Category: journalism

Stuff having to do with the world of journalism.

Sports I Don’t Like To Watch

treefroggyLeave a comment

I don’t mean this post to be controversial, but it probably will be. Oh well.

Baseball

I’m so sorry to every baseball fan. I despise watching baseball. It goes on for so long, and it’s honestly not entertaining to me. Even when I watch my own school playing, I get bored and distracted like 10 minutes in. It’s just not my thing.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/24/sports/baseball/Dodgers-halfway-season.html

Football (American)

Same complaint as baseball that it goes on forever. Literally, there will be ten minutes left in a quarter and the game will go on for forty. It just feels so anticlimactic too. Like, everybody cheers when someone’s running, then they get tackled and have to start all over again. Plus, the fanbase can be a little insane sometimes, but that can be said about almost every sport.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/02/sports/football/nfl-covid-ravens-steelers.html

Track Meets

This one is mostly just a noise complaint. I’m super sensitive to loud noises, so I hate that they fire a blank to signify the start of the race. Like, they couldn’t just blow a horn or something? Do they think they’re so cool that they need to shoot a gun? Hate it.

https://gomatadors.com/news/2018/4/18/mens-track-and-field-csun-travels-to-long-beach-for-2-track-meets.aspx?mobile=skip

Water Polo

This explanation is going to sound so stupid. I’m acknowledging it in advance. Since it’s in a pool, water polo is almost always played in the sun. I HATE sitting in the sun. You have to sit on hot bleachers with the sun on you while praying that somebody splashes you and cools you down. Not my thing. I think I’d enjoy it more if I actually knew the rules, which I probably should know since my cousin is an Olympic water polo player. Let’s pray he never finds this blog post.

https://olympics.nbcsports.com/2021/07/02/usa-mens-water-polo-olympic-team-tokyo/

Horse Racing

I love watching any other style of riding. Horse racing just is the worst. It’s basically a sport invented for gambling and materialism. Watching horses run as fast as they can isn’t even enjoyable. Especially when you know the way they treat the horses behind the scenes. And if you argue that not all racing stables abuse the horses, they still start the horses when they’re way too young to have riders on them and before they’ve even stopped growing or fully developed their bones. It’s literally just the money that people like about it.

https://www.britannica.com/sports/horse-racing

Men’s Gymnastics

Sure, it’s cool-looking. There just aren’t enough events and not enough variety in the routines to make it interesting to watch for longer than an hour. Let’s let the men compete in cooler events and have nicer routines so that watching them is actually enjoyable.

https://www.teamusa.org/News/2021/July/26/In-FifthPlace-Finish-The-US-Mens-Gymnastics-Team-Finds-Satisfaction-Hope

I hope you enjoyed 400 words of me complaining about watching sports that nobody forces me to watch. See you later.

House Plants That I’ve Accidentally Killed

treefroggyLeave a comment

So I’m bad with plants. I feel like it’s not that surprising of detail to know once you know me since I’m not exactly good with responsibility, but I’m impressively bad with plants. Here are some house plant species that I’ve tried to keep and ended up killing somehow.

https://www.almanac.com/plant/aloe-vera

Aloe Vera

Starting off strong with the plant that house plant connoisseurs like to claim as the “unkillable plant.” I managed to kill two of these guys somehow. I’m really not sure what happened. I think they just wanted more sun or more affection or something. I felt really bad when they died since I was trying to rescue them because one of them was browning. Instead, I murdered them.

https://www.sfgate.com/shopping/article/best-air-purifying-plants-16288121.php

Ivy

I really thought I’d be able to take care of this guy. They’re supposed to have indirect light, which is exactly how my room is set up, but my plant ended up in the kitchen somehow. I did my best to keep it nicely watered, and I really don’t know what happened. Probably that’s why I keep killing plants– I have no idea what to do with them. Anyways, flies started to hang out around it, and a week or two later it was fully brown. I was really sad.

https://www.housebeautiful.com/lifestyle/g29132632/indoor-blooming-plants/

Kalanchoe

This guy was almost a lost cause from the start. It came home with me from Lowe’s in perfect condition and decided it hated me and my family and died like a week later. I really have no idea what happened.

http://www.home-designing.com/best-low-light-indoor-house-plants-for-sale

Lemon Button Fern

I gotta be honest, I killed this plant so long ago that I don’t even know if it was this species. It kinda looked like this one, though, so let’s pretend it was this one. I rescued it from my aunt throwing it away while cleaning out her room, and it actually lived for pretty long before deciding that it didn’t like my house anymore. My aunt got her to wish of throwing it away eventually.

And now, to change things up, a plant I have so far kept living

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dracaena_sanderiana

Bamboo

I have a little bamboo plant that’s been living with me for a few months now. It stays in my room, and it lives in a little dinosaur pot. It’s very cute. I’m hoping this guy will stay with me until at least college.

So, I’m not good with plants. But there might be a bright future for my little bamboo plant and me. We’re just gonna have to see what happens.

My 5 Favorite Fidget Toys

treefroggyLeave a comment

Fidget toys can be really hit-or-miss. For me especially, since my tactile sensory issues can quickly make something that once seemed fun into my personal sensory hell. Here are the ones I’ve found that have worked for me.

https://bitzngiggles.com/water-bead-stress-ball/

These squishy ball things

I really like these stress balls that have Orbeez-like things in them. They’re not too difficult to squeeze, so they aren’t great for coping with anger since you might break it, but the little balls inside are really satisfying to feel and squish. Great for distracting yourself during tough conversations or to absentmindedly hold while doing work.

https://www.fivebelow.com/categories/toys-and-games

These guys

I call them my worms. I like to whip them around. They’re squishy and all have different textures, which is nice for variety. Having them inspired a friend to get their own. 10/10 recommend.

https://www.faire.com/discover/donut-toy

Pop-it donut

You literally don’t understand how satisfying these things are. The noise they make is indescribable. It stimulates some part of my brain that I didn’t even know existed. I want one of these so bad.

https://kineticsand.com/products/beach-sand-kingdom-playset-6044142

Kinetic sand

Kinetic sand – especially this color and texture – is amazing. It kind of sticks together with glue-like strands separating it, and I love it so much. I like letting it stretch out than grabbing the glue strands. It’s super nice to feel and play with.

https://www.artnews.com/art-news/product-recommendations/best-loom-bands-kits-1202693623/

Rainbow Loom

I’ve totally gotten back into rainbow loom bracelet making in the past two weeks. I’ve made over 10 bracelets so far. It’s not exactly a traditional fidget, but it really works for me. I’ve used it as a coping skill for breakdowns, too, and it works pretty well, especially if you make it on your fingers instead of a loom. Plus, you have something tangible to keep with you when you’re done!

Anyways, those are my favorite fidgets right now. I’ve been using them almost every day to get through the difficult stuff. I definitely recommend getting fidgets if they sound interesting. Most are pretty low-budget, but they work super well. I, for one, have used them much more than their low prices suggest they should be used.

I Saw An Opossum The Other Day

treefroggyLeave a comment

There I was, a passenger in my mom’s car at night, on my way to my grandparents’ house, when I saw him.

I noticed a shape out of the corner of my eye, but I hardly thought anything of it. I’m a naturally curious person, though, so I turned my head to look at it from a better angle after a moment.

At first I thought it was a cat. However, if it were a cat, it’d be a very short one, and it had toes that were unlike any cat I’d ever seen. My next thought was that it might be a huge rat.

And then it hit me.

I quickly exclaimed to my mom, “We have to turn around! I think I just saw a possum!”

My mom whipped a three-point-turn in the middle of the road and stopped just in front of the driveway of the stranger’s house. In the illumination of the KIA’s headlights, I saw him.

It was an opossum.

Over my mom’s warnings of, “Don’t you dare get out of the car and chase him!” I whipped out my phone and started taking pictures of the beautiful little guy. A second later, he heard our engine (for opossums have bad eyesight and the lights didn’t bother him) and scurried away. And he was fast!

See, most opossums are pretty slow. They meander at their own pace through yards and forests, and when confronted, they aren’t fast enough to run away from predators like mountain lions or bears, so they have a freeze reaction and play dead.

But this little guy went running like he had been training for this moment his whole life. In the blink of an eye, his short little legs went flying and he sprinted up the driveway at the fastest trot I’ve ever seen and proceeded to climb the outdoor stairs into the person’s yard.

He was out of sight – but certainly not out of mind – in just seconds. And then my mom, my grandparents, and later my aunt had to listen to my happy cries of, “A possum!! Oh, a possum!!” for the rest of the night.

I named him Bruce Banner.

Photo Credit: me (treefroggy)

Sorry for the wonky quality– the best quality picture I got showed too much of the street around the house for me to comfortably post it. Privacy, and all that. You can still see Bruce’s beauty and his speedy legs.

So I’ve Been Reading Books Lately

treefroggyLeave a comment

(Spoiler warning for Song of Achilles)

So I’ve been reading books for fun for the first time in about 4 years now, and I just finished Song of Achilles.

One word: devastating.

That’s not to say it’s bad- in fact, it was one of the best books I’ve ever read. However, it was horribly sad, which is expected with Greek myths and renditions of them, since everybody dies in most myths.

A quick synopsis of the book would be “two boys fall in love then go to war and die,” but there’s so much more to the story than that. It’s exciting, sweet, sad, and heartbreaking. There’s a ton of angst in it, especially during wartime, which is honestly my favorite part. It does end with a bittersweet happy ending, though, so it’s not just emotional torment to read.

If you read the Percy Jackson books, you’ll probably love this book. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes Greek mythology, gay love, and angst. It’s got a ton of all three.

http://www.amazon.com%2FSong-Achilles-Bloomsbury-Modern-Classics%2Fdp%2F1408891387&psig=AOvVaw29CFHCo4eSGdPCIhGvhDZY&ust=1649951931864000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAoQjRxqFwoTCICRxo20kfcCFQAAAAAdAAAAABBT

Talentless

udarsh318Leave a comment

Do ya’ll ever feel talentless? Like there’s no special skill you have thats like unique to you? Because I feel like that all the damn time, and have been felling it even more recently. Like I’m a solid writer, I get A’s and B’s on my english papers, and somewhat similar grades on my journalism stories (so long as I remember to submit art). But like I don’t really have something special. Like I’m not artsy at all, I can’t draw or paint for shit, partially because I don’t know how but also my hands are so damn shaky I always mess it up. I can run like ok, I’m not like Ben running 18 minute 3-mile races, but I can run. I’m not crazy good at soccer or volleyball, I’d say I’m pretty average at both. I managed to make starting squad for volleyball but it’s also the first year we’ve had a boys team since like forever. I’m not especially gifted in terms of smarts. Not like Sarita who is somehow naturally good at every subject, she always sets the curve in AP Chem which lowkey pisses me off because it means she gets a 100 or close to it and I get like a B or an A- at best. I can like build shit, but I’m not the only one who can. There’s Caleb and Ben and Emanuel who are all pretty good at Robotics, though Ben and Emanuel don’t really like it all that much. I can’t play music, I mean I can kinda play the drums, not like Sully but I can play. It’s not like I’m crazy good at piano or guitar or something which are instruments that people actually can listen to alone like on a camping trip or something. I can’t sing at all, like at all, It’s pretty rough when I try. I dunno it just feels shitty sometimes you know? Like I wish I had something that set me apart like that, like in a positive way because believe me there are plenty of things that make me different in a negative way. I dunno maybe I haven’t found what makes me different yet, but I have a feeling that I won’t find it anytime soon, if it exists at all.

An Artistic Mindset Is Fundamental for Business Leaders | IE Insights
Photo Credit- ie.edu https://www.ie.edu/insights/articles/an-artistic-mindset-is-fundamental-for-business-leaders/

My Safe Place is the Gym. You?

ojaipizzaLeave a comment

Recently, all I can say for this week is stress. Although I got into the college I want, there is still a lot of stuff bothers me. In this case, I started to ghosting my friends and just wanted to be alone. Every day, I can hear people laughing and smiling. I started to wonder, are they faking it? or are they really happy? I began to hate a feelings of me staying in my room getting sad, at the same time, I hear people outside screaming and busy having fun.

I’ve been alone for a while, staying away from my friends. I have found my favorite time of each day is when I go to the gym. Of course, I felt more lonely at first, then I began to get used to it. Gym is the only place I feel like home right now. It’s the only place I’m really by myself, be myself, and just put all of my stress on the weights. When I’m in my dorms, my roomate always being loud and his friends come to our room all the time. When I’m at the gym, there is only me, and I can put on my airpods listen to music , and really focus on myself. At the same time, the break time between every set, gives me more thoughts of things that bothers me; which I started to feel a lot better beacuse I can deep into those problems. I don’t know why, but there is some magic in those dumbells.

Photo Credit: Pull-up

Anime That I’ve Recently Watched

jared315Leave a comment

Other than rewatching and still going through Hunter x Hunter and One Piece, I have been pretty invigorated in anime. Although the subculture has not been filled with the best new anime this year, I am finding shows that I am loving. Some of these shows might not be for everybody but they are all unique and great in their own way.

Ranking of Kings

This anime from 2021 is special. It follows a decently simple design with its fable format. This anime is made to resonate with real-world emotions and difficulties that many may face such as depression and hopelessness. It opens up the world to disabilities and the difficulties of trying to work around them. The protagonist in this story Bojji is both deaf and mute, as well as is especially weak in a world sanctioned by power. Despite his setbacks in life he decides to work to become the best version of himself. This feel-good story is accompanied by a unique animation style that is enticing to the highest degree. The show has not ended yet but I am highly anticipating the finale.

9.1/10

Hajime No Ippo

This anime is a story of a rising superstar. A hard-hitting boxing talent is known as Ippo Makuonochi, and his journey to the Flyweight Title of Japan. This show is made for fans of boxing, bringing in-depth details of fighting, training, and experience in the fighting world. It’s a feel-good anime with an almost dangerously optimistic outlook on brain damage in the sport (until it’s explored at the end of the second season). I personally enjoyed this anime because of the evolutions the characters go through. The anime and the sport are both about harnessing talent and power to become something unintelligible. I would definitely recommend this anime to anybody that is a fan of boxing.

9.1/10

Space Dandy

Space Dandy, although not being a show that I’ve recently seen, it is something that I feel I must recommend. This show follows a classic blueprint similar to that of Cowboy Bebop, where a group of three eccentric characters travels through space collecting aliens from around the galaxy. This layout can feel overdone or boring to some, however, I don’t believe this to be an anime based on its plot, but rather on its animation. Every episode is created with a different director, writer, animation director, and storyboard director. This show about “A dandy guy in space” became grounds for many animators to build careers for themselves in the anime/manga world. This mysterious show about mysterious characters makes you ask questions with seemingly no answer other than weird space jibber-jabber, but every episode still finds its way to leave a viewer incredibly satisfied with the 20 minutes they spent watching an episode. The show is fantastic and I recommend it to anybody and everybody (I also recommend not skip the intro song as it is fire.

9.2/10

Cold

navraj22Leave a comment

I got a cold. It came on last week Thursday, with a dry throat. I suffered through two days of school, then went home, where it got much worse. I tried to hang out with a friend on Saturday and just felt horrible and fell asleep. I was in bed from then until Friday morning.

Being in bed all week actually gave me some much-needed rest and relaxation, but the looming stress of schoolwork hung over me, making it less enjoyable. I managed to get my work done, but I couldn’t turn a corner on my cold. I was, and still am stuffed up, even though I feel better now (Sunday).

I pushed myself to drive to school on Friday, an hour and forty-five-minute drive both ways which in retrospect I should not have attempted. I was still sick, so I woke up late, got to school late, went to two classes, and halfway through the third, decided to go home. I did take my important stats test and finalized a journalism story, but it wasn’t great.

photo credit: today

In addition to my fatigue, I got denied from my top school, which sucked. I spent the weekend resting, which was great, and I hope to catch up on my work this week, slowly climbing up a mountain of papers, tests, and materials. 9 more weeks soldiers.

The Ultimate Smash Tourney

bartholomulethegreatLeave a comment

As many long-time readers are aware I wrote a blog a while back ranking how I felt the people in journalism would perform in our class smash tourney, this ranking list was quite controversial and amongst the class has labeled me as some not to good things. But as it turns out I am relatively good at reading how people will perform.

  • E.H.
  • N.J.
  • A.K.
  • C.C.
  • H.L.
  • Z.D.
  • S.H.
  • B.M.
  • E.S.

The list above was the previous list below is the actual ranking

  • N.J.
  • C.C.
  • Z.D.
  • H.L.
  • E.H.
  • F.A.
  • E.S.
  • B.M.
  • A.K.

I’d like to point out that I was not perfectly accurate but it was pretty damn close for a majority of the people in the tourney (S.H. didn’t play). For starters, I put C.C. under N.J. and that was true Z.D. beat H.L. which I will admit was wrong but I didn’t expect H.L. to lose. E.S. was accidentally given a bypass of the first game by me so B.M. didn’t get to play but I think they would have lost. F.A. was a wildcard in my last ranking and he lost his first match so not much to say there. E.H. was a bit weird because he was the person that owned the switch and he was the expected winner, I think he would have won if he picked his main not duck hunt. Overall I think that most everyone had fun and would play again.

credit: nintendo