Category: journalism

Blinking

thehungryrunnergirl1 Comment

In average, woman blinks 15 times and men blinks 20 times per minute. Since blinking only takes about 0.3 seconds, men blinks 6 seconds worth blinking which means you’re blinking 10 % when you’re awake.

The amount of blinking shows your activity of neurotransmitter dopamine. One experiement with monkeys show that when they were injected the drug that makes their dopamine more active, they blink more, and also the other way around.

For example, patients who have schizophrenia or Tourette syndrome blinks more than normal people because of their active dopamine.

My First Rejection.

yrreskrap1 Comment

The small, white envelope lay limp in my hand. A paper fringe lined the top of the envelope, standing like the dendrites of a hairy neuron, signaling the haste I had in tearing open the envelope.

By its mere size, I knew that the envelope did not hold favorable information. The only question I had was whether or not, inside was letter of rejection or a letter of a waitlist.

“Dear Serry:

It is with genuine regret that I write to inform you that the Admissions Committee is unable to offer you admission to the class entering Pomona College this fall…”

It was fine. I didn’t feel the stereotypical emotions that follow a rejection letter. Perhaps it was because I never intended to go to Pomona College. But nevertheless, it was an interesting experience.

However, this makes me worried about the upcoming notifications this week. I hear from Brown, my number one college, this week. I am scared of receiving a rejection. I don’t want to know how a true rejection, a rejection to a school that I want to go to, will feel like.

SO SCARED…to be continued.

Variables.

yrreskrap1 Comment

If you think about it (and you don’t have to think too hard), you will be amazed by the variables that affect your life everyday.

These variables help life circulate. It keeps the cycle perpetuating. It’s what makes people cry, shout, laugh, scream, jump, and smile! It’s what makes people ponder, create, reminisce, nurture, grow, and forget. It does not matter where you are, what your background is, or what you are doing. Variables are there.

Now, variables come in many different forms. And as we grow older, these variables give rise to more and more variables, adding complexity to your daily functions (haha math pun) in life.

Family. Family is what brought you here in the first place. Without mom and dad, without grandmothers and grandfathers, we would not have a place on Earth. The chromosomes from both your parents have beautifully combined to create a unique you. These are your very first and most significant variables. Family.

 

But soon enough, friends will become much like family. Especially during adolescence when peer relationships are more likely to be stronger than parent-child relationships. These variables can influence much of what goes on in your head and your actions. Whether your friends hold the same mentality or opinions on different subjects, they will be impact you in some way. I know I can say that my friends have become so close to my heart and that they have helped me through good and bad. I don’t know what I’d do without them.

 

And then there’s school. There are expectations to be met, or not. There are emotions like jealousy and hate and greed. There is war. There are different motivations, different talents, different niches to fill. All of your variables that constitute who you are will eventually reveal to you the person you are and the person you want to be. There are various values that factor into your life, shaping the road you will ultimately walk.

So.
Many.
Damn.
Variables.

And these variables are precious. Why? Because they drive us to meet new people, run into old friends, see foreign places and perhaps be able to call them home. These variables are precious because they allow us to feel heartbreak and separation and appreciate compassion and closeness. These variables are precious because they allow us to age and mature. They are precious because you learn so much about yourself from what surrounds you.

So much to say about variables but.

Variables are beautiful.

Animals are GREAT!

r3t5nomLeave a comment

I think that in this world people take animals for granted way too much. Animals are what keep us fed,and are what keep us interested in the possibilities out around the earth. But most importantly, animals are what keep the earth in check.

Wild animals are not meant to be in cages or confined to a small area but they are and it breaks my heart to see the animals inside a zoo who shouldn’t even be in the weather that they are in. Animals are like humans, they take care of their young, feed their young, and would do anything to protect their young.

It is unbelievable to me when people make it a huge deal about being attacked by a mama bear with cubs in the wild when those people should have never been there in the first place. The people are the ones intruding. If a bear was to come in to someones house and go into your kids room and be standing near just to get a “closer look” you would kill it without thinking because your kid could be in danger but when people are “getting a closer look” on some cubs and they get attacked the bear is the one who should be killed…? that makes no sense to me.

Animals aren’t infinite, that has been made very clear by the california state bear, which is on the california flag but was killed off and is extinct. Bravo humans, bravo.

One day we will all pay for neglecting the fact that we NEED animals. even if it’s just because we need a hug…

Hopefully we can just learn instead of decimating the animal populations of the world but by the looks of things, that is looking like it will never happen.

Baseball Photos

r3t5nom2 Comments

Last week the baseball team traveled through the windy road up the 33. It was a long drive up to Maricopa, CA to play against a school but the team made it up there and came out victorious. As a photographer I took it as an opportunity to take pictures of the team playing their sport, and that I did.

People might think that it is only standing in one place and pointing a camera but the truth is that if you take photography seriously you won’t just stand in one place, you will walk around like a mad man or mad woman trying to find the perfect shot and then moving on to find the next one.

While I was taking this photo..

I came up with the idea to take this next photo, I saw that the catcher was standing in pure dirt and his glove was getting all dusty, then it came to me. A ball hit his glove and dust blew out of his glove as if it was smoke, it looked awesome!

This is what I love about taking pictures! The fact that I can capture moments that we only see and forget without a camera. It is truly a great feeling to catch moments like these.

What do you think about the photo?

POWs and how we treat them!!!

frog3Leave a comment

POWs (Prisoners Of War) are persons lucky enough or in some cases unfortunate enough to be caught by the “Enemy” during times of war. In some armed conflicts POWs are treated well, most of the time they are  not. Even with the arrival of the 2nd Geneva Convention held in 1949( directly following WWII) human rights did not cease to be an issue during armed conflicts.

Vietnam, a war that symbolizes changein America and a growing mistrust of a Man- in- Uniform, was not without its heroes. The North Vietnamese were a particular brutal enemy, possessing no qualms about torturing and maiming American servicemen. A famous soldier who went through these ordeals is Lt. Cmdr. John S. McCain. During his five years in captivity he was malnourished (eventually dropping to 100 pounds), subject to filthy conditions (such as living in feces), and had his bones broken multiple times (even walking with a limp to this day). This is but one example of how POWs have been mistreated.

On a different note is the Iraqi\Abu Ghraib Prison incident. America service men had violated the Geneva Convention by forcing prisoners to pose in compromising positions. The U.S. Governments official apology “It was un-American. And it was inconsistent with the values of our nation. ”Like so many other Americans I believe that this apology does not do the Iraqi’s justice.”

The above mentioned event chronicles extreme occurrences of POWs abuse. It would appear that this abuse not only comes from violent lawless nations but also the worlds “Protector” the United States of America.

The Snow

venturatrekerLeave a comment


Today it snowed. One of the great things about living in Ventura is that I can bet at the beach and then less than an hour later I can be in the snow.  After just one storm the upper Ojai area above the 33 highway was blanketed in snow.

We drove to Pine Mountain and went hiking through the winter wonderland.  Although there was only about an inch of snow on the ground it was still wonderful.

After messing around for a while we went down to Rose Valley and did the Boney Beaner cave.  I have been doing that hike since kindergarten but doing it in the snow is just such a different experience. Going under that waterfall and feeling the biting cold is crazy!

The stress truly never ends.

Yourcupatea1 Comment

Stress !!

My college letters are due any time in the next few weeks. Yes this is very exciting, yes this is nerve racking and although my applications are in and basically completed the stress continues.

Two days ago I was told that I needed to submit additional material, my GCSE grades. This material must come from the official exam boards in an extensive, expensive process.

No my official certificates cannot simply be sent by me, instead they have to take 28days processing in England with postage, processing and other projects paid by me. This is truly ridiculous.

It’s not that the whole process that annoys me; it’s the fact that no one told me. Now I’m up late at night stressing out with no sleep filling out forms and wondering how on earth am I going to get into college.

The stress truly never ends.

Bailout

therightliberalLeave a comment

I try to stick to writing about politics but sometimes I just feel like there is something else that needs to be talked about which requires me making a pathetically weak connection.

I wanted to talk about cars so I thought, well there has been a lot of criticism aimed at politicians regarding their bailout of the motor industry. And personally, I feel that the complaints are not warranted, and here is why.

Despite the many complaints, we do in fact manufacture much in America. And one of our largest enterprises are cars. So why should we just let the car industry fail when it is so pivotal for our country.

“Oh well that’s not part of capitalism!” You are wrong. Capitalism requires doing what needs to be done to keep your market afloat, and that’s what we did.

But more importantly, look what we have created! We are currently experiencing a renaissance of the American (muscle) car.

ford shelby 500

We have the Chevy Camaro ZL1, Ford Mustang GT500 (and its other variations) and the Corvette (which is getting better and better).

Ford’s whole range of city cars like the Focus, Fusion and Fiesta are all great cars and the Chevy Cruze and Malibu are good too.

Sure we aren’t Italy; producing Ferrari’s, Lamborghini’s, Maserati’s or Alfa Romeo’s. But that has never been what we aim for.

I don’t like many American cars because I like going around corners as much or more as going very fast in a straight line. But we really are getting into the market with cars like the Focus that are perfect little rally racers.

Would I rather drive a Lotus than a Ford? Yes. Would I rather drive a 620 GT than a Camaro? I would imagine so. But are we doing good things in our car industry? Yes.

The next step for the American car industry is getting into the dream market AKA the super car market.

The Ford GT is the last super car we made and it was fantastic. We don’t really have a company here that makes super cars but with our reemerging industry one may emerge.

For now we can be happy with having Hennessy and the other great tuners of the Red, White and Blue.

America has had a long love affair with cars and we must work to continue that and build upon what we have. This is not a plea to buy American because I’m not a person who would. But if you fancy an American car don’t be ashamed, be proud.

Nikon 1 J1

r3t5nomLeave a comment

This weekend I was at Target and I was looking through the electronics section at all the different video games, game consoles, and eventually I crossed paths with my favorite electronic…CAMERAS!

I was looking at all the different point and shoot cameras and well they all looked pretty much the same, all but one. The Nikon 1 J1. This is the revolution of point and shoot cameras because it gives the person using it the option to interchange the lenses as if it was a DSLR which is a big camera except less than half the size.

The Nikon 1 J1 has the capability to take 10 megapixel pictures, which for a normal point and shoot camera wouldn’t be seen as a lot of mega pixels but when you have lenses to attach, those lenses increase the quality. And it can also take 1080p video, making it a great high quality camera to shoot those home videos or fun days at the beach with.

This camera was developed to give people an alternative to a big DSLR camera (which is what I have) this makes it so that one can feel like a professional photographer but not have to pay what a professional had to pay for his/her monster camera.

(this is my camera)