential. Right now, in Seussical, I don't think there is much that we could do as a whole cast to improve the performance level much higher. I think we are all over the situation for the most part, with some minor bumps and rough spots here and there that are overall insigificant. We put on a good performance, and as far as high school musicals go, I really think we are nearly top notch. However, there is one major setback to all of this; the one and only thing that would completely change the outcome of our school plays exponentially would have to be the sound system. My family came to see it last night, and when I asked them how they liked it, they said, "I loved it, except for I couldn't undertand 3/4ths of what was being said." At the end of the play, all they could say was, "the music was great, I loved the props and outfits, and it was way cute". When I asked them how they liked the story, or if they liked how Yurtle the Turtle was the judge, or anything like that, they would reply, "I still don't think I know the story....wait, Yurtle the Turtle was in it?" Seriously folks, this is such a setback. From where I sit in the pit (yeeeaaaah buddy), I can hear 95% of the words (4% of which I can't hear because I'm playing my Bari as loud as I can). I can hear the story, the song lyrics, the emotions of the actors, etc. very well. I can vouch for them, they are pretty dang good at what they are doing. If we had a good sound stystem, everyone would be getting the show that I'm getting every time. They would be smiling and giggling like a little girl (like I always am) at all the child-like fantasies that would be unveiled to them, if only they could hear the words. People would be bobbing their heads, enjoying the words and beat of the music, and maybe even dancing like crazy (again, like I always am) while watching the play. Its such a shame, such a shame. If only, if only, eh?

Anywhom, those are my thoughts for the night. Its getting late, and I've got school and a musical to put on tomorrow. Yayz0rz, I'm excited, yea verily. Nighty night all.

(h)

2006-10-21T23:38:00.000-07:00

Did you see that sky today? Talk about blue.....

Oh how they taunt me!!!

Seussical Madness!

2006-10-20T21:21:00.000-07:00

Oh man, I just got home from Seussical, and, wow, it was amazing. I mean, sure, some lines were goofed, and the orchestra missed some notes here and there, but still. Wow, overall, that was our best performance yet by far. If only people could see me dancing in the pit, I was going insane while playing my mad mad Barimophone. I was groovin, and my imagination was running wild, I love Dr. Seuss. I had so much fun during the play, and then we played Green Eggs and Ham, and that just made it all the better. It was so pro. Way sweet song.

So ye-hah.

Then it was all over, and I put away my Barimophone, then the real madness began. Nick, Glen, Nathan, Mitchel, and myself pimped out in our shades and our Pit Blacks (ooooh hot) and strode down the hall like the mad men that we are. There we met a few of "our" (sure, why not?) fans and had some good fun taking these amazing pictures, check it out, yo.

Thats hot right there, you have to admit. Unfortunately, Glen was nowhere to be found at this point. This one is even better though.
Wilbur was even there to help us with our battle pose, how cool. Hahahah, Glen, what a stud.

Here are a few more cool pictures that I took of myself while I was waiting for Nick to pick me up before the musical, as well as some other pictures that I took throughout the night. (You gotta admit, thats pretty good for taking them of myself, eh?)

I wish I looked more intimidating....

What do you think, do you like these shades more?

This one is just plain cool. The light just added to the effect, don't you think? (What the lips?)

You are probably sick of seeing me by now, but I like this one...

Fine, just one more.....

Here is a pimped out General Ghengis Khan Austin for ya.

In the pit of madness, Nick goes crazy, and Glen just gets all the more studly. What a pimp :D

And last, but not least, is a cool pic Nick snapped of Katie. Thats awe inspiring right there, thats some mad mad photography skillz...although it was accidental *-) I just like the blur for some strange reason.

Anyway, tonight was fun. I hope tomorrow night is jsut as much of a party. You'll have some more sweet pictures, so count on it. Some that involve the Wiks, the pimped out "us", and a battle pose. I'll leave you hanging at that. Nighty night, alls.

Person vs. Self

2006-10-19T14:24:00.000-07:00

Why is it that it is in our very being, our very disposition, to keep secrets? Stepping back from the view of our own inner conflict of keeping secrets, we can plainly see that keeping things in the dark is quite impractical. Let me explain. Ahem:

Today in English we talked about the themes of The Scarlet Letter. One of the themes of the book is based along the idea of keeping secrets. There are many examples of this in the book. For one, the good Reverend Arthur Dimmsdale, whom nobody suspects of being sinful, has been consumed by one secret, kept inside his heart for more than 7 long years. The guilt he carries from his adulterous actions has been blocked up inside of him, gnawing at him, wearing him down, making him physically ill. For seven years, he lives his public life as if nothing were wrong, as if nothing ailed him. For seven years, he let no other soul of his sin, and with nobody to confide in, nobody to confess to, he let his guilt, his secret, fester inside of him like a cancerous organ. He tried various things in order to rid himself of his guilt, but to no avail. He would fast for days, whip himself furiously, and hypocritically confess his sins to his congregations, knowing that they would not see him for what he was. He only added to his guilt and poor health through trying to keep these things secret; his secret grew so rank that it ended up killing him. His secret helped nobody.

Another example, taken from a post that Jaron put up a while back, is something that I think a lot of us can relate to. Sorry for the repetition, but I really do like this story...

*****

7^th grade. I stared at the girl next to me. She was my so-called “best friend.” I stared at her long, silky hair, and wished she was mine. But she didn’t notice me like that, and I knew it. After class, she walked up to me and asked for the notes she had missed the day before, and I handed them to her. She said “Thanks,” and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I want to tell her, I want her to know that I don’t want to be just friends. I love her, but I’m just too shy, and I don’t know why.

11^th grade. The phone rang, and it was her on the other end. She was in tears, mumbling on and on about how her love had broken her heart. She asked me to come over because she didn’t want to be alone, so I did. As I sat next to her on the sofa, I stared at her soft eyes, wishing she was mine. After two hours, a Drew Barrymore movie, and three bags of chips, she decided to go to sleep. She looked at me, said “Thanks,” and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I want to tell her, I want her to know that I don’t want to be just friends. I love her, but I’m just too shy, and I don’t know why.

Senior Year. The day before prom, she walked to my locker. “My date is sick,” she said. “He’s not gonna go.” Well, I didn’t have a date, and in 7^th grade we made a promise that if neither of us had dates we would do together just as “best friends.” So we did.

Prom night. After everything was over, I was standing at her front doorstep. I stared at her, and she smiled at me. I want her to be mine, but she doesn’t think of me like that and I know it. Then she said, “I had the best time, thanks!” and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I want to tell her, I want her to know that I don’t want to be just friends. I love her, but I’m just too shy, and I don’t know why.

Graduation Day. A day passed, then a week, then a month. Before I could blink, it was graduation day. I watched as her perfect body floated like an angel up on stage to get her diploma. I wanted her to be mine, but she didn’t notice me like that, and I knew it. Before everyone went home, she came to me in her smock and hat, and cried as I hugged her. Then she lifted her head from my shoulder and said, “You’re my best friend, thanks!” and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I want to tell her, I want her to know that I don’t want to be just friends. I love her, but I’m just too shy, and I don’t know why.

A few years later. I sat in the pews of the church. That girl got married. I watched her say “I do” and drive off to her new life, married to another man. I wanted her to be mine, but she didn’t see me like that, and I knew it. But before she drove away, she came to me and said, “You came! Thanks!” and kissed me on the cheek. I want to tell her, I want her to know that I don’t want to be just friends. I love her, but I’m just too shy, and I don’t know why.

Years passed. I looked down at the coffin of a girl who used to be my “best friend.” At the service, they read a diary entry she had wrote in her high school years. This is what it read:

“I stare at him, wishing he was mine, but he doesn’t notice me like that, and I know it. I want to tell him, I want him to know that I don’t want to be just friends. I love him, but I’m just too shy, and I don’t know why. I wish he would tell me he loved me…”

I wish I did too, I thought to myself, and cried.

********

I'm sure this has happened to us all at one point in our lives. Yeah, not the the extreme presented in the story, but in one way or another. I know its happened to me multiple times. I'm interested in a girl, and I don't make any sort of a move to get to know said girl, and I am left to wonder, never getting to actually know her. Well, it is either that, or I am interested in a girl, I make pitiful attempts to impress said girl, and in the end, make a fool out of myself. Thats generally the case with me.

Anway, the thing I am trying to get at here folks, is what good does keeping a secret do us? They don't help the situation. Secrets don't introduce you to the girl that caught you eye (or the guy that caught you eye for you female readers), they don't help you get to know that person; secrets don't confess a sin, and secrets don't make you any better. If secrets don't leave you wondering, then they are going to hurt you directly as they fester over time. Sure, it might not kill you like our good friend Reverend Dimmsdale, but why bother with the pain or the empty feeling that your secrets give you? Why struggle with the mixed emotions? Why keep yourself from the blessings--physical or spiritual--that you might obtain by mearly baring all?

I'll tell you why. It is like I said in the introduction to this post. It is in our very human nature to hide the truth. I beleive that we are afraid to see what happens to us after our secrets are revealed. How will I be punished for the crime or sin I know I committed? How will the girl react if I tell her? Will she run in fear? Will she just laugh at you? Or will she feel the same way you do? If so, is that really a good thing?

You see, the only reason we keep secrets is fear. We are wusses. We don't want to bear the consequences of whatever our secrets will reveal. We are more content to sit and bear our guilt or wonder about the possibilities than we are in freeing ourselves of the burdens.

I am here to say that we need to try our best to change this course of events. I think that if each of us just said what we felt, or what we felt needed to be said, then the world would be a happier place. Guilt wouldn't burden us down, and our thoughts would turn from, "but I’m just too shy, and I don’t know why. I wish he would tell me he loved me…" to, "he loves me, and she knows I love her." We could go from there, and we wouldnt have so many wounds to try and patch up.

I am also here to say that, even though this sounds like a great thing to me, I know inside myself that it is a lot harder than I make it sound. I accept the fact that the secrets I carry today will still most likely be with me tomorrow. Sure, the secrets I carry aren't things that are going to eat at me like Reverend Dimmsdale, but I will probably miss out on some of the rewards and blessings I could get if I only confessed my feelings. I really am going to put forth an effort at this, but I can't change human nature.

The moral of the story? Start with small things. Tell somebody something nice that you would normally be afraid of saying. Tell that friend that they look nice. Tell someone how you wronged them, and make ammends. Make a difference. Let your secrets out, and share your life with your friends and family. They are there to help you, but can't do so if you won't let them.

Way to go guys, I'm really glad I have the friends that I do. The new, the old, the guys, the girls. You guys make the difference in my education and my life, you guys give me that drive that I might not have otherwise. Thanks to all of you, those who know you've made a difference, and those who might not realise the impact they've had. You are all appreciated.

Over and out, Kyle J.

Good times

2006-10-14T22:14:00.000-07:00

I remember the good old days. The days of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Pokemon, and Power Rangers. I loved it. Over the last week or so these memories have come flooding back to me. First came the thoughts of TMNT. With the new movie coming out, TMNT, (click here if you don't have Quicktime) a pretty sweet looking flick, I got remembering the old movies. I watched them all the time, and haven't seen them in ages. Molly and I got talking, and decided that we wanted to watch the oldschool one again, so plans are being made, of which I am very excited about.

*****************************

Okay, here I am again several days later, finishing this post. The TMNT movie went down without flaw... minus the part where I ate off of Nick's plate and fork. mmmm Nick.... Anyway, it was pure genious; whoever made that movie should be praised, its so cool. Molly, if you see this, we need to watch the second movie very soon. That was too much fun.

Anway, back to the post. Yes, the memories. So, a while back I was reminded of the goodness of Power Rangers. I got thinking about them somehow, and I went as far to research the oldschool seasons on Wikipedia. It was so pro. I read all about the Rangers I grew up with, and Queen Rita and the works. Things I had completely forgotten about came back to me, and it made me really wanna see the madness again. It was so good. All of you Power Rangers fans out there, don't give up hope. Let them live on in your memories. And here, to top it off, here is the origional intro. So primo. I loved that show so much. The green/white Ranger was my favorite. I even had the white ranger's sword for a toy. It was so cool, I played with it all the time. I wish there were some way to watch all those old episodes again, that would be so primo. Maybe Limewire...I'll have to check.

Another awesome thing that I grew up with was Pokemon. I got talking to Molly and some other people about Pokemon somehow, and I couldnt help but remember my days after elementary school watching Ash, Brock, and Misty out on their adventures. I could even recall a lot of the theme song. (8)I want to be the very best, like noone ever was. To catch them is my real test, to train them is my cause! (8) Oh man, I was into the show, for sure. Up throw the third or fourth season, I was going strong. I even got into the cards quite a bit, although I really never had that many comparatively. I was very proud of my collection though, I thought I was so cool. Oh, and Molly, I did bring my cards to school that one day, I just never got around to showing anyone but Nick. Aahhh, I loved that show so much. Team Rocket was so eeeeviiiillll!! Pikachu was domination, and Ash was just my idol. Thats all there was to it. Meowth, thats right!

(As a side note, If you wanna here the origional theme song, click here and listen. The movie is good for some laughs too, minus a few...lets say, lame parts.)

I sorta got into the Yu-gi-oh show too towards the end of the first season. I liked the show. By no means was I interested in the cards, but I did enjoy the show. Anywhom...

Those three shows practically raised me. Those were the good old days. Expect more on this topic soon, I will be expressing my love for another part of growing up: Nintendo.

English Response: Giles Corey: Puritan Rockstar

2006-10-12T23:15:00.000-07:00

Giles Corey: Puritan Rockstar

I would like to think that I am a lot like Proctor, but I don’t think I have what it takes. Proctor does what is right no matter how hard it is for him to do so. Giles Corey, on the other hand, is sort of in it for himself and his family. He has his eyes set on tangible things, like land. He was always feuding with others over property and trivial things like firewood, and even in the end was thinking of his land.

Now, I think some explaining is in order. I don’t want to make it sound like I’m a buttcheeck, focusing on the temporal realms of this world. I think the thing that drew me so much to Corey is the way he handled these temporal things. Sure, he was selfish and unneighborly, but I think he always had his family in mind.

I spend probably 60 or 70 percent of my free time at home on the computer. I feel guilty because I am not doing anything great with my life, and I am not doing anything that helps others. At the same time though, these temporal things that I spend my time with bring me a level of joy. I talk to my friends all the time on the computer, and spend a lot of time in the Blogosphere. In this case, I am not doing these things for my family, as Corey was. I am benefiting myself, true enough, but I think the socialization and communication helps my friends. I try to help them with homework whenever possible, and I try to offer my thoughts and good ideas in my Blog posts. These things are very temporal, but in the end, they can still benefit my friends and me. Corey stayed focused till the end, and wanted to help others in the ways he knew how. That’s all I’m about, even if it is a waste of time.

For My Sister:

2006-10-12T20:57:00.000-07:00

:)

That is all.

English Response: “Death!” “That’s Maggie, Grandpa.” “Oh…Death!” “That’s the cat.”

2006-10-08T21:22:00.000-07:00

As promised, here is my response to the very exciting, nerve-racking, injust Act 3 of The Crucible.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

“Death!” “That’s Maggie, Grandpa.” “Oh…Death!” “That’s the cat.”

Where is justice in the world of Salem? Where is reason and order? In Act 3 of the Crucible, none are found. The hearing in this act is that of Proctor and Mary against Abigail. It is the goal of Proctor and Mary to save Elizabeth from certain death due to Elizabeth’s charge of witchcraft. They are trying to prove her innocence, while Abigail’s goal is the opposite. To obtain their goal, Proctor and Mary both sacrifice one of the greatest things they could have sacrificed—their good names. Proctor, in order to testify of Abigail’s motive for accusing his wife, confessed his sin of lechery to all who were present. To a grown, married man, that would have to be the most decent, dignified thing a man could do. Such an embarrassing, shameful thing, openly confessed to the town. That has to take balls of steel…pardon the French. Then to top it off, just when Proctor sees an opening for getting what he wants, he will not accept the terms. To accept, Proctor would have to accept the fact that if he and his wife stayed in Salem, his wife could still be hanged for witchcraft a year later after she had had her baby. He could have accepted the terms and fled Salem, and he and his wife would have been saved, but that would mean leaving the wives of his friends to death. Again, Proctor steps to the plate and refuses to accept the terms, though it risked his wife’s innocence. These acts define Proctor as a hero.

Elizabeth is brought in to confirm Proctor’s sin and her reason for quitting Abigail, but she lies to save her husband’s dignity, not knowing that Proctor had already confessed. Now all hell breaks loose. The judge, easily persuaded, is convinced that Proctor has lied in his accusations of his lechery with Abigail, and sentences his arrest. At the same time, Abigail begins to scream that Mary is sending her spirit to attack her and the other girls, and the judge believes all of it. He demands that Mary desist, and in the chaos and hysteria of the moment, Mary begins to scream as well. As Proctor tries to calm her, she flees from his grip and calls him the Devils man. She screams that he has consorted with the Devil, and that he has tried to make her join his evil ways. She does this in an instant, most likely without even realizing what she has said, and Proctor’s fate is sealed as the blind judge orders his arrest. Hale is not so slow, and sees the injustice, and exits the court in a rage of injustice.

Just when things were looking up, when justice was within grasp, all is brought to demise with the sympathetic lie of Elizabeth. She was only seeking justice, but through her lie, all was brought to ruin. Abigail was relentless in her accusations to Mary, and the judge, so blind and easily swayed, hurriedly decided the fate of the Proctors, sealing their fate. I don’t know what happens to the characters beyond this point, but it seems all is not well. Where is the justice in the world?

Spoilers end here.

So yeah, how intense is that? I was honestly jumping up and down while the story unfolded. Oh man, I was giddy. I hope you'alls have the same fun I did reading Act 3.

Homecoming, a week later (continued)

2006-10-06T17:18:00.000-07:00

K, so sorry for the formatting of the last post. I'm not too familiar with posting pictures. These will be easier to see whats going on...

Aye, avas! To the tunnel of love!(Yeah, Thatcher just looks "special")
Smile Marissa! :DOh wow. Score it.
Oh yeah (h)
Who knew we could look so good in formals in a concrete tunnel?
To the Outside World
I see the moon, and the moon sees me....only, my eyes aren't open
To the Dance!!

I have some more pictures from when we were at the dance, but I'm all out of time for now. The story continues later. Ta~

Homecoming, a week later

2006-10-06T16:01:00.000-07:00

I think it is nigh time that I write about homecoming. Its been a week, and nothing has been said. Thus, I figure its time to write about it. I shall be posting a bunch of pictures, but before I do that, I'll tell yeh a little secret I've learned from my first date. Money does not = fun. I am not ashamed that I spent only $34(ish), because I had a blast. We played How to Host a Murder, and that was great fun. We had some Pappa Murphy's Pizza, and wow, great lunch for a group date, let me tell ya. Yummers. It turned out Melissa Whiting was the evil shapeshifter. Who knew? Get her boys!

So, then we took some pictures of us in our awesome outfits. Oh, speaking of which, I forgot to mention that we went to the DI. thats right, the DI. On a date. Dang straight. That was really fun. I bought big goggles, cus my part was a swimmer/lifeguard dude, Marissa got a lucky 8 ball for her fortune-telling part, thatcher got a sweater to tie around his neck all preppy-like, Valerie got some mad mad alien hunting items, and the best part was Jared's bling bling that he bought. So cool. But yeah, back to the pictures. I don't have those pictures yet, cus they were taken on an old-school camera. No digital. But, after we ate dinner that night, which was at my house, prepared by my parents, we went to Arrowhead park and took about 80 pictures. We had a blast taking them. After all, who just walks around a park in formal stuff? Just us, that's who.

Here is us at dinner at my house. Good stuff.

Here we are on the bridge at the park, eh?

Here we are tromping through uncharted terain in our formals. Where's my machette?

On the boardwalk of life.

Im gonna post this up to this point, cus otherwise its gonna take forever to publish.

So one studly muffin says to another studly muffin...

2006-10-05T17:32:00.000-07:00

Today was primo. I don't think today could have gotten much better. I had early morning seminary, where I was enlightened beautifully. I helped Tania with her physics, which surprised me, seeing how I actually figured stuff out ( :O ! ) It was pretty sweet action. Then I had computer tech, and that was just...computer tech.

But then, oh boy. Jr. Choir. I am LOVING that class. As of Tuesday, my range has gone up about 4 notes. Somehow I changed the way I sing, and my notes aren't nearly as pinched and nasty sounding as they used to be. Granted, they aren't perfect and "on top of the note" as T would say, but I can hit them very firmly and moderately well. (Very well compared to how I used to sing, for sure.) We got new chairs, which is pretty hot. I am saddened though, that I can't walk around the class now on the seat of the oldschool chairs. That was half of my choir experience :( But its all good, a minor set back, seeing how now I can actually sing. yay.

So yeah, choir was good fun. I even broke out of my shell during the announcement-mingling of students, and talked to....people, which was good. Several people in fact. I was way hyper the whole class, but under control. (ish) :D All-around great times, for one and all. Levi, what a studly muffin.

Then we had lunch, and thats always good fun. Nick and I had some good kicks and giggles at the end of the table by our lonesome, I quite enjoyed myself. We played some Frisbee after that, and that was great. We have some great potential in the Frisbee department. Peter, who can do thumbers like nobody's business, Benji, he's got hammers down pat. Nick and his wheels of death, and Brad with his biscuits. Oh man. Great stuff. Thatcher...well, he's diabetic.

Next up, Rockwell. How cool is he? Pretty cool, I must say. He went off on a primo tangent of Bill Clinton, made fun of Scott Malone, AND kept that grin of his on his face the whole time. It was great. Who knew history, and the class thereof, could be so much fun? And then there is Glen. He was all over the Hi Ho situation, with the discussion of religion and such. Way too cool. Glen, you got all the ladies, for sure. Rock on. Oh, and I got to use the amazing hall pass again. I just love missing out on educational experiences because I have to tinkle. Its always done with a skip and a grin.

Then we had English with Parrish. Oh man, I love Parrish. So cool. We read act 3 of the Crucible today. I was Giles Corey, a crotchety old senile man. He started sobbing, and well, lets just say I had some fun acting his part. Nick got some laughs too, with his "roar" comment. So good. I love that kid. Parrish, the narrator of the play, says something to the effect of, "and the croud roars with dissaproval". And Nick, right on cue, "rar!" *silence from the class, laughter from Kyle* ...........10 seconds later................... *laughter from the rest of teh class* So good. Nick, what a stud. (lots of studs in this world, for sure.) Then I was freaking out about the play. Oh man, it gets intense. I wanted to jump into the play and slap some people around, cus really, they were making me very anxious. I was bouncing up and down, trying to yell out to the people, "its a lie, a liiiiieeeee. shun the non-beleivers!!!!!" But alas, I was just little old Giles, not able to do anything about it. I DID get to say something to the effect of farting on someone though. Who knew protestant people farted? Or farted on other people for that matter. ^0) Great fun, expect a good English response in the next few days.

Then came Suessical pit practice. Muy, muy bien. So some people dont really know how to play much, but wow. Somehow, I managed to play most of it, and most of it well. It was crazy. The best part is, it was Act 2 stuff. I suck at Act 2. But today, I was all over it. It was so fun. Then there was Nick, tooting away in his happy little Hulk-like way. That really just makes me smile. I love listening to Nick get into playing his Clarinet. It so fun and...happy inside :D You truly are Clarinick, brotha'. Yay for Suessical, I hope we can all get down and dirty with it and make it really good for all ya'lls. Its got great potential, very fun play.

So yeah. I just had a blast. All day was a party. A very educational, fun-packed party. And now I get to go to Mutual. Yay, that should be fun. Rick is a studly muffin, I love that kid. I'm glad he's in my english class, cus wow. How cool is he. Pretty cool.

So yeah. Lots of studly people. Peter, Nick, Rick, Glen..oh, Glen... Peter....I said him already, but he gets two votes, cus he's just that amazing. Go my favorite sports team, go.

English Response: Go Suck a Lemon

2006-10-04T21:47:00.000-07:00

Go Suck a Lemon

I know I already wrote about Reverend Hale in class, but I want to talk about him some more. I think that Reverend Hale is trying too hard to please everybody. He thinks of himself as a professional because the people of Salem asked him to come to their town to sort things out. He honestly believes that he knows the signs and symptoms of witchcraft, and that the things that he does to help people are judicious and helpful.

Taking into account that this was in the 17^th century when people really didn’t know much, maybe Hale really thought his “facts” on witchcraft were really fact. That being the case, he thought that he was really doing the world some good by ridding it of witches. However, I would really like to know where he got these “truths” from. Somehow, these things must have become “fact”. Obviously his methods had never been proved before. Maybe he thought that his methods worked, seeing how he had convicted witches before. It seems strange to me that people would trust his opinion when his methods of finding a witch when they hadn’t really been proven before.

Hale began to see that maybe there weren’t as many witches as he thought there were in the world. When so many people were accused of being a witch, he began to see that maybe people just started accusing other people of witchcraft to get the attention away from themselves or to try and get the accused into trouble. He began to see that people could cause mischief without the devil’s influence.

English Response: Secrets

2006-10-02T20:47:00.000-07:00

I hope that this post will work. It'll be kicks and giggles if it does.

Secrets

It is my opinion that no good has ever come of keeping secrets. I like so-and-so. I killed so-and-so. So and so killed me. You know, the usual secrets. No good ever came from keeping those things to your self. If you tell someone your secrets, then things will always turn out better for you in the long run, guaranteed.

In the Crucible, terrible things happened because secrets were kept. Take John Proctor for example. He had an affair with some teenage girl when he had a wife and kids at home. He kept it secret until it couldn’t be kept secret any longer. His wife found out in the end, and then he was really in for it. Because he hadn’t fessed up to his sin, he lost a lot more trust with his wife than he would have had he come out and told her to begin with. He couldn’t even go out of the house for more than a few hours without his wife being suspicious of his actions. When he even mentioned the name Abigail, she freaked out and got angry at him.

The same thing happens in real life. When people have a secret that shouldn’t BE secret, then they should tell someone as soon as possible. It may cause them embarrassment and/or shame, but it will get the problem out in the open. In the long run, the outcome will be better for someone who tells all than someone who keeps things concealed. This is one of my life goals: don’t dwell on secrets. I will tell someone who needs to know things that I could otherwise keep secret. It will benefit me and the other person greatly.

Tadum!

What the juice?

2006-09-27T20:07:00.000-07:00

I can't post. I may be retarded. In fact, I think I am. I doubt this even publishes, so why am I typing this? I was gonna post 2 more english posts, but it wont work. Sorry guys.

I Take it Back

2006-09-24T20:49:00.000-07:00

I was wrong. I guess Loyalty isn't friendship's foundation.

Bulfashion, hast thou forsaken me?

2006-09-23T21:30:00.000-07:00

I've shamed the name of Bulfashion tonight.

Frisbee for the second night in a row. Alas...my skillz are steadily declining. Its so depressing to know you can do so much more while you are dropping every throw your way and botching every pass. I know I can do much greater things, but I just can't manage to bring myself to do them anymore.

I'm afraid this lack of skills is due to lack of true spirit. Last night, the first game was great. Spirit bar was pulsing, glowing, and it was through the roof. I was happy every goal, every pass, whether it was on my team or the other. Then some people left, and we made some new teams. From there, each game I play seems to dwindle my skills and spirit meter. I have no unity with my teamates, and I have no desire to spend my energy on a cut I know I could do. I don't have what it takes to catch a disk, and my overzealous search for good Ultimate gloves has hindered my abilty to throw greatly.

I think we are trying to hard. Our posse of Ultimate madness has turned into Unultimate madness. People running --- or rather, standing --- everywhere, tying to understand the sport. Its true, we have a lot of people now, and it has great potential...for a league. But Frisbee Friday isnt the same anymore. Not without the old guys. Not without the regulars. The twins...Thaddeus...people I've grown used to playing the sport with, people that were once the essence of my endless Spirit Meter.

And my socks are wet :(

I don't know what we're gonna do here folks. I'm trying to hard, we are trying to hard collectively, much was accomplished, and terrible things have been brought to pass.

I've shamed the name of Bulfashion tonight.

Bulfashion once gave me power. The greatest night of Frisbee in my memory, built upon the Bulfashion cornerstone. And now. Now...hast thou forsaken me? Where has the unity, the desire gone? I shall lay you to rest, Bulfashion. You shall not see the sport again, until Frisbee is once again Ultimate. Then, my friend, we shall do great things together. Very great things.

High School: the Memory

2006-09-21T20:42:00.000-07:00

So, blogger is down for right now, so here I am typing my blog in Notepad until I can copy/paste/post it. Upon reading Thatcher's blog concerning giving up CC for turoring, I started thinking. I'm in the exact same boat. I mean, sure I dont run, but swimming is just as hard if not harder...probably harder actually :P But really, I've been talking to people who could really really use some help with math. Mostly Molly and Katie. I'm sure there are more people out there who could use some help, and wouldn't it be great if I/Chris/we could help them learn it all better? I'm not trying to sound arrogant here, I'm not having any problems with the math (at least for the time being!), and I would really like to help people.

The problem that has faced Chris, is choosing between helping these people and running CC for himself. I guess you could say that I am faced with the same problem, but really, I don't see this as a problem.

Here is where I begin to think independently from Thatcher :P (Independent thought!! Yay!) I say, why not do both. Sure, we are busy. I'm not saying that we have free time on our hands at all. For example, I am in/on:
The Orchestra Pit-- it has VERY hard music, which I must practice for outside of pit practice
which is, for now, Tuesday and Thursday after school for an hour
The Swim Team-- which goes from 2:30 to 4 or 4:30 every day (except for when I have the Orchestra pit after school, in which case I will soon be swimming AFTER pit practice Ultimate Frisbee Presidency-- I will be helping Chris out a lot, along with Nick, whenever we hold meetings, and whenever we are planning for games or practice or whatever.
Early Morning Seminary-- I have to wake up an hour before most of you peoples do and get to school. This means that I must go to bed earlier than most of you (much earlier that you Chris...go to bed, slacker!)

As you can see, I really am busy. I didn't even mention the 3 AP classes I have along with all the homework, or the job that I may be getting in the near future. Granted, for now, I have small amounts of homework from these classes, but towards the end of the year, I will be in a world of hurt with it, I'm sure.

But that's a different story.

The real story now, is why I do these things. You might say, "you are crazy, you fool! You are going to kill yourself with all this junk! Why are you doing this?" Well, as Chris stated that he is doing CC for himself becuase its is something he enjoys, I am doing all these things for my own gain. I am in high school. Thats something that is never going to happen again in my life. Never. I'll never have the opportunity to wake up and go to a place where I have friends and opportunities everywhere I look. I'll never have the chance to swim on a team again in my life. I'll never be able to play in musical again. After graduation, although I don't want it to happen, I will probably never see or hear from 98% of the the people I associate with right now. That includes Chris and James and Levi, who I have known at least half my life. I don't want to never see them again, but thats the way things work with high school.

My dad has made this point to me several times in just the last month. He always recals his high school life. He had a friend who was just like a brother to him. He always thought of him as a brother, never as just a friend. He did everything with him. (His name was Roland by the way, for the sake of my telling this story.) He knew Roland forever. Elementary through high school, they were with each other non-stop, from the time they blew up a giant bridge made out of toothpicks, to the time they welded another schoolmate in a locker at school. They were always there. Roland lived just a street over from my dad's house, and in fact, still does. He lives one street over from where my Grandma lives. Roland bought the house from his parents, and still lives there, and my Grandma still lives there. We visit her a lot. Its only a 15 minute drive to her house. Guess how often my dad talks to Roland now. Quick, guess. Yeah, he talks to him about twice a year. Whever he has been reminiscing old days, and remembers his friend, he calls him up on the phone, and they chat for a while, and then go their separate ways, once again leaving each other behind.

Now, what is my point? The people you are closest to now, now matter what you try and do after high school, are not going to stay in conctact with you, no matter how easy it is for them to do so. You will get busy with other things. You will meet a whole new cluster of people after graduation, whether it be at college, or wherever. You may get married. Most of us will go on missions for the Church. Your future will become more important than your past, and your focuses will be on finding that wife or husband, or fulfilling your Church callings. Your friends now will slip through your memory, and before you know it, you will realize one day that you haven't talked to your "best friend" for a year or more. Sure, that point may be down the road several years. You may try and keep in touch, but, as it is in most cases, you won't ever see that person again in your life.

Now I ask again: What is my point? My point is, dear reader, that you should be making the best of your high school life while you can. Do everything you can do now, do things that are abstract or challenging. Join those teams you half-heartedly want to join. Swim or run in those meets you hate to compete in. I guarantee, one day, you will look back on your high school career, and regret not doing more. You will regret not doing anything and everything you could with the masses of friends you had then. Sure, you will remember the good times you had, and the fun things you did in high school. But you will still regret not going out for the basketball team, or joining the swim or polo or CC team or whatever. You will regret it, because that memory won't be there, when it could have been.

We are making memories here, folks. Our high school experience now is our present. It is our lives right now. But that ends in 2 years, people. After that, high school is a memory. All you take from NOW, from high school, is your manuscript, your college credits you got, you ACT score, and the memories you made. Make it worth while.

Now, back to tutoring people. Thatcher, this post has been written with you in mind, for sure. I
really want to tutor people, just as you do. I want to share my understanding of math with those who need help. The problem still remains though: how do we make time to do it? I am here to say, we must make time for it, if its something that we really want to do.

We've got one shot at making our high school experience what we want it to be. Thatcher, this is my advice to you. You make your high school experience great. You make it great for yourself first, and then you make it as good as you can for others. Selfish? No. You have a life too. I know you love running. Dont give that up if thats what you really like to do. Sure, you might not run after high school. Or maybe you will. Either way, you will never be able to run like you can now with your team. With your friends. I think that takes priority. You cant sacrifice what you love for helping other people. Its a good cause, it really is, to help other people with their homework. But you need to do what you REALLY want to do, cus you've only got one shot at it, and thats now.

We can find ways to work out the tutoring stuff, we can make time for friends. If we can make time for scripture study, then we can make time for studying math. I'm going to work around my busy schedule so that I can help anyone who wants help, and I really think that that is what we should do. Sure, its just one more thing to bog us down, to make us more busy, but its also yet another thing that could make some good memories for us too. Its yet another opportunity that we only have in high school. An opportunity to spend time with people we have known for years, for people that may soon be memories.

So we make time. Put the trivial things on hold, and lets have some meetings. Random meetins, whenever we can, whenever we need to have them. That's when we tutor people. We dont have to do it during CC or Swim or Polo or Frisbee. We do it when we can, we do it when its best for everyone, not just the people who need help.

Well, I hope this has helped. Thatcher, I hope you have read this and have taken it to heart. Molly, Katie, all you who need help with math, I hope you have too. If not...well, who knows if you even read this. You probably don't, cus I don't think I've told you about too much. Either way, I'll have you read it, see what you think.

To the rest of you, comment. Please. Let me know what you think, I would appreciate some input. Thanks a bunch.

English Response: The Crucible

2006-09-19T20:27:00.000-07:00

Here we are again at another post, another english response. Methinks these responses will make up the majority of my blog in the near future, so hopefully you like them. If not, tell me so, and I'll see what I can do.

So, in English last time, we began reading The Crucible. He is what I thought of our discussions thereof:

The Crucible

From what I understand, a crucible is something that is used to melt impure metals to remove the unwanted ore. It is heated to great temperatures, and somehow the metals are separated, until you are left with the core of the metal you want. In assuming that Arthur Miller had some sort of knowledge in the matter of crucibles, one can infer that his play, The Crucible, a play written about the Salem Witch Trials, was somehow symbolically tied to a melting pot. We discussed some of the meanings behind this symbolism in class, but I would like to dig a little deeper into these ideas.

In class, the idea that the crucible was symbolic of the purification of people was brought up. We discussed the ways of the Puritans, and compared them to the uses of a crucible. We mentioned that the Puritans were trying to rid all impurities from themselves in very harsh manners. To me, this is a valid comparatively. However, I would like to go a little further with this idea of the “melting pot”.

Through my education, I had heard this term before, but it was not in reference to purification. Rather, it symbolized the various nations of the world coming to America to live. America became a sort of mixing or melting pot in the sense that our culture and diversity was all becoming drawn into one nation. The melting pot, in essence, melted the cultures, races, and traditions of various peoples into one molten lump, which was the population of America.

When comparing these two symbolisms for one item, I noticed how starkly different they were. In one case, the melting pot was used for weeding out unwanted impurities, removing certain undesirable traits. In the other, it was used for the opposite; it was used for the mixing and merging of various “metals” into one solid ore. The different substances became one, forming a united body.

If the two crucibles mentioned previously were both representative of human ambitions, then we can deduce that the driving force, the flame that urged the melting process of the melting pots forward, is not a constant variable. It must be something changing, something complex. I have come to the conclusion that human nature is demanding. When we want something, our instincts are to do whatever we can to achieve that thing. In the case of the Puritans, they wanted to drive the people who thought differently or who were impure from themselves. Their nature scourged and burned away the unwanted substances. In America’s melting pot, diversity was welcome, even promoted. It was a new nation, and we were open to new ideas and customs. All were welcome, and human nature melted the masses together.

In both cases, unity was the goal. In both cases, the flames of human passion drove the operations. And yet, what came out of the melting pots were drastically different. I would like to think that we all have the ability to make good or bad of a situation. We can choose to burn away social impurities and make society one pure body, or we can let those impurities melt into our social pot to form a strong alloy and culture. It really is up to us; we are the driving force in this world, and the way we choose to deal with one another will determine our outcome in the future. Ask yourself: is it more important for us to be pure and shiny, or strong and unrefined?

Yay for the Crucible. Hopefully this post made sense. I didnt proofread it at all, so it may be random and nonsensical, but hey, its the effort that counts, right?

English Response: Martyrdom

2006-09-17T20:16:00.000-07:00

For my English class, I am required to write a one page response to something that was discussed in class that day. We are to turn in our typed response the next class period. At this point, I have written four responses. I just finished my fourth one, and I have come to a conclusion: these responses are beginning to define me as a person. I really dig deep when writing these, and I am beginning to understand myself a little better. It is for this reason that I have decided to post my responses whenever I feel that they are worth the public reading. It shall be an ongoing thing, and I hope it brings people some enlightenment and self-relfection.

Here, my dear readers, is my fourth response. Enjoy.

Martyrdom

If somebody asked me what I would be willing to die for, I could answer them in once sentence. That sentence comes from a Savage Garden song, called Affirmation. Ahem… “I believe in love surviving death into eternity.” I believe that if faced with the situation, I would die for anything that I loved enough, both people and ideas. I can say now -- from the safety of my computer chair -- that I would die for something I believe in, because I believe that love really does survive death into eternity. I believe that everything that we have in this life that we truly love will follow us into eternity after we die, especially our family, friends, and faith. I believe that if we are willing to die for something we believe in or something that we love, then we will be rewarded for our actions accordingly.

Dictionary.com defines a ‘martyr’ as, “a person who is put to death or endures great suffering on behalf of any belief, principle, or cause.” In my Church’s history, there have been many martyrs. Our first Latter-Day prophet, Joseph Smith Jr. was a martyr himself. I believe that the many people throughout history who have died for this cause have been rewarded after their death. If I were in same situations as these Latter-Day Saints before me were in, I would be happy to die for my faith in Christ’s Church. My love for my church would survive my death into eternity, and I would be rewarded for my sacrifice. It would be far better for me to accept death for this cause than it would be to denounce my faith and live a full lifetime.

I hope that I would have the courage to actually go through with what I have stated above. I know that it would be a very difficult thing to do, but if I had to die for someone I love, or for my faith, I am sure I would gladly do it. Thank you Savage Garden, for you help with my response!

Region Dance for Life!

2006-09-16T22:35:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness, region dances are insane. w00ber even. My voice is hoarse, my knees hurt, I have blisters on my feet, but it was awesome. I'm not even good at dancing. In fact, Im very repetetive and goofy looking, im sure, but man, its so fun just to get up and move with the beat. The slow songs are way fun too, actually talking to girls that you ahve meant to talk to every day for the last who-knows-how-long, yelling at them, and stooping down so you can hear what they have to say in return. Maybe this will just make it easier to talk to people (aka girls) at school. I dont know why I'm afraid of "people", but thats the way I am. But hey, you think I'm a wuss now, you look at my life as an 8th grader. Or better yet, Elementary School. Then tell me I'm a wuss now. Region dances make life so much easier, and much more grande...yeah, grand with an "e". I said it. Region dances are pro. The only thing that may surpass a region dance in absolute greatness (thats like absolute value, only cooler) is Ultimate. Cus truly, Ultimate is ultimate, and dances are dances. Not Ultimate, but we'll go as far as Uber.

Hmmmmmmm, nothing better than a Region Dance. Good fun for all. Eat more lettuce, and have a nice life.

[f x g](x), not [f o g](x)

2006-09-12T20:38:00.000-07:00

So I've discovered that there is a very fine line between understanding math, and pretending to understanding math. Its the difference between a dot and a circle.

I used to think that I was good at math. That was in the days of Mr. Wong. Then I entered the 10th grade, and got Brown for a teacher. Now, those of you who don't know Mrs. Brown, let me put it this way. You are better off for not knowing her. She sucks the intellegence right out of you. I find myself in Pre Calc/Trig, and I pretend to know whats going on, when in reality, I haven't got a clue. Somewhere in my brain, I know how to do a problem. Somehow, I really do understand the math. Yet somehow, things like my title pop up, and I spend 20 minutes factoring a trinomial cubed, when all I had to do was times the two freaking equations together. [f x g](x), not [f o g](x) Helloooo Kyle. Its right there in front of you get a grip.

Now, if it werent for the crowning moment in math that I experience just a few minutes ago, I would have given up math by now. But now, I pulled through. The year wasted with Brown suddenly didnt matter. Somewhere in my mind, I remembered Wong and his glory. I was faced with the problem of solving 2 equations that each had 2 variables. For a brief moment I was confused, but in a flash, I remembered the days in 9th grade where substituting and canceling variables was common. I did it. I solved for x and for y, and I solved the problem. I did it quite effortlessly, and it was grood all around.
I was afraid that coming back into a new year, I had forgotten everything I once knew about math, as well as physics. I had been completely lost with both subjects, but tonight, I found myself again. I did my physics; I understood it. I had help from Thatcher to make sure I was diong it right, but I understand it now. I'm pretty amazed at that fact.

So the moral of hte story is: math and physics is like riding a bike. You might not ride it for ages, but when you get back on...you fall off. Yep, you fall off. I dont care what people say, you dont remember how to do it. You fall right on your butt. You remain on your butt until you suddenly remember Wong and his glory, yes his glory. You remain on your butt until somewhere in your mind, your knowlege finds its way back to you in the form of canceling variables.

So, my messages for you are: 1) dont stop riding your bike. It takes a while to learn how to do it again. 2) Wong really was glorious. That is all.

My angry 1 AM post for the week:

2006-09-10T00:17:00.000-07:00

People nowadays make things way too complicated. Chapstick for example: an unnecessary waste of money and time. If your lips or dry, drink some water. And if you do use it, use it every once in a while. Dont eat it. Another one: cell phones. Talk to people face to face at school. If you cant talk to them face to face, then you shouldnt be texting them anyway. They are somewhere else that you shouldnt be concerned with anyway. And if you need to call someone, find a phone in an office somewhere. There is always a phone for your use at the school somewhere. Another useless commodity of today is diet. If you think you are fat, don't complain about it and starve yourself of things you like to eat. Do something about it that will make a differnece in the way you look and feel. Eat the things you like, but eat them with a balance of things that are good for you, and dont eat a ton of that stuff. A little bit will do. Then you just have too get off your chair, and excercise. Real food and sweat. Thats the only real diet.

(As you can tell I'm really tired and irratable right now. Its after 1, and I should be in bed.)

And another thing. Dotn give a crap about whats going on in the life of celebreties. Why know someone's life story, pant size, and marriage situation, when all they do for you is give you a little bit of entertainment on the tv. People worship people like Orlando Bloom...and why? Its cus they think he's hot and because he can act well. Why know everything about that random person of hte least significance to you, when they dont care at all about you? You dont see celebreties watching shows like Extra! and E Entertainment or whatever its called with you as the star of the show. "The top story today is Chris' dire situation as Homecoming approaches. Stay tuned to see what became of this tragic event." No, they dont do that. But people all over the world tune in to the tv to watch a 5th or 18th wedding of some 'hot' celebrity. The wedding is going to last 5 minutes people!!! Dont spend your time watching their freaking billion dollar wedding, that you helped to pay for by going to their movie a dozen times. Seriously people, live your own lives.

Whatever, do what you want. Go buy a 70,000 dollar Hummer. I'll go get a car that gets better gas mileage AND house for that much, sucka-foo. I'll get to wherever you wanna go just as fast.
How do you like them apples? ..........Its bedtime. Forget this happened.

Ole Ole Ole, the New FRISBEE Anthem

2006-09-08T17:36:00.000-07:00

So, here I am, Friday night. Still dressed in my gym shorts from today's lunchtime frisbee adventure, all ready to go to Frisbee Friday tonight. I still reek of body odor from lunchtime, but do I care? No. Cus I'm only going to get more sweaty and stinky as the night goes on.

Hooray, pit juice.

Do I'm sitting here, in my shorts and odorous aura, waiting for the moment I can play Frisbee. Guess what I'm listening to right now. Go ahead, guess. Thats right. I'm listening to the Soccer Anthem, teh bestest soul/spirit/stamina booster of all time. It really needs to become the new Frisbee Anthem, cus wow, its so hawt. Thats right, hawt. I'm so pumped. We need to have this blaring at all our Frisbee meetings. Taht would bring the crowds in. Maybe win the support of the Principle too. Cus lets face it, if we are going to play that grand of music at our sporting events, we are going to need a grand stadium and field to match.

To all of you out there lacking in the Spirit of the Game, tell me. I will rip you a CD with that song on there at least 10 times. You will listen to it and be amazed. Your Spirit Bar will be charged; I know mine is through the roof right now.

Anyway, I really need to stop talking about Frisbee. That's all I've posted about in the last who knows how long, and its making me a little crazy. For now, I need to go clean my room, like I said I was going to do hours ago, and then do some other stuff before Frisbee. Here we go, here we go.

What has my life become?

2006-09-07T15:11:00.000-07:00

I remember back in the day when I couldn't sleep at night because my mind was running wild with the exciting events of the day. One of the biggest things that ran though my mind was the game Super Smash Brothers on N64. The first day I got that game, I played it for hours with my buddy Rick, and by the time I went to bed, thats all I could think about. I would run various techniques through my mind; how to dodge, when not to jump, best attacks, what to do in certain circumstances. I have played that game so much since then, that I cant even begin to imagine how many total days I have spent just playing that one game.

So it was. A big part of my life was Smash. That is until I found a love for Zelda. It was the same thing with that game, for quite a long time. By ninth grade, the next big thing was Warcraft. (As you can see, I really did grow up with video games. My 4 older sisters and lack of brothers are to blame for that.) I loved the game, and every day of my life held something related to Warcraft in it. Warcraft slowly merged into DotA, which was possibly the biggest reason for lack of sleep in my life. (For all of you out there who are considering taking up DotA, dont do it!) Around the same time, swim begame a big part of my life. I would go to bed just thinking of a perfect breastroke kick. In fact, I would often find myself practicing that stroke as I lay in bed.

And so it was for a long time. The swimming died out fairly quickly once the season ended last year, but the DotA phase didnt end until the middle of this last summer. Christopher and I both vouched not to ever play the game again (or at least a whole lot less than we were).

So at the beginning of this school year, I didn't really have a foundation in any one great thing. I had nothing to mull over in my head while I tried to sleep. I didn't find myself running the various strategies, heros, and items of DotA through my head, or telling myself that I would one day be good at the game by making the best of those things.

And now here I am, telling you about all of this, for what? My post title implies that my life has indeed become something now, but what is it this time? Another video game? Another stroke? No, my friends. This time, its something far more grand. This time, I am kept awake at night to thoughts of something far more useful, healthy, and long-term. Something raging beyond beleif. Something with so much potential, it blows my mind to think of the possabilities. My new love, my new life, has become Ultimate Frisbee.

Thanks to Christopher's generosity, I have been carrying a battered, yet truly ultimate Frisbee with me in my backpack at all times this last week or so. Because of this selfless act of charity, I have been able to throw that Frisbee at every lunch since then. I have tossed it around with numerous friends on even more numerous occasions beyond these lunchtime expeditions. I have found myself wanting it at nearly every moment. I find myself completely awake and happy while holding a Frisbee, and what's more, completely alert and entusiastic when I'm actually throwing and catching it.

My new-found love may seem like an addiction to some. It may seem like Frisbee is beginning to drag me down to the point where nothing else matters. On the contrary: the great feeling Frisbee gives me makes me want to do well in every other aspect of my life. Schoolwork seems more important, chores seem more necessary, and overal, life is a lot more exciting. I am getting in better shape because of the Ultimate sport, I am devoting myself more to something that is worthwhile (unlike mindless video games), and I'm even becoming better friends with many people through the sport.

Now some of you are thinking that Frisbee has become a religion to me, I'm sure. No worries, friends. I'm still Kyle. I still have my own thoughts and beleifs. I'm just diven by something now. This sport is even making me want to be more devoted to my religion as well, giving me something to live on, something to push me along.

Frisbee is all-around Ultimate. There is no denying that fact. Every aspect of it is amazing, and it is my hope that others can find this same joy. This future Frisbee club shall be a great thing for a lot of people, you'll see. Even if its not a success, which I doubt could happen, it shall never be a failure. with the friends we have and with the talent and love they have for it, this sport can't fail. Spirit bar fully charged!

This I Believe

2006-09-05T19:47:00.000-07:00

Okay, so in English this last week, my class was given the assignment to write about something that we beleive to be true. We were to expand on our belief with personal experiences. Well, my friends, after workign on this 3 page peice for nearly 4 hours, this is what I have come up with:

Loyalty: Friendship’s Foundation

My friends are awesome. We do all sorts of things together, and we are always there to help each other. We play anything from Ultimate Frisbee to Warcraft together, and we can joke about anything from our body odor to Colin Powell. I have known most of my friends for over half of my life; we have shared many a secret, and prevailed through many adventures. We have stayed up late many times, reminiscing old memories while forging new ones. My friends have had profound impact on my life. I being the only boy in my family, they have been the brothers that I never had.

But it hasn’t all been fun and games. We have gone through many trials and harsh words. Plans of mortal revenge have been on our minds at times, and in many cases, jealousy has been rampant. I have fumed over misdeeds and shed many a tear at the thought of offense. I have tossed and turned through many nights with the memory of our day’s disputes.

So I ask: why is it that we are still friends? How can we still be there for each other when so much strife has come of our relationships? The answer, dear reader, in one word, is loyalty.

My earliest memories with my dearest friends consist of sleepovers full of talk about girls and hours of our favorite video games. We spent those nights in our early Jr. High experience daring each other to ‘like’ a girl, or plotting ways we could get a certain girl to like us in return. When our minds weren’t directed toward the opposite sex, our eyes were fixed on television screens, our hands manipulating the game play with our controllers. We stayed up as long as we were allowed, and stayed awake as long as could beyond that point, once again directing our conversations where we could all relate.

Those were the good old days; the days where girls were our number one topic of discussion, not our number one concern. Those were the days when very little could upset us with one another. Our loyalties lay in our common interests alone. With no memories to bind us, we only had our childish fantasies and games to bring us together.

Those days didn’t last long. Our fantasies slowly became reality, and gradually, our developing friendship reached its first test of endurance; one of us actually got a girlfriend. A relationship kindled with one of us and an outside force, stretching our own bonds. Problems began to arise as our dear friend began drifting away from our circle of friendship toward the influence of another. Our frequent activities with each other became limited when our friend would rather be with ‘Her’ than us at certain times. Of course, it wasn’t his intention to abandon us, but he had new loyalties to attend to, and none of us could accept that, especially me.

Jealousy and anger changed our friendship into a relationship of hate and envy. This struggle lasted quite a while, until dastardly plots and deceit (all on my part) ended my friend’s first relationship with a girl. I had done mean things. I had hurt my friend, and the girl he had liked so much. When all was said and done, it would have made sense for him to never speak with me again, but somehow the opposite happened. We made up with each other, and though our trials, the friendship we had before that trial was strengthened enormously.

I look back on this experience today, and I wonder how we ever managed to forgive and forget such an ordeal. How did we ever look past what we had done to each other? How did we push it all aside and become even closer to one another? The only thing I can figure out is that through all the strife of that tribulation, we still had something. We still had the memories we had made. We still had our common interests. We still had our loyalty. Somehow the respect and the devotion we once had had for each other gave us all we needed to pull through. Our loyalties had been strengthened over the years by all the times we had spent together and memories we shared. In the end, our stronger binds and loyalties could not be hampered.

Since this experience a few years ago, my friends and I have gone through many more trials and times. We have helped each other though countless homework assignments and bad relationships. The loyalties we share are stronger than ever. We have made new friends along the way, many of whom are bound to us in the same way now. Our loyalties to them have been toughened and built up over the years, and the binding foundation of our friendship is ever getting stronger. The more trials we go through and the more memories we make, the deeper our cornerstones are dug, and the higher our walls are built.

Friends help determine the kind of person you will become. They make your memory full. Friendship is built from scratch, and fortified through time by the loyalties that bind us. Loyalty is the difference between a good friendship, and an everlasting one.

This I believe: Friendship built upon a loyal foundation is unbreakable. True friends are family. This I know, for my friends truly are the brothers that I never had.

So, there you have it. My heart-felt-inspirational-whatever-you-want-to-call-it. Hope you enjoyed it.

Paint extravaganza!

2006-08-30T17:22:00.000-07:00

Okay, so ever since Chris sent around the propopsal for an art contest, I have been painting a masterpeice. It started as something that would take 5 minutes, but no. I have spent countless hours, quite literally, perfecting my art, and yes, it truly is art. Here ladies and gentlemen, is my nearly finished portrait of Link. For those of you who don't know, its a videogame character, but a hot one at that.
If I do say so myself, thats pretty good for Paint. Now I will just have to touch it up a little more, maybe ad the Master Sword and Hylian Sheild strapped to his back. Then, Chris, I give permision for you to post it in your gallery, free of charge. Give me imput if you guys would like the sheild/sword on the back on there or not. We'll see what happens.

And now I must run, so until next time, goodbye. Three-step calls.

My first Blogular Device

2006-08-28T16:03:00.000-07:00

So here I am, on the first day of 11th grade. I have just spent the last few hours upon arriving home from school reading Chris' Blog. I normally don't read up on Blogs, but I read almost all of Chris' most recent blogs, and wow, that was a lot. It was long, but it was also very inspiring. It made me want to start my own Bloggular Device, so here I am, starting what could potentially be a great pastime.

So, as I said, today is my first day as a Junior. Its now 5 O'clock, and about 2 minutes ago, right before I started writing this post, I got highspeed DSL. Oh man, I can't tell you how long I have waited for that. Its not like amazing interwebnet, but compared to ye olde dial-up that ran at 47 kbps, this is heaven.

So my first period is Compy Tech CC with Mrs. Loos. Needless to say, its going to be cake. So, I'm thinking that most of my time in that class will be dedicated to this Blog as well as the reading of other Blogs. As I become more acquainted with this Blogular Device, I shall establish links and all that good stuff, adding to the potential of what I have just read about, the Taylorsville Alliance. Sounds fun, sounds fun.

Well about today: this year of school is going to be two things for me. It will be the best year of my life, as well as the hardest year of my life. On one hand, Jr. Choir has soooo much potential. Far more than what I innitially thought it would, which was still a lot. Oh man its going to be amazing. On the other hand, Rockwell and Parrish are beasts. I am going to learn so much in those classes, but its just might kill me in the process. On the other hand, I have Compy tech to relax and blog it up. On the other hand, early morning Seminary, swim team class, and swim every day after school might just reduce me to a pulp. That is, along with the supposed hours of studying history each night and the beasty things Parrish has up her sleeves.

So I am awaiting what tomorrow has in store for me. Siwim will be crazy, math should be fun, my hopes and ambitions for Jazz Band are renewed (last year I was just along for the ride. I'm actually going to do my part this time around), and Physics is just going to kick trash. I love Olsen, he's the Pimp daddy, fo' sho'. But truly, Physics and Jr. Choir: where its at, yo.

So, I am determined to get this Frisbee Club on the go. Chris, we really need to start filming. Everyone who may be reading this, we really need to start designing a killer logo, cus, really, we need a killer logo. I really need to finish up my paint picture of Link first, but once that's done (hopefully really soon), I'm going to use my mad mad Paint skillz to design said killer logo. It will be victorious. Feel free to give me ideas for this said logo.

Enough said for now. I shall be updating this Blogular Device frequently from now on hopefully, and it shall be raging. I going to get to work on my Paint projects. Death comes for ya'!

Day 9-Close to Home

2006-03-14T21:42:00.000-08:00

Honestly folks, what to write about? Oh, okay, I've got it. Okay, in the book, one of the main characters is a teacher. He classroom is just her adopted daughters' bedroom, converted during the day to fit the class' needs. The only books that she has are old copies of reading and arithmetic books. She teaches children from the age of about 16 to the very youngest school ages. She has no more than probably 2 dozen children attending every day. Most every person in the class is LDS, so naturally most of the class is based on reading from the Book of Mormon, alongside the other textbooks. I was just thinking how different all of that is from today's school system. Today, in at least the school I go to, there are a few thousand students. There are dozens of teachers and classrooms, and the size of the school itself is, compared to what was described in the novel, huge. My school has teachers for different subjects, each with sufficient schooling for their job, a full-size, working cafeteria, and who knows how many facilities and recreational things for teams and activities. The teacher in the book only knew what she had learned and taught to herself. She was naturally good at what she did, but still had little of no schooling, and definitely no degrees for it. How different education is now than it was back then. Not only in its appearance, but like I said before; with the Book of Mormon being part of the curriculum, you know that we have gone a long way from what people used to have. Given, Nauvoo was an LDS community, but still. Today we can't hardly even mention the word 'Mormon' in school without penalties. Its crazy. It makes me grateful for what I have today. For my opportunities to learn a lot and expand my knowledge. I guess that’s just something to think about.

Day VIII-Close to Home

2006-03-13T18:22:00.000-08:00

Hmmmm.....my excuse is that sometimes its just as hard going downhill as it is going up. I'm almost done with this nice little English assignment, and I am running out of ideas, and even forgetting what was in the book! I admit it. I read it at the beginning of term, and all the books in the series are starting to run together into one long series of huge books. I shouldn't have started number 6 so soon afterwards!
Anyway, lets see if I can pull something together. Hmmmm. Alright, I think I've got something. Okay: in the book, Will continues his adventure away from home. He thinks that his adopted father, Joshua, has been killed by Mormons, and through his struggles to get revenge on the killers, he ends up as, more or less, and endentured servant onboard a small sailing vessel. I think that all of that happened in the fourth book of the series, but I can't quite recall. The continuation of his adventure is in this book at least. Anyway, so Will ends up sailing across the Atlantic to England, and eventually ends up in China. The crew does its stuff there, trading and the likes, and Will is allowed to roam around the town, sort of as a day off. So he wanders around a bit. The thing I am trying to get to here is that in his wanderings, Will discovers fireworks. I don't know why I just thought of this, but I guess its true; if you didn't know what fireworks were, you would probably crap your pants when you saw them for the first time. Some little chinese kid lit it, and it popped and snapped all over the ground, scaring Will, and of course interesting him in buying some for himself. I just think that it is sort of cool how one of the characters catches a glimpse of modern technology. If only he had known what more was to come. What machines, weapons, or other things that would work on the same principles. Its just interesting to think about I think.

Day 7

2006-03-12T19:20:00.000-08:00

Recreation is a big part of out lives. Think about it. When we aren't working, or doinging school work, we are either reading, watching TV, or doing some kind of activity that we enjoy doing. For example: I play Water Polo. (I suck at it, but that's besides the point.) I used to run Cross Country and Track. Sometimes I play basketball or raquetball. (Again, I suck at all those too. Why do I even try?) Anyway, there is a reason we do those things. You might say its because those things are fun. I say that its because without those things, we would all get fat and lazy, and because none of us want to go out of our minds with bordome. So it leads me to think: what did the people way back when do for fun? They had books, but they didn't have the things that give us an excuse to be lazy like TV and the internet. They had books, sure, but thats just about all they could do to inside and alone. So what did they do outside that kept them busy when they weren't working? They didn't have square rooms and raquets to play with. They didn't have nicely divided swimming pools for Polo or competitive swimming. They didn't have marked, standardized, springy tracks to run on. All I can see is that they had dirt and sticks to play with. I don't know about you, but playing with dirt and sticks doesn't sound like much fun to me. This is what brings me to my conclusion on this odd subject on this fine Day 7. I am lead to beleive that the people before modern technology actually had what we like to call today imagination. They knew how to have fun without guidlines or standardized "stuff". They must have just had the best of times, running around, just chilling, doing whatever sounded like fun. This brings me to my final conclusion: TV is the uber suxx0rz, as is the internet. Lets all get off our butts and use our brains. That is what fun really should be. That is all.

Day 6-The Descent

2006-03-11T11:38:00.000-08:00

The hardest thing about writing about this book is actually knowing what to write about. The ideas ought to just come to me, but here I am... not discussing anything. Okay, I'll go off the deep end here. I am eating a burrito, and it sure is good. I feel kinda bad that the Saints of the day didn't have the sweet goodness that is Mexican cuisine. We have all sorts of conveniences today. Its great. I mean, you are hungry sitting in your nice, warm toasty comfortable house with snow falling outside, and all you have to do to solve your problem is open 2 doors a plastic wrapper. Out of the freezer and into the microwave, straight to your stomache. Back then, what did you have to do? Light a fire in your nice little cast iron stove (which of course takes the wood and skills to light it, taking valuable time and adding to your hungry dismay), go outside, and shoot something to cook! That's a process that could take so long you would starve before you ever even got the chance to look at a steaming pile of meat on your plate. And lets not mention the guns that they had to shoot their food with. Single-shot muzzleloaders, with extremely heavy lead rounds, powder, and patches to carry draped across your shoulders that are still weary from the day's labor on the feilds or the Temple, etc. I don't know about all that. Such a different lifestyle than we have today. Sucks to be them?

Day 5-Getting Closer

2006-03-10T22:32:00.000-08:00

One of the major parts of this book was the construction of a Temple to the Lord in the city of Nauvoo. The saints were called upon to put their rescources and skills together to build, for their day and time, a very large and mighty structure. The building was much larger than most buildings of the day. The saints started from complete scratch. They had tools that, in many cases, they had built themselves. They had dynamite, sledge hammers, and wedges to cut the granite squares from the hillside. They had wooden cranes and pulleys to hoist the several ton blocks onto wooden horse-drawn carriages. It often took a dozen workers just to cut 2 blocks in an entire day's work. Then it took a wagon and at least a dozen well-bred horses to pull the cart all the way to the temple site, which was up-hill from the quarry. This was only part of it. They had so many more things to do on the temple, that It makes me feel kind of guilty in a way; just to know that I have the things I have at this day in age makes me feel very grateful, and yet guilty in the sense that I don't always appreciate everything I have. One of the biggest things that I have that I take for granted is not the technology of the day, but the very thing that the Saints so long ago strived so hard to construct. We as a church have so many of these beautiful temples, all of them built with such ease compared to that Nauvoo Temple so long ago. There are probably 5 temples within an hour's travel time of my house, and yet I still can't manage to find the time to go there and partake of those blessings. I have only been a few times in the last few years that I have had the opportunity to. Reading of the things that the Saints of the early church went through to build a temple of our Lord gave me more than just a knowlege of church history. It also gave me great apprectiation of the blessings that I have, as well as a stronger testimony of the doctrines of the Church. I love the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I know that it really is the only true gospel on Earth, and I know that it is the true church of our Savior, Jesus Christ, without a doubt. I think at this point, it would not be out of place to say that I bear witness of these things and testify of them in the name of Jesus Christ, my redeemer. Amen.

I never thought that an English assignment would come to that, but there it is; part of my testimony of what I know to be true.

Day IV...thats 4, not I.V.

2006-03-09T20:51:00.000-08:00

At one point in the book, two of the characters are on a riverboat going down the Mississippi River on a steamboat. They are going from Nauvoo to St. Louis. The author describes the scene very well. What happens is, back in the day, if 2 riverboats spotted eachother going the same direction on the river, they would race to get to the port so that they could dock first and unload first, and then be on their way. I guess it got them some good money or something. Anyway, so what happens is the characters' boat spots another boat across the river, and the people on the boat get all excited because they know whats about to happen. They line the rails, and the race begins. The steamer starts pumping out a bunch of smoke, and they can see the other boat doing the same. They race to the middle of the river, trying to keep ahead of the other boat and cut it off. In the end they almost collide, but at the last possible moment, the other boat backs down rather than ram into the other boat, and the 2 characters make it downriver first to the port. I don't really know why I'm saying all of this, other than the fact that I found it interesting and I played a song in a symphony once called the Great Steamboat Race. The song sounds like it would fit the race hand in hand. It even has the whistles, steam sounds, and at the end, it makes it sound like the other boat fades off into the background behind. Its cool. Now I know why the song was written. Cool beans, sweet sauce....you know the drill.

Day 3

2006-03-08T20:29:00.000-08:00

One of the things that I liked about this book was the connections I could make with the characters' personal lives. In this particular book of the series, there is a lot of flirtatious-like romances among the young people. They are only are year or two older than I am now, but back then that was marrying age. The author wrote so much about these circumstances because I think he wanted readers to realize just how it was. I mean, if it had been me back then, I could be married within the next year or two. Its funny, just because the things they do seem rather... well, I don't want to say immature, because a lot of it is stuff that I do myself, but it is kind of. There are several characters who like someone else, and they get hurt when they realise that that person likes someone else. They funny thing is, these people are all pretty close, like really close friends or even family through marriage. But its always jsut back and forth, and it deffinately brings out the teenage girl in the characters. They get all angry and emotional and depressed. I see a lot of that in today's world. It makes me giggle, but at the same time, the author really did a good job of connecting the story to young readers like myself. I can really relate to a lot of it myself. Fun fun fun.

Day 2, Base Camp

2006-03-07T20:18:00.000-08:00

Okay, so lets get started, eh? Let me first say why I liked this book a lot. It had a lot of stuff that I liked, but the biggest reason is because of the connections that I was able to make between the book and myself. For example, I am LDS. When reading about the things that the people of my church went through as they struggled to find a place they could call home, It makes me feel more grateful for what I have now. The people then had a lot of work to do just to stay alive and make a living for their family. In addition to that, they lived in relative fear, not knowing what might happen to them next. They had already been driven from their 'new home' 2 times. They had gone through tragedies such as Haun's Mill Massacre and the Battle of Crooked River. In this book, they were settling in their own town, building it practically from scratch. They had to build their own homes with not much more than their hands and their knowledge, and they had to sow their own feilds. At the time, much of the Nauvoo area was swampland, so before they could even begin to plant, they had to drain their lands by hand, with no more than shovels to aid them. It was a rough life for anybody, but for a religious group of people seeking refuge from the storm to have to go through that is awful. This book helps me see how much I have been blessed with just by being born into a time, and place where those sacrifices aren't necessary. Reading about the Saints has helped me see just how Saint-like they were. I am excited to learn more about them as I continue to read the series.

So it begins

2006-03-05T18:47:00.000-08:00

So, to get things started, I am going to do exactly what you shouldn't do to start a written assignment. I am going to state simply, what I am writing about:
I read The Work and the Glory, Volume 5. It is about the early history of the LDS Church, written as a historical novel. The author portrays a family by the name of Steed among the early saints in Nauvoo, Illinois. The author describes many things that occured there, so the reader learns a lot about the topic, but the reader is kept awake by the stories of the Steed family. Through reading the first 5 books, I have seen just how much detail the author put into the family, and I have learned to love the church history because of the fictional family. They are right in the middle of everything that goes on, and they go through many emotions as they struggle through the tough times. Some members of the family leave the state, and even the country, for months and years at a time. The book shows everything those people went through, as though they were real people in history, and it also portrays what is going on back home with the rest of the family. The book takes you from the town on the Mississippi river, to China, to England, and back. In the following posts, I will go more into detail with how I liked this book, and explain some of the things contained therein.