Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day. What a joke, what a slap in the face to all other holidays. Well maybe it's not as bad as a slap in the face but it's a horrible holiday. I mean, we celebrate it because there was this Roman, named Valentine, who decided to break the law and illegally marry young Roman soldiers. So technically we have a holiday that celebrates someone who broke the law. There is just nothing really special behind it...I feel like someone was desperate for a holiday and established Valentine's Day. I dunno.....

So I just took this test to find out what religion I am and here are my top ten:

1. Mormon (real shocker there)
2. Jehovah's Witness
3. Orthodox Quaker
4. Baha'i Faith (what is this?)
5. Mainline Christian/Protestant
6. Mainline Liberal Christian Protestants
7. Orthodox Judaism
8. Sikhism
9. Liberal Quakers
10. Seventh Day Adventist

Hmmm...I feel like I could have predicted the majority of those without taking a test.

Culver

This weekend my quiz bowl team and I went to Culver, Indiana for a tournament. My team took second place. I found it somewhat ironic that we drove four hours simply to lose to Catholic Central twice. I'm OK with losing to them though because they have a good team. Plus they make me want to study more. Currently I'm working on poetry, Java script terms, and science terms. And art but I'm always working on art... On our way there, we came to several conclusions, including the following:

I am Mussolini. Fettuccine! Alfredo! Spaghetti!
Andrea is Hitler, Samantha is Hirohito, Emily is Stalin, and I forget who Kirtana is.
Adolf Hitler was the chancellor of the bathroom.
Hypochondria is synonymous with hypothermia.
The majority of countries that begin with the letter "A" end in the letter "A".
The Crystal Palace is shiny and wonderful.
Ninjas are probably the coolest thing ever.
Peter is really really good at 24.

Overall, it was fun. I played OK, not really great though. I got a great buzz on Edward Hopper. He's one of my favorite artists. That's all for now....

Video Killed the Radio Star

I'm listening to the song Video Killed the Radio Star by the Bugles and all of the sudden it hit me.

I've always thought this song to be completely arbitrary. I would just listen to it and bob my head cause it's a good song. But then the whole meaning of the song just came to me. Video actually killed the radio [star]. It was meant so literally I almost felt blind. With new technology the obsolete is quickly set aside- it no longer has the glamour it once held. Radio didn't have this awe-some grip on listeners anymore. Instead video and television stole the spotlight. Sure, radio is still around but now it's just there. There's nothing really special about it. It just became another form of media.

Mark Twain once said something similar. He wrote this piece about how when he first came to the Mississippi, it had this mystical, inspiring, unknown beauty to him. It was simplistic but it absolutely captivated him. However, he says, with time and experience came knowledge. When he looked up toward the sky he no longer saw shape-shifting clouds. He only saw what tomorrow's weather would be like: rainy, clear, overcast, etc. He no longer looked at the swirling current of the river and saw beauty-he saw what it was like, how strong it was, which direction it was going and was it beneficial for the boat? He goes on to further say that doctors, with all of their education and knowledge, do they see the beauty in the blush of a girl's cheek or do they see a hint, some umbrage to a possible illness? I suppose Twain's point was: is knowledge really worth it? Without knowledge, people take more pleasure in the natural, simplistic beauties of life. The world isn't complicated, there isn't a scientific reason for the clouds being wispy or ominous. It just is.

With the invention of the video, radio lost its appeal. There was something new, something better. More advances were made and people now no longer saw the beauty in the blush of a young girl. There's nothing wrong with moving forward, gaining more knowledge. It can do a lot of good in this world. But we shouldn't simply forget the old things. There's a certain nostalgia that is always there; a loving sense of youth.

A New Year

There was never any more inception than there is now,

Nor any more youth or age than there is now,

And will never be any more perfection than there is now,

Nor any more heaven or hell than there is now.

-"Song of Myself" by Walt Whitman

If there's one thing I don't completely get, it's the New Year. Why do so many people make such a big deal out of the New Year? What's all the hoopla about? I guess it's because it signifies the end of one year and the beginning of a new one. There's this quote from Anne of Green Gables and it goes something along the lines of "tomorrow is fresh with no mistakes in it...yet." I suppose that's how some people think of the New Year. Like Walt Whitman says, there's really not the huge of a difference between this past year and 2009. What's different is us. Everyone starts out with good intentions, New Year's resolutions are set in stone and they will be kept this year. It seems like they hardly ever are though. I don't even make New Year's resolutions. People always talk about turning over a new leaf. But what if I like the leaf I'm on? What if I'm ok with the way I am? I'm the kind of person that seeks for a change as I go along and find a better alternative. I don't make big goals for myself simply because I know 80% of the time I won't keep them, I won't truly achieve them. It's just a different digit at the end of 200, it's just a future that's quickly becoming your present. No big difference, really.

Anyway. Here are some 'highlights' from '08:

*Back surgery

*Physical therapy

*Turning 16 which is the worst age ever

*Luke getting his mission call and going to Hiroshima!

*Spending more time with Clayton than pretty much anyone else...

*The Dark Knight, The Spirit, Prince Caspian, Ghost Town, Iron Man= all great movies

*The election and rearranging election signs

*Ap Euro which is pretty much the best class I've ever taken

What are some of your highlights?

Favorite... Underrated (Semi-Famous) Person

So I'm stealing one from MasterTheory. (Sorry?)
Mine:
Mildred Taylor
Status: Author of some of the best books ever (i.e. The Land, Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry)
What's yours?

Frustrated

This week has been very frustrating. For multiple reasons. Including people. And mendacity. Heavens above, I feel like Brick, Betram Pincus, and George Bailey all meshed into one. I hate this society that I'm in, this world that is just so...bound. I could very easily be a hermit, someone who avoids or just doesn't make contact with other people. Why do people have to be so disappointing? (I believe MasterTheory blogged about this...)
But anyway I saw The Spirit and I really liked it. It's a neo-noir and films noir are my favorite, neo or regular. I have also discovered that Gabriel Macht is lethal when he speaks French.
Christmas was fun. We did Meals on Wheels Christmas morning which is an organization that delivers meals to people in Detroit who are home-bound, mainly elderly people. It was an interesting experience and just reiterates the fact that I'm lucky to live in the place I do.
Happy Holidays and have a Happy New Year.

Thanks...

...to Andrea G. for the new layout. I love it. And I think it's super cool that she knows how to do stuff like this. Thanks a bunch!

(p.s. When did you want to have an Office marathon??)