me at the end

Unfortunately, most media following a high-school aged protagonist is not centered around Senior year.  Freshmen year being the most prevalently covered, with Sophomore year for tv shows simply out of convinience(less formal introductions, quicker).  Senior year themed ones typically deal with some sort of steady change from Freshman to Senior year, or centered around a party.  Occasionally, there is some sort of "what to do next" question.  However, for most people here, it's pretty straightforward.  I can assume most of those in this class will go to college next year. 
Me at the end? I don't really think so.  My life would be under the sitcom or dramatic comedy category, so the only real end is of the setting and supporting characters.  There will be a definate change, and old characters may be reintroduced later, but for the most part this new season will feature all types of new things.  I haven't changed anything about myself in quite a while, I'm just a static character.  The me at the end is the same me at the beginning.  I haven't changed, only experianced more. 
Now media that continues from high-school years on through college typically aren't great, and usually can't maintain the same level of comedy or whatever.  Mainly due to the change in surroundings, even if the character remains the same and those added fulfill the same characteristics needed to balance everything.  So I'm hoping this will completely be something new, with new types of people, not to fulfill the characters that appeared over the high-school years.  Grade school years was a really bad story, but really important for development later.  High school years had a huge change and were pretty good, pretty typical though.  College years I'll definately perfect it, or maybe a bit after.  But still, experiance is helping a pretty good deal. 
This is not me at the end, this is me at the start.  This is not a coming of age story.  My background story should be over either by now, or soon. 


long post/rant

letter to the prospective student

Sup prospective student

So if they do the same blogs every year, how come we’ve never seen this kind of letter?  Did we not have students do this before, or were they like, just never shown.  Anyways, to give you a little preview of what we learn in this class, today we discussed Nyan Cat and hot Bulgarians.  So yeah, if you want some of that, this class, right here.  I bet our teacher just like, withdrew all of these letters to us because they were like this one, and don’t really talk about teaching at all.  Not like anyone besides him checks the blogs, but maybe just a precaution. 

We can basically say whatever we want here, because we can, and it’s seen as a different perspective.  And different perspectives are really valued I guess-even if they’re wrong.  So sometimes we can just troll the whole class, all period.  But anyways, it’s a good class, so take it. 

I'll come bust in your class one day, so expect it!
--Eric Klein

Thoughts about earlier thinking

I have not changed.  My way of thinking, my goals, they have not changed.  What has changed has been my experiances, and what I've learned to do or avoid to get what I want.  For the most part, these were not drastic things either.  What has always fit me still works for me, I have no need for any change in how I think.  I'm a fairly static character, I've been the same way all throughout high school.  How I've shown what I'm thinking may have changed, but not the thoughts in themselves.  Unless something happens, I am sure I will remain the same in my path of thinking, and unchanging in general.

surrounded by cuckoos, but I was the crazy one

"In a mad world, only the mad are sane."  Like an episode of The Twilight Zone, difference in a single person, from that person's point of view, is madness.  You know who's really crazy, only because you are in your own state of mind.  You will never understand their world, and neither will they to yours.  Everyone is different, everyone has problems, everyone thinks differently.  But to fit in the most, thats the goal right?  Theres nothing wrong with conforming a little bit.  Go against what you believe, what you feel, and learn to feel love.  Can you convince people to a position having nothing in common with them and not being able to relate to them?  Of course not.  Splashing black paint into a white wall will only inspire those who see it to get rid of the black paint, while pouring white paint onto your wet black splotch on the wall will dilute the color- and no one will notice it.  And even though no one notices, you notice.  A change has been made, and perhaps things are different.  Now you can continue to add layers and layers of black splotches with the now diluted white paint, and change it completely eventually.  You can have a black wall, and none will be the wiser, as it will have originally been that white color. 

Alone and Together

"Every living creature dies alone".  Everyone is seperate.  And everyone dies alone.  Which is why one should live life together with others.  When the time comes, it doesn't matter if someone dies without anyone around him in an alley, or surrounded by loved ones in a hospital.  No matter what happened in life, as soon as you start to end you are deserted.  No one can follow you, and no one should.  I'm sure I'm not the only one who wants to be remembered by what happened before the thing that leads up to my death and not my final words.  What you do beforehand really shows who you are, dispite how you felt about everything. Whether you choose to reveal true intentions is up to you, depending on motive.  Fooling people in life, together, and being honest while dying, alone.  Keep up a mask.  It's fine if no one knows, we all die alone.                              

save the earth

Unless things get really bad, no real action will be taken to :save the earth'.  Sure there will continue to be the little hipster movements about riding a bike or being vegan or whatever, butI'm talking about something that will actually help.  Punishments, while sometimes harsh, are rarely enforced.  In a day, I could dump every piece of trash I have and have absolutely nothing happen.  It's not even a threat enough that I would have to go out of my way to hide it, it still remains easier than simply throwing the trash out most of the time.  Now, don't misunderstand- I don't litter.  It's not that I care about saving the earth more or less than any other daily occurance- I simply find it repulsive.  Walking around, and seeing trash on the ground, disgusting.  Though trash cans have definately been improved in terms of how they look in the city, they still represent a disposal area.  If at every corner there was simply a disposal area comprised of a slick metal door on the ground, I'm sure that would be more effective. It's not only the trash itself that are littering the city. The trash cans, which are filled with it, are they much better?  You wouldn't want to have garbage at every corner, so how is having a great big collected pile much better?  Sure, it's contained, but it's still out in the open.  Now the personal ones in alleys, thats a good idea.  Not only do they not look as bad, the bright blue ones for recycling draw your attention for anyone actually LOOKING to throw something out.  Not only that, they are in the alleys, not presented for everyone while trying to display something else as well. 

Invisible

I was considering leaving this blank, and saying my entry was invisible, but the decrease in my grade might overwhelm the lame humor.  So actually, my friends and I were discussing this the other day during lunch.  started out as a "would you rather" question, as "Would you rather be invisible all the time, or invisible only some times, but not be able to control when you are/aren't?"  I thought the answer was quite obvious- invisible all the time.  If it only happens some of the time, I really couldn't take advantage of being invisible.  I could still be judged accordingly for my appearance, kind of like the Invisible Man.  That was a terrible "Would you rather" by the way, not sure why that one came up, I'm not sure anyone would choose that second choice over the first.  Being actually physically invisible might make you less "invisible" in a sense that its something new. 

A book to read- ranttttttt

Given the choice, I think anyone in the room would far rather watch the movie version of a book over reading the physical book.  Movies simply engage more senses than a book, and one can get far more into it than a book.  Having already had everything set up for you, how things look and sound and such, people are far more inclined to be lazy and no longer read.  Its a fact: books are work. They are reminicent of school and forced readings decrease pleasure.  If one was forced to watch boring movies for school, I'm sure that the enjoyment in watching movies regularly would be dereased to some degree.
Not that I'm on the side of books or anything.  No, I'm definately one of the people I described, who would far rather watch a movie.  Before writing this, I was trying to think of a book to recomend, but the last book I started (the girl with the dragon tattoo) I haven't picked up in quite a while dispite my enjoyment of the novel.  So rather than a book to read, a movie to watch takes its place

Movie Review

The movie I have chosen is simply because I want to get a new name out there.  Said name is Antonio Campos.  As a director, his only real work is an indie film called Afterschool.  Now, I'm not normally a fan of indie films- at all.  But Campos's intriguing directing style made me rewatch this (actually fairly dull) movie over again. When I say the movie is dull, I simply mean it takes a person with patience to appreciate it, you really have to get involved in the viewing.  However, when you do, every emotion portrayed seems magnified, and you truely feel what he wants you to.  Seeing what the maker of a movie wants you to see- thats the main appeal of a movie.  In written forms of media, your mind only sees a wide angle of the scene.  However, Campos uses angles I had never seen attempted in a movie, not even really making use of the camera that the main character carries with him.  Instead, he focuses on what really holds importance in each scene, or rather, doesn't at all.  Taking not into account the visual senses, he brings on lengthly silences that only encourage the moods.  Avoiding showing the actual shot until the last moment, your always left wondering.  The movie itself is comparable to a more emotional, dull version of 'Brick'.  It doesn't have the wit, or the fast paced put-it-together-yourself type plot, but it also doesn't hold the predicatability or false way of speaking or acting that made Brick so popular.  Antonio Campos is surely one to look out for, and I really look forward to seeing something else by him that moved me to his will.  

Art Review

An artist I have been familiar with since a young age has been French Post-Impressionist painter Paul Cezanne.  His work has always appealed to me, putting out amazing landscapes with such simplistic color schemes while never taking an unneccesary brush stroke.  He never seems to take anything in a new direction, always just painting things as they are. He doesn't try to improve on anything, and can see the beauty in imperfections.  In a lighthearted mood very calm situations, but can also brings out the ruggedness when going for a darker circumstance. 
The use of contrast in his individual pieces is very little, but hold two of his pieces together and observe the  contrast of pure emotions.

We have the right to choose

     We will always have the right to choose.  And like this, we will also have the right to abandon all of these choices.  Most situations are divided into two choices, but they don’t have to be.  We have all the choices we allow ourselves to have.  If you limit what you may do, you have chosen, in a way, to forfeit your choices.  But remove the limiter, and you have a whole new world of solutions for your decisions.  Think outside the box! If you’re trapped in a room with only one door, you may only stay or go right?  If a person tells you to do one or the other, are you really making a decision by yourself? Then ignore them!  Do what you feel!  It doesn’t even have to be either of those choices, tear down half the wall and sit in between!   

     You may do whatever you like, and you should enjoy that freedom.  You have this right, to create a choice that wasn’t there in the first place.  You can choose one of what is presented in front of you, but is that really freedom?  People are going to impact that decision no matter what.  That person that sways you to leave may be inviting you to leave, but if you stay, you might still be doing what they wanted.  After all, their voice is still going to impact your decision.  You have the right to choose.

McCarthy Bday!

Happy birthday Mr. McCarthy!  Not sure what philosophical spin I could put on this.  So, you mentioned birthday WEEK though.  I always thought that was weird, when people count all of that.  Like, doesn’t that mean that if everyone’s is like that, don’t they overlap?  Even still, the person whose birthday its closer to would have first say in stuff right?  Not sure, can’t say I’ve ever had one of those weird overlaps, or no ones ever really cared enough to mention it. 

People are so touchy about age.  Like, I wonder at what point people stop saying they are older than they are and start saying they are younger than they are.  Its considered rude to ask someone old their age, but at what point do people start caring about it.  Mr. McCarthy you don’t really seem like a person that would be sensitive about their age, seeing as you have no problem asking people their address and giving out yours and such.  Maybe we’ll ask on Tuesday.  We’ll see I guess.  Happy birthday!

X is found

     X is found.  This can be either a good or bad thing, depending on who found it.  Say you found it, is it yours to begin with?  What is X to begin with?  X can be anything, as long as it is important to someone.  No need to hide something which does not need to be hidden. 

     Finding something hidden should always be exciting.  Just the thought that it could be valuable to someone, or detrimental to someone, should make X a thrilling search for an opportunity.  If someone finds your X, if someone reveals your X, it’s going to be interesting.  You’re going to have some excitement no matter what, either positive or negative.  

     So why hide X in the first place?  Can you not keep it yourself?  Maybe it’s something that is only important later, as opposed to now.  It is only important that it is kept hidden.  Once X is found, it is revealed.  No matter if it is one person or one hundred, it is revealed.  How something happens or why does not matter, only that it did. 

X marks the spot

     Pirates?  Not really sure.  X marks the spot is a pretty clichéd saying, and you’d think that pirates would recognize after a while that if they keep on using the same mark for their treasure spot, someone else might find it as well.  Might as well mix it up a little bit, throw some O’s there for good measure.  Makes me wonder if there were just like illegal banks back then.  Kind of a decent idea, just like a regular bank in public, but then it holds all this laundered money particularly from pirates.  I mean, they probably couldn’t prevent too many stick ups of said “bank”, but if they could I mean.  Beats digging holes and having other people find it for sure. 

Album Review

     The last full album I listened to was Year Zero, by the group Nine Inch Nails.  Five of the sixteen tracks on the album are fairly well known by the public, but for the most part each song on the album is public worthy.  “The Beginning of the End”, “Survivalism”, “Capital G”, “The Great Destroyer” and “Meet Your Master” are the strongest tracks, and have received a fair amount of praise.  Some songs, such as “Zero Sum”, “The Greater Good”, and “Another Version of the Truth”, seem to drag on, leading only to disappointment after the buildups with dreary and inconsistent choruses. 

     By the standards of the man behind the project, Trent Reznor, the album is very unlike any other albums he has done before.  The album seems less experimental, and appears to follow more set song structures.  Year zero tries to appeal to every angle, not particularly focusing on one sound over another, though the drone and laptop-type electronic sharp tunes contrast against one another in almost every song.  It is far less instrument-based than his earlier album, simply and purely set noise, often blurring to set an interesting contrast.

     The songs are sudden, and definitely not something to simply relax to.  With its art rock influences, it keeps one aware the entire album.  One cannot deny the brilliance of Trent Reznor, a pioneer in the genre. The amount of care put in each song is evident, unlike some of his other, more experimental work (at one point, he had released four albums worth of music all at once, completed in only a couple months).  All in all, a wonderful album that has surely gotten well deserved recognition.

I know this means something

In fifty years, who knows what this world will be like? Will it even exist anymore? Will we?

     Maybe none of that is really important.  The thing that really matters, the thing I know means something, is that everything is remembered.  What happened in the past may not affect those that live on in the future, we couldn’t possibly know that.  But what does matter is that at the very least, things are portrayed, and known.  If something is forgotten, it is as if it never existed.  It seems disrespectful to me, more than that even. If we change how things are remembered, we change their perceptions, and how things happen or are supposed to. 

     How things are perceived are different depending on the viewer.  And likewise, how something is remembered varies from person to person or society to society.  However, the facts can be recited through memory, and have the perceptions of others judge the event or such.  Things being recorded are useless if the knowledge will not be remembered.  Everything that happens should be remembered, even if only by a single person at a time.  

Good food review

     The last real restaurant I visited(not for class) would be Piazza Bella.  I think you might have mentioned it the other day, but I had gone on New Year’s Eve before going out.  While this place always has its setbacks (this particular time the table was located right next to the constantly-opening door), it is always a nice experience.  Unfortunately, going out with my family certainly always means that it takes several hours to get out the door.  This also means that upon arriving, my sister and I will fill up on bread before the meal begins.

     Even so, it is a great Italian restaurant, having a very unique sauce that is put on just about everything.  Almost always, my family orders the same thing each time.  Not messing with tradition, we do this, and pass dishes between one another.  If I was mistaken, and you did not already go, I would recommend going there when you next get a chance.  It’s a good solid meal, and defiantly a good place for family. 

King still King

     In this day and age, there are many characters and figures who inspire the young and oldwith tales of how they came to change the course of history.  A prime example is the late Martin Luther King Jr.  While I do believe there are many other people who deserve the same recognition and respect he does for his contributions, King is very well-deserving of his current role and display. 

     Now it seems to me that when a person dies for a justifiable cause, the cause is seen in another light.  People ignorant to it are now knowledgeable, and people already involved are more dedicated to the cause than ever.  It has always had more impact with the death of a person someone can relate to.  This is a large reason why he is so celebrated today. 

     He will truly live on, and hopefully people will begin to recognize others of equal impact on the world.  No matter how controversial, some people are just great, and deserve the respect of all. 

Globalization

     People are encouraged to look at globalization from a certain standpoint.  But who are we to decide that it is good or bad.  I’m sure that if I asked what one felt about it, they would disapprove, but take a certain aspect from globalization, and all of a sudden it turns into something great.  People take it for granted, take a look around.  Your pencil, your computer, most of everything around you, where was it made? If the answer is other than America, then imagine these things gone.  Unhappy?  Globalization doesn’t seem nearly as bad now, right?

     Your priorities, your patriotism.  If America was a third world country, holding no power, do you think it would be pleasant to live here? People continue to talk down globalization, but this is only until everything brought by it disappears.  In other countries, one might not have the same freedoms, to say whatever you want about it, to have it published somewhere. 

     We are very lucky, to be so accepting of others.  To not be ignorant of cultures, we share with globalization.  You would not be able to carry on your everyday life without it, everyone is surely better with it.  People simply need to acknowledge it.  I was easily able to look up globalization, see other’s views on it, put out my own view of it, and publish my work.  This is the work of globalization.

Thankful for a classmate

     I am thankful for all of my classmates; each one’s unique opinions bring a different outlook to the class’s discussions.  That each is humorous in their own way, and care about the others.  I’m not going to name anyone specifically, because it is not really a matter of one person over another.  People should recognize that someone in the class is grateful for them, for their existence and contributions. 

     My classmates are all very special people in their own way, and I believe that despite the arguments and having to choose one particular person, everyone in the class is thankful for everyone else.  In some way or another, seen or unseen, we all appreciate each other to the fullest extent.  If a single person is missing, than the group is incomplete.  The balance is shifted, and of course things won’t be the same. 

     I can’t choose just a single person.  No one’s contributions are more valuable than another’s, simply different.  It is these differences that make the class special, the classmates make the class.  Most of the time, it is not the material from the class, but the how the material is taken and changed by the people in the class.

Defend the Poet

Born like this
Into this

     This opening phrase describe the author’s feelings in five words, there’s bound to be nothing positive after them.  While at first it would seem simple to agree with the poet, one can’t help but support the morality of humanity while reading this.  As people in our society cannot see the horrors that this poem describes, it is too easy to just assume that people are better than that. 

     However, just because we can’t see this does not mean it doesn’t happen.  We can take the smaller things the poem says, and assume the larger things are true as well.  “Into hospitals which are so expensive that it’s cheaper to die” and “Into a place where the masses elevate fools into rich heroes” are far more relatable for people like us than the future predictions of the poet.  We may not see the reincarnation of Dante’s Inferno in everyday life, because people only see what they want to see, and what that is is the beauty of life. 

     Regardless of how one lives their life, one is bound to encounter sadness, suffering.  Regardless of class, people see these things.  Though it may be in different degrees, everything is relatable despite things that will be soon insignificant. 

“And there will be the most beautiful silence never heard.”

I'm a Shoe

     People forget that I am a necessity sometimes.  They pass me by, buying pairs to match their outfits or for a special purpose.  But people forget my original purpose.  I exist only to hold you, to protect you.  I get torn up and beaten for you, but people take more care now.  Only for the ones that originally looked good of course.  For one like me….one who was only made for that one purpose….I can’t possibly be treated kindly. 

     At the end of the month, I am always reshipped or repackaged in some way, so I can be sold.  But it never happens.  No matter how I am meant to be looked at, I am looked at with distain.  My store’s precious customers have taste, and I cannot sway them.  My one wish is to one day be donated.  For one that needs me, they must treat me greatly.  I can imagine now, a child picking me up, his first pair, his very own.  He no longer needs to carry various burdens; I can help him up as he helps me up.  The box is discarded, for my new, freer home. 

     When that day comes, I will be so eager.  Whoever picks me up I will dedicate my life to.  I am what I always will be, no matter what happens.  I will carry on my name with pride, as I hope they will as well.  I am old, but fresh and clean, and I have a dream.  I am a shoe. 

Winter Poem: Chillspikes

Cold, as Winter

Past the fall, the leaves of which no longer-cover

It’s branches, but are taken in bags.

Smothered in snow, and forgotten by all. 

Only to be replaced, the sense lost

Of frost, frozen Winter.

The lakes, a layer, crack upon the top and

The feeling of numb, all along the front. 

Snowflakes

Constantly falling and melting before reaching the ground. 

The cold that you feel, Chill spikes along your back

Stuck up inside all the time, a human’s hibernation. 

End of Winter.

Past the fun and miserable times, seem so far away

But wait, a breaks end is a new time’s beginning.

Most people don’t recognize, the warmth that is given

By this beginning, the end of Winter.