Month: November 2010

The iPhone Craze

yourgingerkidLeave a comment

Ever since the rumors of the iPhone developed, the iPhone has been the phone of phones. At least it has in my world
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For my birthday, I received my first apple product. My dad bought me a black iPhone 4. Needless to stay I was ecstatic, and the little gadget very quickly became a basic function of life for me. Everywhere I went it came in handy. When I needed directions back to school, it was there. When I needed YouTube and guitar tabs to learn a song, it was there. It’s practically come in handy with every situation that I have ever found myself in. Not to mention the thousand of applications available. I must say that I am a fan of “Pocket Frogs” and “Urban Spoon.” I don’t mean to broadcast apps for any certain reason either. I’m just saying that if you have the chance, their free and you should download them.

If you don’t have one now, I recommend you get one. They will be a fantastic new toy for anyone.

Remembering James Street

pikachu04Leave a comment

Screen shot 2010-11-02 at 8.34.18 PM
As we approach graduation, I can not help but think about one person who is no longer with us, but would be graduating with our class. James Street was my classmate at lower campus for several years. He was one of the brightest and happiest people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. James had a way with making people laugh, and he could always make you smile no matter what kind of day you were having.

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The Aussie Economy Surge

smackyjackjackLeave a comment

Good for some, and bad for pretty much everyone else, for the first time in history, the Australian dollar has risen above the American dollar. This is a bit of old news (about 2 weeks), but it deserves a lot of notoriety.  For the entire history of both countries, the Australian dollar has been the underdog. But due to a falter in America’s economy and a recent surge in Australia’s, it has happened.

 

The Aussie Currency.

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Obama to be in INDIA!

delhigossipLeave a comment

The people of India cannot begin to explain their enthusiasm about the current US president, Barack Obama, visiting India this Sunday. The security is being tightened around the capital, New Delhi, and the places he is to visit. Even the five star hotel in Delhi, Maurya Shelton, which will be the President’s residence for couple of days, has refused to rent rooms to others.   “Authorities are taking no chance with security measures and we are doing whatever is needed,” a senior police official said.

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Questions

theycallmedameLeave a comment


We’re asked questions everyday.

“What’s your name?”
“Did you bring the homework to class?”
“Are you going to finish that?”
“How are you today?”

Many of the questions we answer are pointless, but we choose to give extensive answers anyways.

“My name’s Harold, you see, because my great-great-great grandfather had this pet crocodile who…”
“Well, Mr. Smith, I didn’t bring my homework to class because, on my way over, I was attacked by a vicious…”
“Of course not, I’ve been counting my calories lately and…”
“I’m doing great! I got a new dog and I named it snuffles. Not because she snuffles a lot but because she…”

Why do we answer questions so thoroughly? Wait, don’t answer that.

One day, I want to ask someone the simple question of “why?”

“Why is your hair that color?”
“Why did you skip over here instead of walk?”
“Why does the human race need oxygen to survive?”

One day, when I ask that question, I don’t want them to answer with:

“My hair is this way because my DNA that I formed in my mothers womb…”
“I just saw this really cool movie where the main character only had the ability to skip because…”
“Well, when the lungs intake certain gasses…”

No, I want them to answer with:

“Why not?”

“Why is the sky blue?”
“Why not?”

Halloween Prank Taken Too Far

yrreskrapLeave a comment

Burning_Vehicle.jpg

October 29, 2010, just two more days until Halloween. It is 9:20 PM, and flames are calling out for attention. Soon, sirens are heard in the distance, shattering the cold, stifling miasma that surrounded the fiery mess. The students of UCSD were in for a surprise.

A burning SUV was found on Voigt Drive, juxtaposed to the UCSD baseball field. Police arrived at the scene to find a woman’s charred remains within the blackened vehicle. The woman’s identity and cause of death are yet unknown.

Could this incident be a horrible Halloween prank gone wrong? Did the minds of excited college students stretch the moral boundaries? Was this an accident, a life lost through an fortuitous event? Or was this woman’s life lost to cold blooded murder? We will not know until further information is released by the San Diego Police, but I believe that this event was indeed a Halloween prank taken too far.

Dia De Los Muertos

pikachu04Leave a comment

P1010184
On Friday , after lunch, my AP Spanish class headed down to the pool area to celebrate the Mexican holiday Dia De Los Muertos. Kids from lower campus came up as well, we integrated as a group and had fun learning about the culture behind Dia De Los Muertos.
This holiday celebrates both the fullness of life, and life after death. People bring flowers to the graves of their loved ones along with music to remember them. Their spirit is said to be present during the celebration, and families become reunited once again in happiness.
For our celebration we decorated sugar skulls with colored icing. Everyone had a lot of fun bringing out their artistic sides with the decorating. In addition, the spanish classes have created “offrendas” , or offerings, dedicated to loved ones that have been lost. The offerings and alters will be set up in the library in the next couple of days for people to pay respect, and visit. I think that we should do more activities like this because it brings together the upper and lower campuses in a fun way. Sometimes i feel like we stand so separately as campuses, and it is activities like this that bring us together as one “Ojai Valley School.”

Sorry.

theycallmedameLeave a comment

It is unfortunate, a tragedy. Girls and boys everywhere are put under a microscope, dissected and torn apart with no mercy. They are tormented because they are different.

Because they aren’t skinny enough.

Because they’re wardrobe consists of mostly black.

Because they have a stutter.

Because they like the same sex.

Because the world has decided on its picture of perfection, and the rest of us didn’t get a say in the final result.

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X-Woman

sennymcflyLeave a comment

We all enjoy a good laugh every once in a while. So, we result to looking up hilarious videos on Youtube or sometimes even look up weird news articles. Well, while I was searching for entertainment I stumbled upon what is probably the most unbelievable story I’ve read. But, here’s the thing, it’s the kind of unbelievable that’s so ridiculous you wonder if it could be true. You think, “There’s no way that’s real!” but, then that little voice in the back of head says, “How do you know it’s not?”

Here’s the story: A 40 year old woman from Indonesia is supposedly growing metal rods FROM HER BODY!

(Taken from funnymos.com)

Okay, take a second. Is your little voice going off? See! I’m not the only one. I mean what are we supposed to believe? The picture is right there! The article says that this woman has been growing these wires out of her for 18 years. She says that sometimes they will “retract back into her” and then pop up in a different area on her body.

It makes you wonder whether or not this woman staged the whole thing just to get recognized. Then it brings you back to the “Tree Man” who seems to literally be made up of tree trunks. So, maybe there is such thing as a metal filled woman who continues to grow such metal out of her skin. The article even says that doctors believe that this anomaly is not a publicity stunt, but a true story. How weird!!!!

Death and Art Value

vabenissimoLeave a comment

In the worldly beloved art museum of Louvre, there is an important rule strictly applied to all artists.

Every artist must die for over sixty years to have the masterpiece displayed.

This rule abandons the positive correlation between price and demand and most logics that we could possibly mention.

Then, why is it true that artistic value increases along with death?

The answer may be related to the discovery of veiled works after death like Emily Dickinson‘s findings, people’s preference for old genre, or successful estate planning.

Estate planning essentially ensures the art value for the artists. During this process, they are highly recommended to make a will with a careful selection of their artworks that have been evaluated professionally, to decide the management of these works for 70 years after their death, and to figure out a way to reduce the inheritance taxes.

However, the case with Vincent van Gogh who left the world without such plan divulges a mystery of dramatic increase in his artistic value.

Despite the high appraisal he receives from the world today, his death was lonely with unpopularity. Perhaps, his artworks were overly avant-garde to be appropriately appreciated during his lifetime like Leonardo Da Vinci’s previously infamous but revolutionary creation of wheel transportation.

In the midst of this ambiguity, the Louvre Museum continues oblige its artworks to belong to the dead artists.