Category: general news

Stuff having to do with the news in general.

Music these days.

rangerthecat1 Comment

I am so tired of hearing crappy music every time I turn on the radio or walk past another student’s room. I know, it really depends on each person’s opinion of what is “crappy” or not. But really, all I’ve been hearing are songs involving way too much cussing and annoying, repetitive phrases involving “big booty chicks” or “getting money”.

If music had been a person, he or she would be very disappointed to see him or her self now. Sure, music is about expressing yourself. But really, are those people really expressing themselves, or just making these ridiculous songs just to make money? What happened to the good music? Like the Beatles or Michael Jackson? People seem to forget about them more than they realize.

It really grinds my gears to hear amazing and talented artists, bands, or musicians go unrecognized for a long time, or forever. I know that not everyone can be famous or share their music with the rest of us, but in my opinion, these people deserve recognition more than the rap artists who repeat themselves in every song.

Variety and self-expression is what makes music beautiful. I feel like these days, the values expressed in songs are very questionable and the lyrics are just distasteful.

The Tea Party

therightliberal1 Comment

A new CNN poll shows that 53% of Americans think poorly of the Tea Party and 28% hold “favorable views.” CNN said these were the most extreme numbers they had polled on the opinions of the Tea Party.

This is shocking to me. How can 28% of Americans support the Tea baggers? I know there are some ignorant and gullible people out there, but really? The Tea Party represents so much of what is wrong with America today and it infuriates me.

“We are taxed enough already!” Oh, are you? Because from where I am sitting we are not taxed enough. Our public school systems are tanking, we are cutting public programs like they are going out of style and on top of it all, we have a 3 trillion+ deficit.

You think that we can solve all of this by just cutting spending? Well it hasn’t worked in the past but why not waste our time again. You think boycotting the Census and having rallies that encourage citizens to not report their yearly income is helping? If you do, sorry to break it to you, but you are irrational.

I don’t find radicalism to be helpful or progressive in any form. In the manner that I am writing this blog, one might think that I am a radical Liberal. But that is far from the truth. I do not think that big government is always a good idea and I think that at times we are too Liberal in our Judicial policy.

Despite that, I find the Tea Party to be repulsive. I see it almost like I see angsty teens; using shock value and going against the grain to get attention. On that note, they should be treated like angsty teens, with that opinion of “When you grow up, you will see that you are wrong. This is just a stage.”

Unfortunately, most of the members of the Tea Party will not grow up. They will keep up with their radical ways, spreading hate and ignorance throughout the world with a little help from Fox News. All I can hope is that the rest of America wakes up and discourages the ridiculousness that is the Tea Party.

Nerd Rant, Part V

theycallmedameLeave a comment

Oh my goodness, another Nerd Rant?
I am so nerdy this week!

So, I’ve heard people talk about this “amazing” television show that is borderline a “cult classic” and I finally built up the nerve to watch it.

And ohmygoodness it is utterly fabulous.

The television show is the very amazing and very awesome Doctor Who.

No, originally, the show started back in the fifties. But it was brought back in 2005 and blew up! There have been six new seasons in the 21st century, three different Doctors (the ninth, the tenth, and the eleventh), one TARDIS, and hundreds of science fictiony adventures.

It. Rocks.

I’m totally geeking out because I’m pretty much in love with the idea of a Time Lord running amok in his time and space traveling police call box saving the world again and again and again from Daleks and Cybermen and The Void.

It just seems magnificent.

I’m kind of obsessed.

And it’s the type of show where either you completely love it or completely hate it.

So go nuts.

Watch an episode (or twelve).

I hope you get sucked in.



I did.

The SAT

venturatrekerLeave a comment

Today I took the SAT for the second time.  I took it once before last year. I, like most first time takers of the test did not do nearly as well as I would have liked to.  So for the second time I devoted about five hours of my saturday to taking a ten sectioned test that tests reading math and writing.

I will say it is probably one of the hardest tests I have ever taken and even will take.  The questions are misleading and the constant jump between subjects make it long and arduous.

Although it seems impossible to tell how I did on it without seeing my scores, I feel I may have done better than my previous attempt, I guess all I can do is wait and see if I’ll be going to college or not when I get my results.

Typhoon 12

thehungryrunnergirlLeave a comment

According to Yahoo Japan, typhoon 12 hit Japan on the 2nd of September and hasn’t moved away yet. It has been a month…

The death toll from the typhoon reached seventy-four. Moreover, in the Nara-Prefecture, 20 people are missing, a landslide occurred at 17 places, and 623 people are now living in evacuation shelters.

That’s it. That huge whirlpool is covering Japan.

The government official says it would be very hard to recover from this disaster.

Japan has been dealing with misfortunes this year. Since the country is an island, disaster never ceases. Obviously, there’s nothing to do but to prepare whatever strikes next.

“Occupy Wall Street”

therightliberal2 Comments

Currently there is a movement to protest the actions of the economic top 1% of Americans called “Occupy Wall Street.” Not just a verbal movement, an actual protest in New York.

Chances are you haven’t heard about it, and I believe there is a reason for that: News corporations don’t like covering protest unless things are on fire and the police are involved.

Now I could write a book on how much I despise the choices of most news organizations, but instead I want to focus on what Wall Street has done to this country.

It all goes back to greed. Traders on Wall Street work for companies, and at the helms of those companies are CEO’s. I have nothing against CEO’s in general, more the ideas that their job title in general seeks to accomplish.

They want power and money. They want their shares to boom and then they want to create more shares which will boom some more. Yes, there are some advantages to this system of market (Yay Capitalism!), it encourages competitive businesses and seeks to advance our markets.

But what is the cost? Well, I think we are seeing the cost right now. Wealth in America is incredibly concentrated, with the middle class shrinking at shocking rates. These trends are due to the greed that has been encouraged through our system of economics.

The whole goal for most Americans is to get rich. Children are encouraged to choose jobs that will make them wealthy when they grow up. But then we reach the problem of having such an elitist society that money passes from hand to hand, instead of from hand to hands.

Don’t get me wrong, I love money. I love the finer things in life, from food to fast cars, probably more than many people. But what I want to think about is greed and how much money we really need as individuals. Go and buy that nice car, that nice house, that perfect vacation. But in the mean time, think about what you can buy for others with what you have.

And now we come back to the Occupy Wall Street protest. Thousands of people have been protesting, not just in New York, but in major cities across America. They want the top 1% to look and listen to what is happening in America. They are not asking for the wealthy to give up their lifestyles, all they are asking for is less greed and more sympathy.

We are a country, we are supposed to look after each other (to what degree can be debated all you want). Corporations (who are not people by the way) and the CEO’s (who are people) who run them need to get their priorities in line and start supporting the country that gave them what they have today.

Nerd Rant, Part IV

theycallmedame2 Comments

Once again, I must delve into my “series” of nerd rants for another TOTALLY AWESOME nerd thing.

As previously stated, I am a Harry Potter nerd. So when I discovered J.K. Rowling was launching a new Harry Potter-based website, I had to apply for early admission right away.

AND I GOT IN.

This website is, nerdily enough, called Pottermore. In Pottermore you follow the basic storyline of the books, but there’s an added character, you. You get your own wand (mine is a 10 inch cyprus, unyielding with a phoenix feather core) and you get sorted into a house (Hufflepuff!)

You learn spells and brew potions for house points and all in all it is a very geeky, nerdy, and fantastic thing.

It’s so lame but so much fun.

I highly suggest you all go and check out Pottermore when it is released to the public on October 1!

Seriously.

Do it.

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

therightliberal2 Comments

Just when you thought this obvious debate was over, IT’S BACK!

Rick Santorum felt the need to answer a gay soldier’s question about the policy by saying he would reinstate Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.

Santorum: ‘I condemn’ booing of gay soldier, didn’t hear it

Now his opinion is one thing, he has every right to that. But really was that necessary? I thought we were getting over this as a country, but now with the Republican debates the whole thing is coming back strong.

Personally, I feel that this is a RIDICULOUS issue. Just the other day I was talking to a veteran who had served in Iraq and he put it very well. He had a friend who came out to him after they had received their honorable discharge. This friend was an incredible soldier and man, speaking multiple languages and very trustworthy in combat. The C.I.A. is trying to recruit him now.

Now the fact that he is gay has absolutely nothing to do with his abilities, neither positively or negatively. He is defending his country, putting his life on the line for all of us who enjoy the luxuries that are provided by our military. The very least we could do is allow him to be open about his sexuality.

If his fellow soldiers have a problem with that then maybe it is time to talk it out. For to long we have pretended like homosexuality is a disease, it is no such thing. Gays and lesbians are not a danger to have in the military. If it is going to cause issues then the homophobes need to deal with their issues, not make someone change their sexuality (which is not possible) or make them hide it.

I see no difference between don’t ask, don’t tell and racially recruiting. Would the military not allow Blacks, Asian Americans, Latinos if they could hide the color of their skin.

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is so unconstitutional that it makes me want to scream. But lovely people like Presidential un-hopeful Rick Santorum will continue to spread their charming opinions about their homophobia.

I would like to ask Rick Santorum a question; if your life was on the line, a gun to your head, would you care about the sexuality of the man or woman who saved you? Sexuality aside, these men and women are heroes and they deserve the rights of heroes.

Blogging on an iPhone…not fun. (It also doesn’t allow tagging)

backinphillyLeave a comment

I’m going to keep this short simply because after the OVS football game on Saturday, my thumbs are killing me and, being that the school has no internet, I am forced to write on my phone. I remember last year when I still hadn’t received my computer and was forced to use my phone to write papers and access moodle. Those were the days; the days of inefficiency maybe.

Stressed out.

rangerthecat4 Comments

It’s only the 4th week of school. I have been here for less than 30 days.
IT FEELS LIKE I HAVE BEEN HERE FOREVER! AHHHH!

I love this school, and I especially love the people here. I love being here.

That being said, I REALLY wish that I could just take a break.
I know I am speaking for not just myself, but also a lot of my fellow classmates when I say THIS WORKLOAD IS STRESSFUL!

Never in my entire high school career have I worked as hard as I have worked this year. I even dropped a class because I realized that I would not be able to handle it. And still, every night, even on the weekends, I find myself working for hours on end and still not feeling satisfied with some of my work. I thought Friday and Saturday nights were for relaxing… Maybe I’m just crazy.

I know all of the teachers here really care about the students and really want them to learn. I am so thankful for that. I have learned a lot from every teacher I have had at this school. But being a good teacher and helping students learn does not mean assigning homework every night, even on the weekends, and assigning huge essays and projects with minimal time to complete them.

All of these homework assignments just keep building up and I cannot seem to find a way to escape. Even if I am proactive and do my homework days in advance before it is due, thinking this will help me manage my time better, I am always assigned something else.

I will be honest, I do know a lot of students – and even some of my close friends – slack off a lot and procrastinate. And once in a while, I do the same. But it is only because I can never catch a break otherwise. Whenever I have free time, I use it to sleep, catch up with my friends from home, call my parents, or watch a movie. Is it too much to ask to not have a homework overload every once in a while?

I wish teachers could see it from our perspective. Some of them don’t take into consideration that we all have at least 4 or 5 other classes to deal with each day and night. It becomes really overwhelming for us!

I am so stressed out. But, nothing I can do about it… except more homework!