The Topic of Great Randomness

[Gryphon]

I voted today!

I originally wasn't intending on posting today, but I read Kli's post, and I'd like to declare that I am an official American. And yes, cynicism of the American political system exists in my heart, but what can we do?

Anyway, I called a couple of my friends, and they didn't even know they could vote. >< You don't need to be 18 to vote for the primaries; you just need to be a registered voter and 18 in time for the presidential. (so I wish I had made them register over the weekend >< ) I don't know if this is true across America, but it is in my state.

Yayy life is good. I am content. Today, I had art club, and my friend recruited me to be on her team for a cake decorating contest. I don't know how to cook... >< but I bet doing art on the cake is fun.

And we debated through IR and over lunch too (and not even about politicians -- we did that throughout all day and even as I drove a couple of friends home XD). I've been largely dissatisfied with my international relations (IR) class because there is no discussion. Or if there ever is, it's generally one sided. The teacher asks questions for the sake of persuading the class to see her view (and then is upset when people disagree). It's like Socratic irony, except I don't like it. Anyway, genuine discussion = good

And people always make me smile

*happy happy*

Supposedly there's a new house tonight too! And maybe I can volunteer at the bunny shelter this weekend.

Adds:

marina:
You know, schools and getting rid of Saddam Hussein and such-like.

lol... because no one knows that Saddam was hung by a noose. O.o I'm pretty sure that got a lot of coverage. XD I wouldn't consider that a good thing... more of a glorification of brutal and publicly-supported killing. Anyway, I believe there were no logical reasons for entering the war. I am disgusted whenever 9/11 is and was mentioned in the context of Iraq. There is no connection. Entering and destabilizing a country does not fly over well with international public relations, and thus stirs up the fundamentalist terrorists even more. It's like we're feeding the radicals. And however revolting the human rights may have been, it could still claim stability. And, well, we also angered the general rest of the world because we ignored the wishes of the UN and other countries which isn't so trivial.

So I mean, beginning this war was a disaster in every possible way. We had more important concerns at the time (ie: anyone remember Osama in Afghanistan?), and, well, I explained the consequences. However, since that initial explosion, we have been making gradual progress. That much is true. Furthermore, we also cannot just leave. We have an obligation to patch up to the best of our ability the country that we so thoroughly screwed up. Assuming democracy is the ultimate and best system, we will be doing them a favor, but mindsets are hard things to change (which this will require). To have a democracy, we need peace, and if people are too afraid to speak their minds, well, you can see how that doesn't work.

Aiia, I think that's enough for now.

[Garrett Fitzgerald]

Originally posted by marina salem:
Once upon a time, I did consider protesting the complete inability of every candidate to run this country by not voting, but killed that notion dead, because though they say that your vote DOES matter, it doesn't really, because there's so many other voting Americans out there who think the same thing that I become obsolete and not worthy of being paid attention to. With 50 states and too many people, one little protest by omission isn't worth nothing.

And what was the margin between Bush and Gore in Florida in 2000? That election should have permanently put to bed the notion that "my vote doesn't matter".

People say bad things about Bush and the war in Iraq, and I suppose there are some, but the media covers none of the good changes that have gone on over there since this began. You know, schools and getting rid of Saddam Hussein and such-like.

UNESCO, on their Education in Iraq page, says:

The Education system in Iraq, prior to 1991, was one of the best in the region, with over 100% Gross Enrolment Rate for primary schooling and high levels of literacy, both of men and women. The Higher Education, especially the scientific and technological institutions, were of an international standard, staffed by high quality personnel.

Remind me again what we did for the school system there?

the "18 and Oh No" Patriots.

I've decided to rejoice in the "18 and Oh", even if it ended with a "No". It was a great year. :-)

Finally, I apologize for setting off the "filters of doom". I didn't know that the common word for the hot, scary Underworld is a trigger. In the future I shall mind my tongue.

Oh, don't worry about it. You'll notice I didn't edit it in your original post: just in the part I quoted, in case someone responded and left that section in.

[jwiz]

I can't vote, and I'm not real big on politics... so it's probably a good thing I can't vote yet!
Instead of voting, I took the CAHSEE (CA High School Exit Exam) and it was soo simple and easy...
So, now my question is: If they make us take it in SOPHOMORE year, and we pass, shouldn't that mean we don't really have to take any more high school? Cause that's a requirment to graduate, so if it's that easy, we're still going to school cause...?
Not that I care. I kinda like school. And the longer I'm in MY high school, the more free college I get to take. So maybe, if I work extra hard over the next two years, I can graduate with my diploma AND AA degree... there are actually a lot of our students who do. My friend Bus is trying to. She's about half-way there too.

[Emi]

As much as I like John McCain I'm sort of pulling for Obama. Unfortunately I can't vote!!! Two more years. Lucky Gryph!!!

quote:
the "18 and Oh No" Patriots.


I've decided to rejoice in the "18 and Oh", even if it ended with a "No". It was a great year. :-)

I still love the Pats!! Even though we lost the big game!

Hmmm... I was going to say something... Grrr.. I can't remember! Oh! I had my Advanced studies program interview today. I think it did pretty good. Hopefully I get in! I'm so nervous!!!

What else... uh, my sister is going to NC for a "business-like" trip. She owns her own t-shirt company and she goes to conventions to sell them. So, she'll be leaving tomorrow morning!! It's going to be a little weird having her not be here. Hmmm.

Hey, to think ahead of time I'm going to have to sing a song from a Modern Broadway... So any suggestions? I'm thinking Music of the Night from Phantom of the Opera but I'm not sure if that's classic or modern.

Dai!

[seabiscuit1009]

Well...good news: my school won a lot of money for prom this year! So tickets will only be $25 (they used to be $60 per person, which isn't a lot compared to some schools I've heard, but still...) So that's the exciting news.

The not exciting news: I got my merit scholarship today from the school I want to go to. Ok, so on their website, they say the scholarship ranges from $10,000 to $16,000 per year; however, I was awarded $5,000 per year, which really sucks/makes no sense. (this is a scholarship you get just for having a certain GPA.) BUT (there's always a but) I also had applied for this other scholarship that has higher standards for GPA and ACT scores, and you have to write an essay for it. Nothing in that letter mentions that scholarship, so I'm wondering if that means I didn't get it (they said that if I didn't get it, they wouldn't contact me about it.) But it's sort of a different sort of scholarship, so...I don't know, maybe they mail it separately? I guess I'm just seriously worried, since there's no other way to even reasonably explain only being awarded $5,000 based on my grades and test scores. Basically, I really need merit scholarships to help pay for college if I go there (which I intend to) and if I don't get them...I'm in big trouble. And it's making me really nervous/sad/scared as a result. This is why they tell you never to get your heart set on one school, I guess. But you know, it's hard not to if you really like the school, and the people at the school.

It's been raining hard here for the last day or so. It's nice, I like the rain, although my backyard is flooded right now. Alright...going to go take a nap, since I only got 4 hours of sleep due to homework and then waking up early to go to Ash Wednesday mass.

[Garrett Fitzgerald]

Originally posted by Emi:
Hey, to think ahead of time I'm going to have to sing a song from a Modern Broadway... So any suggestions? I'm thinking Music of the Night from Phantom of the Opera but I'm not sure if that's classic or modern.

I'd say that's modern. Evita would be borderline, and Sound of Music would be right out. :-) You could always do "I'm Not That Girl" from Wicked, if you want to be sure you're modern...

One of my LJ friends got to see one of Idina's last performances as Elphaba. I'm so jealous. It's funny: at the time, I hadn't heard any of the songs from Wicked, so I didn't really know why she was raving about it. Then one day, I was listening to the Show Tunes channel on Comcast On Demand when "Defying Gravity" came on. It caught my attention almost immediately, and by the end, my jaw was hanging open. Good God, but that woman can sing...

[Rubywolf]

Me and a group of three girls won a national art compatition. We won two thousand dollars for the school. It'll go to our trip to egypt.

What's Wicked about?

[Garrett Fitzgerald]

What's Wicked about?

It's about the life and times of the Wicked Witch of the West -- who's actually fighting for freedom against the tyrannical Wizard. It's really good -- you should look both the original novel and the cast recording up. Preferably in that order, but "Defying Gravity", at least, can pretty well stand alone.

Congratulations on the art contest! Is your entry posted anywhere?

[Rubywolf]

Well, that sounds interesting. I used to own the book, but never read it for some odd reason. And then I lent the book away, and I never got it back.


No, the piece isn't posted anywhere. It's a doll house showing the effects of a violent household. We made everything. The furniture, the house, everything.

[seabiscuit1009]

Originally posted by Garrett Fitzgerald:

What's Wicked about?

It's about the life and times of the Wicked Witch of the West -- who's actually fighting for freedom against the tyrannical Wizard. It's really good -- you should look both the original novel and the cast recording up. Preferably in that order, but "Defying Gravity", at least, can pretty well stand alone.

Just a warning; the book has a few mature scenes, and is definitely an adult book, not a teen one. (I don't know everyone's ages, but I read the book 2 weeks ago and am having visions of younger members reading it and being a bit weirded out by it.) I did love the book, however. Can't wait to see the musical-less than 2 weeks until I do!

That's so cool about the art contest Ruby! Congrats!

I just realized that I watched almost none of the Superbowl. I walked in the room during halftime and listened to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers sing Free Fallin', and then walked out again. Heh. Guess I should go look up the commercials on the Internet then, since they're the highlight of February.

Today felt like a Friday. I wish it was Friday; I can't wait for this week to be over. Besides my school winning $30,000 for prom, absolutely nothing good has happened yet this week. So, I guess I need some good luck today or tomorrow, to turn it around.

I'm waiting for my mom to get home, since she called the admissions people from the college I want to go to today to ask about my scholarship. I...I really hope they made a mistake, because I can't go to that school without a scholarship. It's about $36,000 a year, and with only $5000 in scholarship a year, that would still be $31,000 a year to pay. And I can't pay that much per year; it's crazy. It's so frusterating, since all anyone talks about at school anymore is college, and how much they can't wait to go.

I found my rain boots today though. I love them; they're blue, and I rarely have an excuse to wear them, but I still love them. There we go, one good positive thing that's happened this week; I found my boots. XD

[Emi]

Hungry I know what you mean about the Friday thing. It really felt like Friday today... I had a delayed opening. Oh and congrats on the Scholarship.. Even though it's only $5,000 dollars, it's still something... I hope you get more!

Um... Garrett! Thanks for the suggestion. I haven't seen Wicked yet, but I'll totally look up that song. I heard Defying Gravity on the radio awhile back and I think that's such a good song.

Congrats Ruby on your piece!!

Ah, Today we did this taste testing thing in my Intro to Social Sciences and Psychology class. We had to be blindfolded and plug our nose when he gave us a piece of food on a toothpick. The first thing was Romano cheese. YUCK! I felt like throwing up! And we had some other yucky tasting stuff but my favorites were the orange, grapes, sugar cube, and an orange mike and ike. Haha. It was very interesting. We're going to do more stuff tomorrow because the class was short from the delay.

I'm wicked excited! My basketball team gets to go to play offs this year!! Woo hoo! We're probably going to end up playing the top seed, but still... We're going out to Uno's tomorrow after our last regular season game. We only have one senior, so we're having a little party for her. It's going to be fun.

I have to sing for VW on Tuesday... "All You Wanted". I think I have it down.. now I just have to start moving around when I sing it. We need to do that because "Pop singers don't just stand still on the stage." Greeaat. At least we get a mic this time around. Haha.

I get to go grocery shopping tomorrow. My mom's super busy, and since I have D-block off, so I volunteered my services. Hehee... now I can pick up all the food I like. Such a crafty little person.

Oh, but I do need to start finding some place to get some Community service hours in! Ahhh.. NHS is going to kill me slowly.

I also need a new book... I'm recently rereading a book for the fourth time? I think... It's kind of bad because it's short and I know what already happened in the end. Plus this story makes me want to pee really bad. Haha... It's about this girl who has premonitions about her friend getting killed, and in her dreams she always has to pee. Yeah.. it's called "Blue Is For Nightmares" by Laurie F. Stolarz, read it if you want.

Alrighty that's all.

[Kathy Li]

Ok, how happy am I that Apple decided to spotlight Robert Lang? He's really cool. If you have the chance to attend a lecture by him, I say grab it. And now I can play with TreeMaker.

[vashmata]

Originally posted by kli6:
Ok, how happy am I that Apple decided to spotlight Robert Lang? He's really cool. If you have the chance to attend a lecture by him, I say grab it. And now I can play with TreeMaker.

Robert Lang? I think he came to Montréal some time during the summer. I was thinking of going but I never got around to it. I saw some of his amazing works in the newspaper. It's amazing what he can do - I'm good at origami, but boy, he's way out of my league. He uses math and geometry to make amazing origami. I wonder how long it'll take for me to make this?

Hmm... Maybe I said amazing too many times. You can replace it with spectacular, and as my Hebrew teacher likes to say, phenomenal.

[kk]

He uses math and geometry to make amazing origami. I wonder how long it'll take for me to make this?

I once tried making one of those, but it didn't work out too well. It took awhile, and kept trying to unfold, but it was fun!

[wolf_wizard]

I whited this out so that people don't get angry or anything because of my political views... <span class="ev_code_WHITE">Actually, if i could vote (not that I can) I think i'd vote for Hilary or Obama... I don't really like the idea of people not having access to abotion, because I think it's their decision... *ducks head from people throwing rotten vegetables at* but I'm no where near old enough to vote yet...</span> just wanted to state my opinion, as everyone else is...