3.17.2011

JUST GOT A 104% (i think) CUMULATIVE SCORE ON THE TANK GREAT EXPECTATIONS EXAM THAT'S WORTH 10% OF MY GRADE

46/50 ("curved" to 24/25 by Cordero) on reading comp/vocab (assiduity means: _______)
30/40 ("curved" to 30/20 by Cordero) on AP exam passage analysis questions
45/50 on the short response ("[left blank so this doesn't count as cheating] lead to redemption?")

Total earned: 99
Total gained: 95



EDIT: Better video supplied by Kaity

3.14.2011

3.12.2011

The Lost Generation by Jonathan Reed

Read going down

"I am part of a lost generation
and I refuse to believe that
I can change the world
I realize this may be a shock but
“Happiness comes from within.”
is a lie, and
“Money will make me happy.”
So in 30 years I will tell my children
they are not the most important thing in my life
My employer will know that
I have my priorities straight because
work
is more important than
family
I tell you this
Once upon a time
Families stayed together
but this will not be true in my era
This is a quick fix society
Experts tell me
30 years from now, I will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of my divorce
I do not concede that
I will live in a country of my own making
In the future
Environmental destruction will be the norm
No longer can it be said that
My peers and I care about this earth
It will be evident that
My generation is apathetic and lethargic
It is foolish to presume that
There is hope.

And all of this will come true unless we choose to reverse it ."

Now read going up

3.11.2011

"go to hell"

"and tell the devil i said 'fuck you'"

3.09.2011

Microblogging again

This is starting to turn into an unpopular Tumblr.

-So I saw a couple of these:

"If you watch Saw backwards, it's about a truly amazing man giving people limbs"

"If you watch Cinderella backwards, it's about a woman who learns her place"

So I decided to make my own:

If you watch The Curious Case of Benjamin Button backwards, it's about a man growing up.

AMIDOINITRITE?

-My motivation for finishing reading Great Expectations

3.07.2011

To baww or not to baww?

For today's baww, I've decided to post both at the same time. Pessimists will be depressed and optimists will be pleased. Comp sci nerds will be irked at my conversion of a .gif into a 16 bit .bmp, thus losing all important color information.

Enjoy this venture into pseudo-pseudo-postmodern preschool surrealism.


3.05.2011

Less bawww

Daily bawwww


Who needs the Love Triangle when you have:



3.04.2011

Science and Media

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/8355106/People-with-full-bladders-make-better-decisions-scientists-discover.html

If nothing else, this is a perfect example of how the media operates. It's a very interesting news entry, to be sure, but when I saw that headline, I thought "from now on, I'm chugging water 24/7". Then I read the article. Fluff, fluff, fluff, and BAM, last non-quote paragraph. A description of the actual experiment in question. The conclusion reached by the study wasn't that people make better decisions while thinking about peeing, it's that people who might need to go to the bathroom will on average hold out for a benefit in the long run.

In essence, the article starts from super general and alluring and very sensationalist ("YOU WILL MAKE BETTER DECISIONS IF YOU NEED TO USE THE LITTLE BOY/GIRL'S ROOM") and fluffs its way through the entire piece, until it finally cites the only maybe-factual proof they have of it, finally being honest...

...at the end of the article.

Up until that point, they were just throwing all the assumptions and generalities they had that could possibly interest the reader.

Like Rush Limbaugh himself admitted, most of what is said by himself (and the media) isn't said to inform the people, it's to draw in the crowds, the interest, and the advertising profits.


Related.

3.03.2011

March 3rd in photos

Instead of a rally court, there’s this “purple thing” in the middle of the quad at school. Apparently a giant oak tree used to be there but it fell or something. The hanging silvery things are supposed to represent leaves.

I find it unique.




What I really like about Norcal is the different foliage and plants.
(I have no idea what this is but this peculiar weed totally invaded my front "lawn":)
I see it as a different take by nature. For example, daffodils here are the equivalent of roses back in Arcadia (I LOVE daffodils), and coniferous forests are the substitute for Socal's dry, grubby chaparral land.
^Cherry blossoms in particular are wildly popular, it seems.




Oh, I also made my first new friend!:

It is my neighbor's cat and it is so soft and grey and I meow to it and it meows back and I'm just like dskajfhasdfh




There are a lot of "KEEP OUT" and "NO TRESPASSING" signs. They make me want to venture further even more but this one halted my tracks:
gah.




The creek:
Mallards frequent here but I wasn't able to catch them on my camera. Better luck next time, I suppose.
The running water can be heard from my home, which is quite lovely.




View from my window:



I’ve heard roosters crowing around my area and maybe even owls, but I saw quite a sight whilst jogging today…

Incidentally, I had a turkey sandwich for breakfast today.
This fellow here likes to puff up and make soft firecracker noises:




And again, lots of horses around. This one is just poking its head out onto the street.
They reek, though




more turkey:


Aaaaaand suddenly I wish I could play the cello.

VIOLINS ARE COOLER ANYWAY