Month: March 2011

A Lady In What?

Paloma SpencerLeave a comment

A lady-in-waiting.

Yep, that’s right.

And no, that does not mean a lady waiting in the line to the restroom or in any line perhaps.

A “lady-in-waiting” is the classic English term deemed for the right hand women of a royal princess.

In this case, I am referring to the British princess-to-be Kate Middleton. The upcoming wedding has brought about much interest in the royal family and specifically into the life and rule of Prince William’s beloved wife.

Serving as basically the princess’s assistant, this “lady in waiting” is responsible for handling mail and traveling with the royal family during official visits.

Past princesses have given this position to a close family member or friend. However, rumors have circulated that Kate will follow in the footsteps of Diana and bring in an expert in “castle culture” for the first few years before bringing in her own family.

For now, the famous pair of William and Kate are looking forward to their wedding day and acclaiming more and more fame for their soon-to-be lovely royal family.

Dangerous Water

weirdjennyLeave a comment

The recent earthquake in Japan has created a huge tsunami, which has already killed more than 10,000 people. And the death toll is increasing. We usually think of water as soothing and caressing. However, it can be surprisingly destructive. Imagine that there is a body of water that has the same volume as a car. This water body is nearly 1700 pounds! And when this water body is moving at 30 miles per hour, like the tsunaminulli

 

in Japan, it can be extremely dangerous. And when the tsunami happened, it is not only a car that runs over you, it is a fleet of them. In addition, the tsunami will also bring dirt, rocks, cars, and trees, which will largely increase it’s destruction. So even if the wave only comes up to the knees, the force is enough to knock a person down. According to Harry Yeh, a professor of ocean engineering at Oregon State University, the energy of the tsunami is only a little bit less than an atomic bomb. Despite of all these negative characteristic of water’s power, we use this enormous power to generate much electricity!

My Violent Torpedo of Truth/Defeat Is Not an Option Show

dmilesburton1 Comment


For those who don’t know, Charlie Sheen hold’s a world record. The fastest person ever to get one million Twitter followers. His time, 25 hours and 17 minutes.

Charlie Sheen, after being told that his show, or ex-show i should say, Two and a Half Men, was on sabbatical, decided to set up a series of TV and Radio interviews that made him seem, for lack of a better word, insane. (His quotes included things like “I got tiger blood man;” “I’m on a drug. It’s called Charlie Sheen;” and, when told people think he might be bi-polar, “I’m bi-winning.”)

And America loved it.

Charlie Sheen became a bigger star in these past couple weeks than he’s been for the past several years. His twitter currently has 2,716,721 followers, and now he has announced his newest endeavor, “My Violent Torpedo of Truth/Defeat Is Not an Option Show.”

That’s right, Charlie Sheen is going on tour.

Now if you’re almost any person ever, you’re probably wondering what Charlie Sheen could possibly do on tour in this day and age. The answer, as was posted on the tours Ticketmaster page, is simple.

“My Violent Torpedo of Truth/Defeat is Not An Option Show is coming for you. I’m going on the road. LIVE. Will there be surprises? Will there be guests? Will there be mayhem? Will you ask questions? Will you laugh? Will you scream? Will you know the truth? WILL THERE BE MORE?!?! This IS where you will hear the REAL story from the Warlock. Bring it. I dare you to keep up with me.”

Charlie Sheen is throwing the world a fastball, and as The Warlock himself would say, “I’m an F-18, bro.”

Driving.

Yourcupatea3 Comments

Pothole

So fortunately for my Dad I have now successfully began to drive like a legal driver. Yes you did hear me correctly I can drive and  I have even passed the stalling stage.

Don’t get me wrong I still have my problems and I lack a bit of control, but otherwise it is going good. I have days when I do brilliantly but there are others when I just have to ruin the clean record and do something wrong.

On Saturday I had an early start for my SAT. I woke up got changed quickly and thought it may have been a good idea to drive to school, half asleep. The consequences of this bad decision were that I nearly reversed into a tree, I pulled off the road into some pot holes and I drove a bit too fast around some sharp corners. The main thing is I survived and so did my car. But for my pride’s sake lets just blame all these mistakes on the early morning and my lack of knowledge on how to demist my car. This experience may sound slightly dreadful but we have to look at the positives in the situation, I stalled once.

Those who have read my driving blogs in the past probably will not be assured that I can now drive but i’m sure you can all say that I have progressed significantly. Ok, granted I have only been practicing in the back roads of Ojai but still I haven’t crashed nor stalled nearly as many times as before. So it’s out to the main roads of Ojai this week. All I can say is watch out Ojai Avenue.

Expulsion Expulsion Expulsion…

Paloma SpencerLeave a comment

So I am currently listening to an abundance of voices discussing their opinions regarding our school’s interdisciplinary policies. In other words, expulsion.

Before I entered high school I had always believed that one must do an absolutely horrible crime in order to be expelled. A knife fight or a drunken rendezvous were the kinds of things that occupied my mind regarding this subject.

I could blame my middle school; it was small and thus expulsion or any other type of disciplinary action was rare. In addition, my own innocence allowed me to believe that the on-screen fighting seen in popular movies was only met by, at the most, suspension. And let me not forget my belief that drugs and alcohol were common in high school and were thus somehow accepted.

However, throughout my years in high school I have realized a lot regarding this subject. My ninth grade year I recognized how serious bullying is through a classmate’s expulsion after expressing harm towards a fellow peer. My tenth grade year I realized the significance of violence when I experienced a dangerous brawl between two seniors. I had understood why these people were expelled and completely sided with the schools in their decisions.

It wasn’t until my eleventh grade year that I did not quite agree with the disciplinary action at my high school, and truthfully believed expulsion was used as more of a strict ultimatum rather than an agreeable decision.

I go to a private independent boarding school and thus I understand that students are expected to properly follow specific guidelines or otherwise face consequences. I understand the arguments that the school is giving you an opportunity, that this is a privileged experience, and that each student has signed a contract. I believe that it is more than fair to kick someone out for drinking, drug use, violence, or cheating, especially in a school that is aiming to create a campus filled with intelligent and mature young adults.

Though as a second semester high school senior awaiting those lovely letters of college acceptance and rejection, I would like to bring one argument up for questioning.

“EXPULSION.” These words plastered upon ones college resume is, to state lightly, not a very good addition.

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Spring.

YourcupateaLeave a comment

Daffodils
I am happy to say it is nearly Spring. The flowers are getting ready to bloom, Shrove Tuesday has passed and lambs are in abundance. It is a season for new life, new starts and ultimately a preparation for the summer months to follow.

To me Spring also means a new iPod playlist. I am on a mission to find new artists and songs to take me through the coming months and gradually take me into the Summer.

Although I cannot drive I do like to listen to music in the passenger seat.  To me a ride in the morning with the windows rolled down and idyllic acoustic music is perfect for these months.  In the past albums by The Kooks and Razorlight have been great but I feel I need some more theme tunes for 2011.

I feel it is time to get exploring for some new anthems.

Here’s a song from last year that I enjoyed over the Spring months.

Honor’s Ski TRIP

yrreskrapLeave a comment


UGH! My mittens were filled with snow…again. I dusted my jacket off as I strained and struggled to get on my two feet. My poles dug deep into the white, icy powder and my body pushed itself up. Finally, I was standing and all I could think was “I need to get back to the cabin.”

Cross country skiing was not what I thought it would be. I jumped at the opportunity of going on the Honor’s Ski Trip, thinking it would be a breeze, especially because of my love for downhill skiing. Little did I know that cross country skiing had nothing in common with downhill skiing…except for maybe the poles.

I struggled to keep up with the rest of the group my first day. I was falling here and there, into deep pits of powdery snow. Even when I was standing up, I would somehow manage to fall over.

However, I had a lot of time to contemplate life, just as a I do every camping trip. It’s something about being isolated from technology and being beset in nature that makes the mind flow so clearly. Letting the mind flow was very refreshing and well needed, although now quite the opposite is happening with all of the backed up school work that is calling me. Regardless, for the time being, the trip allowed me to unwind and have some quality thinking time.

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Opinions

smackyjackjack1 Comment

I feel that I have very strong opinions. I also feel that anyone who does not share my opinions is either misinformed or uneducated.  Most times in life, there are only two options; right and wrong. It is very rare for there to be another option. In many matters, to me, it is okay for people to have different opinions, as long as they have a logical argument for this. But every so often someone may think something that is completely ridiculous, and you have to call then out on it.

As a rule, everyone should be fair, just and have the patience and maturity to listen to the other side of the argument. But there are some people who are so ignorant, so stupid that they cannot be treated the same way.

Take, for instance, the Tea Party.  These are the people who are under the illusion that homosexuals are a mistake, that a government that does its job is bad, and that “elitists” should not be in a position of power.  First of all, who cares if some one is gay? It really does not matter in any way.

Secondly,  a government is supposed to do the things the citizens cannot do by themselves.  The proposed idea of taking its power away would lead to political and social ruin.

Finally, I don’t think the Tea Party “Patriots” understand what an elitist is.  An elitist is defined as a person who believes that a society would be ruled by the elite.  Well no duh it should. The point of an indirect democracy is to vote and single out the best and smartest citizens to represent the other citizens. You don’t want  a hick from Kentucky to be put into a position of power. Why would anyone think that that is okay?

It is not okay to let people believe in things  that are so blatantly wrong. It is not okay to be the fair and just when someone’s beliefs are harmful to others. Some people, as bad as this will sound, need to be told they are wrong.

United Trump Arsenal

therightliberalLeave a comment

Man United came out of its slump in spectacular fashion today, beating Arsenal 2-0. United was able to pull out the victory thanks to fantastic goalkeeping by Edwin Van Der Sar and goals from Wayne Rooney and Fabio da Silva.

Wayne Rooney

This win puts United in a semi final with Bolton Wanderers also grabbing a spot. Arsenal on the other hand was knocked out of their third competition in the last two weeks.

Luckily for Arsenal fans, their team is still very much in the running for the Premier League title.

Hopefully this win will allow United to get back to winning form in the Premier League as well as the Champions League next week. Wayne Rooney looks to be getting back on form which helped as well the return of Antonio Valencia.

For a full summary of the game go to: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report?id=314700&cc=5901

My Four Parents and Me.

theycallmedame2 Comments

Every time I mention to someone that I have a stepparent (two, actually) they always react the same. They get a sympathetic look on their face and either apologize (for what?) or say something along the lines of, “Oh, that must be terrible for you!”

Um, why would it be terrible for me?

People have the idea that stepparents must be evil beings who torture their stepchildren and are unfit to be parents drilled into their minds. It’s like their reasoning goes like this:

Cinderella had a stepmom.
Said stepmom was evil.
Therefore, using the “I’m an Idiot” property, all stepmoms and stepdads alike must be evil.

I’m sorry, what?

I love my stepparents! They’re just all around good people!


My stepdad, Andy, on the right, teaching a student how to properly land a hanglider.

My mom’s husband, Andy, is probably the nicest person you’ll ever meet. He’s kind and funny and he and I have formed a secret alliance to sneak junk food into the house when my mom isn’t looking. He comes to all of my performances (without being asked!) and is always up to playing or hanging out with my brother, Ben, and I. He’s made my mom very happy.


My stepmom, Rita, whose smile never leaves her face.

My dad’s wife, Rita, is like a giant kid. Her and I have nerd conversations about Star Wars and Star Trek, and argue over which cartoon animated show is the best (she usually wins said arguments by pulling the “I’m a cartoon producer so what I say goes!” card). When she has a little too much sugar she starts bouncing off the walls and goes and gets oddly colored highlights in her hair. I’ve never seen my Dad happier than the day they got married.

I definitely lucked out on the stepparent front. Now my brother and I have not two, not three, but four loving parents who would go to the world’s end just to make sure that we were alright.


I love them, and they are the farthest from evil as someone can ever get.