2:30pm

Well, it's break!
It is now 2:30pm and I just woke up. I got almost 12 hours of sleep last night- that is an AWESOME feeling, my friends!
Life has been just dandy lately. I can't wait to see what Santa brings me for Christmas, the holiday of which the whole kid year revolves around. My family is getting our Christmas tree tonight. It should be good.
Anyways, I haven't even hung out with any friends so far. I went to Videostop last night and rented 10 movies and watched 4 of them by myself last night. I didn't feel like doing anything else. Tonight I have to work until midnight, and then I will come home and watch more movies.
I am a winner!

Good day my friends, good day.

Not to play off others, blog entries, but Ryan sure you are friends with Jamie on Facebook, but i have succeeded in obtaining her AIM screen-name (in a completely non-stalker way). Perhaps however, we are both talking to the same 40 year old male who reads up on Jamie spears to lure in young naive children. I myself maintain emotional distance from this fictional Jamie Spears. As well trust me when I say there is no point in chasing after that cause she's with child, at an early age kinda missed your chance. The funny part is, she told me not to leak her screen-name because it was her main screen-name not the one she gives to fans.

For any of those hoping to flirt with a MILF(perhaps illegal diction for an english blog)

here is her main screen-name

2:15:14 PM jamiexoxo1990: hey hun

2:15:14 PM Raphael Addante (Autoreply): maybe

2:15:19 PM jamiexoxo1990: sry i havnt been on

2:15:33 PM jamiexoxo1990: u want my regular screenname?

2:15:41 PM jamiexoxo1990: cause this one is now my fans

2:17:09 PM jamiexoxo1990: are u there?

5 hour intermission, me being super psyched! .... psyche ...

7:59:17 PM jamiexoxo1990: ?

7:59:28 PM Raphael Addante: what were u saying before (she just got psyched)

7:59:30 PM Raphael Addante: i was afk

7:59:34 PM jamiexoxo1990: o

7:59:41 PM jamiexoxo1990: this is now my fan SN

7:59:47 PM jamiexoxo1990: thats why I'm like nvr on

7:59:50 PM Raphael Addante: oh

7:59:54 PM jamiexoxo1990: u want my realy one?

7:59:59 PM Raphael Addante: sure

8:00:30 PM jamiexoxo1990: cheerqueen07 (did i just get psyched?)

As for my own aspirations, I get enough preggos from GLEE, glee.

3 Sons in the NHL? Oh Yah

Obviously everyone has seen the movies Miracle, Friday Night Lights, and Mystery, Alaska, because they are three of the most badass sports movies, nay works of film, ever created by humans. Why are they so incredibly engrossing? They elevate athletes to the level of demigods: heroes who go to combat with glistening abs and even glisteningier flow (roll with it, Hal). This is where athletes belong in the pantheon of societal respect, wedged right between Achilles and Nelson Mandela. Now, I speak not of those who choose to partake in recreational activities, i.e. skiing, squash, swimming, and call themselves athletes. To those poseurs: please shut up, no one asked you.

I am talking about those champions with the requisite mental, intestinal, and genital fortitude to engage in the most good of all sports: lax, hurling, and Texas football. But above these, still, one remains: ice hockey, a sport so rigorous and so feared by the mainstream population that it has been largely outsourced to Canada, turning that country into a cess pool of subhumanity, where the inhabitants are illiterate in two languages and communicate primarily by grunts and the phrase "Oh yah", as in "Hm. Them guys a bunch of hosers, eh?" "Oh yah." But do not turn up your noses at these simple folk, for they are not dumb. Rather, they are the smartest people ever, as they know that by risking crippling injury and repeated face-washings, they may just find the holy grail, a.k.a. make the Show. Once in the show, you virtually have free reign to do whatever the hell you want. Beat up an opponent? 10,000 more kids just bought your jersey. Beat up your teammate? Get voted to an all-star game. Beat up a cab driver over 30 cents of change? Get your picture on the cover of a video game. Not to mention the plethora of sideline reporters throwing themselves at you; just ask Kathryn Tappen.

At this point, you are probably doing two things, possibly simultaneously. First, you may be kicking yourself, literally or figuratively, for not playing puck and wondering why you did not. In addition, you are wondering how any of this pertains to high school athletics. To answer both questions: you are not descended from King Leonidas himself, and calm down I'm getting there.

Let's get one thing straight: hockey, like a flowing mane, is a gift. Just as Peter Bensen's locks were bequeathed to him by Thor, having the ability to pull off the Datsyuk at 106 mph probably means Bobby Orr anointed you at birth. With that in mind, we can automatically eliminate 99% of humans from the pool of potential candidates for the Saturday game. In addition, to succeed at the greatest sport ever, one must have the will power and ballsy demeanor to power through 20 consecutive herbies because Dan Elliott two-handed some kid in the neutral zone. Add to this the mental acuity necessary to answer such brain-busters as "Who are you?" "Where you from?" and "Who do you play for?", and you have weeded out all but the most genetically exquisite homo sapiens. Which brings me to the 2009-10 Hanover Marauders. We ball. Everyone loves us. We are the coolest, strongest, fastest, smartest, humblest kids in the school, and I know that if it weren't for capacity limitations, every single person from a 35 miles radius would come watch us ball against Exeter on Saturday. But I am not writing this to brag, you all know how rad we are. Rather, please bear this in mind while watching us hang a 12-0 ass-whupping on Nolan Daley and his band of fairy men: we're better than you, and we know it.

Ride With Me

Last night it snowed a couple of inches. The plow hadn't made its rounds through my neighborhood as I was driving home last night, so the roads were quite slippery. I was having fun taking the turns a little faster than usual and sliding around the corners. It turns out that vans don't do so hot in the snow. As you might guess, I ended up in a snow bank. It was not a big deal because I was only going several miles per hour when I slid off the road, but the front wheels were not where they were supposed to be. Nothing was damaged except my pride when a neighbor showed up and helped push me out of the snow drift. To my defense, I was just continuing the family tradition of harmlessly driving off the road while trying to have wintery fun on snowy roads. My brother started the tradition by wedging the car halfway up a snow bank last winter. Again, no one and nothing damaged, but I'm sure my brother felt rather stupid as he stood locked outside his running car with the front wheels spinning at shoulder-height. The police officer called shenanigans, but didn't issue any tickets. Eighty dollars and a towtruck later, we were back on the road and ready to go.

College Woes

I have terrible senioritis. I haven't done homework for weeks. Or any work at all. I don't know where all the time goes. I usually find myself eating, sleeping, or going on facebook. But this pattern cannot continue. I need to keep my grades up if I am to have any chance at all of getting into college. This whole college deal is freaking me out. My parents are under the impression that when I sit in my room for hours I am working studiously on supplements and homework. I am supposed to have all of my applications ready by the end of the week so I don't have to work all vacation. Unfortunately, I have seven more supplements to go. When they find out that I haven't been working at all, there will be a problem. They just don't understand that I have things to do. Facebook needs to be checked, My Life is Average needs to be read, and the weather channel has to constantly be monitored in case of a spontaneous snow storm. If I get actually get started on college stuff, everything goes fine until I have to write something. I can fill out my name, birth date, and social security number for hours without getting tired. But then comes the dreaded essay with some question about why I want to go to the college and what I have to offer. I don't think colleges need to ask why I want to go to the college. They should just accept the fact that I am applying, and feel flattered. I never know how to answer that part of the question. Because the campus is pretty? Because the food is good? Because my parents are making me? I can never come up with any good answers to that question. And as for what I have to offer the school, I am always at a loss for words. Besides my sunny disposition, and my irresistible wit and charm, I don't have much to offer. I am not nationally ranked in any sort of sport, or really good at any other activity. I do lots of things, but I can't write down "is ok at a, b, and c." I also can't write down how excellent I am at things because that would be a lie. And if I got into college because of that lie, my whole life would be based on a lie. I won't even get started on the cost of applying to colleges. I don't want to have to pay $75 to get DENIED to Harvard or some other school. If I shell out my hard earned money, colleges should at least have the decency to accept me. The College Board is another organization that is just out to get money. I got a letter from UNH telling me that my SAT scores had not been sent. I found this odd, because I had spent an hour on the SAT site trying to send my four free score reports. UNH was on the list, and I had even printed out the receipt. My mother called the College Board angrily to ask what was wrong, and after being on the phone for 2 hours, and on hold for more than 45 minutes, they told her there was nothing they could do. I had simply not pressed the "send" button when I had sent my scores, and I was going to own up to my mistake. Then they hung up. This does not bode well for my college application process. If I can't even send in SAT scores correctly, how am I going to fend for myself once I get into college? My main fear about applying is that I will be 0 for 11, and I will have to live in my parents basement for the rest of my life, a complete failure. Except my mother has told me several times that I will have to move out if I don't go to college. So I will either go live with my neighbors, or be homeless. And unless I get my act together, that is the horrible truth I have to face.

college

Applying to college is getting really old. I had heard it was going to be tough, but it is so much more. I am sooooo tired of filling out applications and writing essays. I try not to think about where I'm actually going to get in, because then the stress level increases to a new level. I end up asking myself questions like where am I going to be at this time next year? What's going to happen to me? Where am I headed in life? Am I headed anywhere in life? I just want it to be second semester so that I don't have to worry about this crap anymore, but even then the wait will not be over until April. I am foreseeing three months of lying in bed at night and being plagued by the vicious questions listed above. Its really hard to stay focused in high school when all this college bs is infecting my brain. High school seems less and less important everyday, yet it is still as important as ever until next semester. I don't know what's going to happen to me, but something tells me it's not going to be good.

Dear Mr. Bourne,

Today we had a snow day, and due to the heavy snowfall, my internet was down. I could not access google docs, and so I could not work on my profile paper. I am writing here today to ask for the favor of an extension waiver for my paper until Monday the fourteenth of December, 2009. I have been vigorously getting ready for this years ski season, and I have had trouble balancing the academic component of a student-athlete's lifestyle. If granted this extension, I would have adequate time to both take advantage of this god given new snow, as well finish writing and editing my essay, so the essay can show the full extent of my writing potential. One may ask "Well Paco, why don't you simply compromise on your athletics and work on your essay instead?". My future rests on my shoulders for the eastern cup openers on the 19th and 20th of December as I must prove to various coaches from respectable colleges that I am able to compete with the best of the best, and that I should be a part of their college's ski program. To achieve these goals, I am asking for one thing from you Mr. Bourne, that is I need a weekend extension on the profile paper, and I will be able to please you with my paper on the following Monday.

Let it snow,

Paco

SKILLS THAT KILLS

I don't brag much, so here goes:

I rock. When it comes to owning at things that have no use but goofing off, I win. Let's take iMovie for example. I own. GAME OVER

Garageband? MISH MASH AND SPLASH I have a BALLIN' tune and PHAT rhymes in less than half an hour.

BUT those programs are child's play. What's REALLY fun to POWN FACE with is Photoshop. Less than an hour of work and I photoshop some RANDOM kid into a group picture and it looks SEAMLESS. CLONE STAMP TOOL, BACKGROUND ERASER. EDIT, LAYER OPTIONS, DROP SHADOW, INNER GLOW. GAUSSIAN BLUR. BALL UP. Shift+apple+N and I have ANOTHER LAYER. Maaaaaaan that's like TEN LAYERS. I just adjust opacity, Bevel and Emboss and BOOM. Another ten minutes and I PHOTOSHOP SOMEONE'S ARM AROUND HIM. BALL UP. I change the foreground color to PURPLE and add CLOUDS. Now we're BALLIN GOOD IN THE HOOD. My council poster's last year? I perfectly morphed myself onto Richard Nixon's head. I can stick Chewbacca's head on my body and laugh at that for hours. I can take a Paul Pierce photo and THROW IT ON THE GROUND. I THREW THE CAKE TOO.

I fenced my fencing coach and won. TWICE.

I'll go back to being meek now.

IM FRIENDS WITH JAMIE LYNN SPEARS ON FACEBOOK

I just thought everyone should know that I am facebook friends with Jamie Lynn Spears. And its not some weird person pretending to be her, because the guy who sent me a link to her page actually met her and she friended him. I met him on a cruise and he was cool and is trying to become a rapper so he got to meet young Spears at one of Britney's concerts. Anyways, when I friended her, she had 4,996 friends, four under the limit of friends you can have on facebook. The next time I looked at her page, it was at 5000 and nobody else could get in HA HA. So I know you are all jealous, but you will have to friend a poser instead with 23 friends that the REAL Spears made fun of on her wall.
Love,
Ryan K.

Kristin Britney Tate.

Hello Everyone!

I know have all missed hearing from me on the blog, but I've been very busy! I had to meet with Spielburg a lot this week to discuss a possible role for me in his upcoming film. He really wants me in it, but I'm just SO busy with everything right now, you know?
It's actually very cute, the paparazzi has started following me to school... Someone approached me today and said they wanted to take a photo for the yearbook... It was clever, but I was too smart for that. I knew that if I let them take the picutre, It'd be all of US the next day.
Ughhh I just want to be a normal teenager and live a normal life, you know? Why do they have to follow me everywhere? I think it's very sweet that I have fans and what not, but I want my personal life to be private.
Anyways, got to run off to an interview!

xoxo
Miss Tate

The Dream

This coming weekend, my two brothers and I are embarking on a monumental journey. We have planned to trek to West Lebanon and make our first stop at Taco Bell. At this mexican taqueria, I plan to purchase the famous Cheesy Gordita Crunch, merely one whole dollar and a fifty-cent coin. From there, we're heading to McDonald's where I'll find myself putting down a few clams for their salty and unhealthy french fries. Keep in mind that I will not begin eating until I have gathered all of my food. After McDonald's, we'll scoot over to Burger King, which I prefer, and I'll throw up a few mandarins for the incredible Rodeo Burger. This healthy sandwich is made up of a hearty burger and fresh Vermont cheese topped with homemade onion rings and barbeque sauce. Finally, our last stop will be at Wendy's for a chocolate frosty and the thrifty 5 piece chicken nuggets. After completing this dream, we will park our bodies and begin a feast... a feast greater than Thanksgiving, Christmas and a Birthday Dinner combined. Most good indeed.

I'll be surprised if anyone gives me this.

Modern Warfare 2: Perhaps the Greatest Game Ever (Although MW3 will probably be better)

After playing this game intensively after it was released and during the holiday break, I have a new appreciation for the meticulous laborers, animation specialists, music/sound directors, and all others involved in the making of a video game. There is just so much stuff they have to incorporate into the game. They have to create large, realistic, and crisp environments, take into account anything and everything a player might want to do at all times, and much more. Modern Warfare 2 is definitely more expansive than any other Call of Duty game currently on the market. Although the campaign is just as short as most Call of Duty campaigns, it definitely incorporates larger maps and scenarios, more bots (bad guys) to kill, a larger variety of people, machines, weaponry, etc. And included is a new 2 player special operations mode which had never been incorporated into Call of Duty before. And of course the infamous online multiplayer, which is definitely the best so far (even topping Halo in my book). The customizations, from call-signs and rankings to attachments and perks, are insane. There are just so many ways to personalize your account and this definitely is one important aspect that lures so many people to the online multiplayer and why MW2 is (and well may be in the future too) king right now.

Personally not having played the solo campaign very much, I cannot comment on it excessively. I can, however, say that there is definitely much more to do (other than the regular skirmishes, on the ground). Incorporation of vehicles definitely makes the game more enjoyable, although the creators' conservatism in this area does displease many fans, including me. With that said, I can however comment extensively on the cooperative spec ops mode. Definitely key to why this Call of Duty game is so popular, the spec ops mode is something that makes it fun for anyone amateur. In this mode, when one player is wounded, the other can always revive him. So for the first-timer, this is definitely something that will help make the game more enjoyable. Another aspect of spec ops that is outstanding is the need for strategy. Whether you're breaking through a gulag facility or facing waves of juggernauts on a oil rig, strategy is definitely key in being able to get past each wave and achieve the objective. This takes the game to a whole new level; blind shooting is not enough anymore. Although pausing to plan an attack is sometimes a bit annoying, it definitely makes the player think more and really get into the game. Last but not least, the multiplayer is still "boss." The huge, huge maps definitely gives the up to 16 players much more room to work with. And nothing is more satisfying than destroying a few opponent with a few prolonged bursts or long range headshots and getting away with it. And the new heartbeat sensor and thermal sights make hunting so much easier. Really, there need not be anything said about the online multiplayer; once you have played it, you will know.


Stay tuned for the next edition of the Hanover High Gamer's Association, "LIVE with Thermal Sight, Silenced Barrett 82A1(M107)"

Yea no...................

The College Process

People hate and fear the college process for years before it happens, and parents always have horror stories from their friends about kids that didn't make it through for whatever reason.
I would like to say that I really don't think it was THAT bad. Pain in the arse for sure, because every time you add a college to your list you have to write a supplement that you don't care about but have to make good, but other than the supplements it's pretty simple. One essay, which most seniors write for english class anyways, and filling out the common app are both pretty simple.
In fact, I would say that the hardest part of the college process (besides choosing schools) is getting those stupid yellow sheets into the (for the most part) lazy guidance staff. I don't see why it takes them to write a blurb on thirty kids then ship the stuff off. Sheesh.
Anyways, happy hunting to everyone trying to get into schools for next year.

forgot

wow i forgot again. i was going to do this last night but my internet was down (lamest excuse ever i know) then i was going to do it this afternoon but i forgot. i really need to get my s*** together. my goal for the next quarter is to really focus on APW because I can do wayyy better in it and the teacher is pretty chill. I think im learning alot about writing which is good. I enjoy this class wayyyyy more than my other english class. I'm a hugee idiot for taking 2 englishes and I think it just may ruin my life. I cannot wait til freakin college man. This highschool thing is getting reallyyyy old. I've honestly been pretty tired of it since freshman year, but now im really dunzo. I've also been missing common ground for my dartmouth class, so i have no idea what is going on with caps and gowns or anything. anyways this has been fun. lets do it again sometime

it's a conspiracy!

the people who inspect my car and repair my car, though at different locations, are entirely the same people. i'll take the saturn to the shop, and sure they'll fix one or two of its' many problems, but i've got this shifty feeling they do a little somethin' more to it. unplug a few wires. loosen some bolts. keep me coming back. and if it doesn't break down on me, the inspectors give me a new list of things to chop down and burn a money-tree for when she doesn't pass the test. as well as directions to a shop where they can utilize phony mustaches and pretend that they aren't the same people as the inspectors as they cash-in/cash-out/makeout with the moneyz. it's foolproof. golf clap worthy. they thought no one would ever figure it out. the hard part, phase two if you will, is foiling this crazyness. bright idears?

Seriously? You want to cross NOW?

I have noticed an unsettling trend lately. People have decided to cross the street in front of the high school whenever they want. Eighteen wheeler rumbling down the street? Not a problem. Two lanes of traffic? Eh....they'll stop. Obviously, their inability to distinguish moving cars from stopped cars has made my job more interesting. It wouldn't be so bad if a student messed up once and started to cross at the wrong time, but when faculty starts to risk getting plastered to the pavement, it makes you wonder. Maybe my directions aren't clear enough. I won't pretend that I give perfect instructions every time, but I have my back turned to the pedestrians when they cross. I am pretty sure I never gave them any indication to cross. Then there are also the people who run up to the very edge of the street and stop. Of course this means that the traffic on that side of the street comes to a sharp stop. So now one lane of traffic is moving, the second has stopped from fear of hitting the pedestrian, and the third is giving me the evil eye because they have been waiting for so long. Good job, you just managed to mess up the entire system. I understand you may be in a hurry, but so is everyone else. So cool your rockets and simmer down. And most of all, don't be an idiot and try to cross the street when that SUV has you in his sights.

The Atlanta Falcons have the ball. They have tried a number of passing plays up to this point, but have been relatively unsuccessful. Matt Ryan, their 23 year-old quarterback has gone from cool customer to a full-blown headcase and the game is in danger of slipping out of their grasp. So what do they do? They give the ball to their powerhouse tailback/extraterrestrial superhero/Ph.D. Michael Turner, and he runs for a touchdown, as he has in each of the past 7 games. The man is sick. He may not have everything going for him--for instance he is not French--but his hustle game is top notch and he has probably killed a man.

To start with, he is shorter than I am, listed generously at 5'10". Born with this crippling disability, though, Turner chose to overcome and evidently did so by getting either titanium robot legs or eating animals python-style, as he weighs 260 pounds. You read that correctly: if you could life as much as this guy weighs, Megan would mos def want it.

In the interest of continuing my shameless plagiarism of El Mambalito, I will now digress and discuss a delicious food item. Humpty Dumpty "All Dressed" chips are radness personified. Only available in and around Canada, these chips comprise every flavor imaginable and were created when some mountain man factory employee, hammered drunk on his wife's best moonshine to drown the sorrows of watching the Bruins beat the Canadiens, tipped all the ingredients into one batch. This man deserves to be commended for his efforts and spared when we inevitably bomb Canada.

Senioritous

True procrastination is an art. For example, on Sunday night i needed to memorize tres estrofas de español. "Three stanzas of Spanish." But instead, I played video games, watched shows, then proceeded to repeat the cycle. I would have memorized it but, I really wanted to know what Dudley - from Harry Potter - had said about Cedric in the beginning of the 5th movie. Naturally my interest was then peaked and I remained "occupied" for the next two hours. Things that help the procrastinator do his job can be broken down into three categories. The first is comfort, do you have comfortable surroundings in which you could theoretically put off homework for multiple hours? I for one do. I have a bed aimed at my 24" computer, and a remote that allows me to stay in my bed. This of course sparks the second requirement, you need a media viewing device that can be operated remotely, because if you have to get up each time a show ends or a movie ends, you might end up inadvertently close to your homework and then proceed to do it. The third and most cost taxing "cosa" that you need is media. Have lots of media and have it on you computer. You can take the dvds you have at home and you can move them onto your computer, you could illegally download movies, or you can watch shows online. I recently came across a program that allows you to watch shows online, and you can control the program with your remote, "jackpot." Now all I have to do when I get home is locate my remote, strip down, and procrastinate. Senioritous is great.

Being a Senior in Band

It's not just about how old you are, it's about being a senior in band. A senior in band has many responsibilities. First off, there's the section leader. This section leader is oftentimes a senior and responsible for keeping their section in line through head smacks and derisive comments. For example: the trumpet section leader is permitted, even encouraged, to smack up saxophones for playing after the cut-off. Most saxophones ask to be reprimanded. They honk and squeak. They pull out their mouthpiece and only play that for maximum wtf headsplitting anger. This clearly is a section whose only leader is consistently guilty of bringing Dunkin Donuts coffee into the band room. Therefore it falls on the upperclassmen of the trumpet section to keep the most rowdy of the underclassmen in line. Yelling, smacking, hiding instrument cases are all methods employed to control the uncontrollable. But its not all fun and games, being a senior in band. We have responsibilities as well. It is the senior class' duty to pass on the traditions to next year's seniors as well as to groom the underclassmen to be cool. Let's face it, even the trumpet section isn't cool when they're freshmen. It is only by the hand of seniors that the pride of trumpet section is passed on. This year presents a special challenge as well. With seven new freshmen and only three upperclassmen every day is a battle. Nothing we can't handle though. I was taught by the best. The memory of Markus' "YEAH BABY" and "AMERICA" shout-outs will live on. I didn't choose to be a crazy senior bandy. I was tasked by Markus to be the crazy one. For every band needs one. So to anyone I've angered, solos I've interrupted, or freshmen I've stepped upon, I apologize. It was all for the Greater Good.

Relief

These past few weeks have been so hectic. Staying up till 1 AM on most weekdays has basically destroyed my will to even attempt schoolwork. From what I've heard from almost all previous seniors, senior year is supposed to be one chill year. Where is all the free time and lack of homework? What happened to "Let's party" instead of "Let's finish this math homework?" To be frank, I am beginning to believe that senior year is overrated. Ok, you say 2nd semester will be different. But really? Isn't it more like 3rd quarter, after we get into college? I gotta say that this year has been almost more stressful than any other year.

When will rain come to end the drought? I believe the answer is next Tuesday, November 10th. Why November 10th? Only one word (or rather title). Modern Warfare 2. Probably the best release this year I gotta say. The gore and sheer violence will definitely release some of the pent up stress, if not all. There is just something about shooting things repeatedly that excites the minds of most teenagers. But most can't even imagine holding a gun to someone else. And this new game questions further our obsession with guns and death. In a dramatic battle, or rather a massacre, the gamer is forced to team up with other terrorists to brutally kill all the civilians in a an American airport terminal. What if one were to be kind and shoot the terrorists? You lose the level and have to start over. Why has Infinity Ward chose to include this bloody and even offensive scene? The intentions of Modern Warfare 2 was to broaden the horizon of the gaming experience, so that players would get a good view of what soldiers of other nations (and even "terrorists") think about the current situation in the world, or so says Infinity Ward. But does forcing the players to play America's terrorists really help them to understand why these people do what they do? Or does it just make them hate these people more, and obscure the vision that could potentially allow them to understand the actions of so called terrorists. Regardless of the intentions, I think that this game will still draw me into the mindless destruction that always seem, ironically, to lighten my mood.

Quart 1

I always do very poorly in quarter 1, as I usually raise my grades up a full letter grade (say, from B- to A-) by the end of the semester or year. However, colleges are now asking for my Q1 grades for EA and ED applications. I am currently enrolled in many new and challenging classes. I understand the material and am soaking up intelligence like a sponge, but my grades don't reflect that. Colleges will think that I've been goofing off in class and am not a good kid to have, as I have dropped off in my senior year. In reality I am much more academic oriented this year, but I have not had the chance to pull my grades up in Quarter 2, a luxury that I usually had to my advantage.

Pierre Thomas/Sunny D

Phe-nomenal. Pierre Thomas is an upcoming star in the National Football League. The man runs for the New Orleans Saints and, after this week, has really proven his place on the team. Let's look deeper into Pierre Thomas and his unmatchable lifestyle.

To begin, his name is French. The man has no traces of a french heritage, yet he manages to overcome the connotations of his name to run train all over defenses such as the Falcons. His two most notable games this season have been against the Buffalo Bills and the Atlanta Falcons. In the first game, he racked up 126 rushing yards and rushed for 2 touchdowns for a total of 24 fantasy points. Last night, he rushed for 91 yards and rushed for a touchdown as well as caught a pass for a touchdown for a total of 19 fantasy points. Prior to his second touchdown, Thomas brought the Saints offense to the Falcons' 1. Excited that they would simply pitch the ball to Pierre to get his second touchdown of the half, the Saints dashed my dreams as they took out Thomas and gave the ball to Reggie Bush who contributed nothing to the process of the game.

Enough with football and Pierre Thomas though... I just snacked upon some Sunny D. Similar to Thomas, I can only really think of one word to describe this beverage: ri-diculous. Sunny D retains such a distinct taste that I have been missing for many years. Finally, no more than five minutes ago, I reunited with this drink for a moment in bliss while I was writing this blog post.

Thank you.

Doubling up your fries at the Cafe

I am one of the few kids from Hanover High School who actually enjoys and chooses to eat at the cafe. I love their "Meal Combo" where I can get a sandwich (cold cuts or hot), two sides and a milk for $3.75. Though this still seams kind of expensive for a school's cafe, it is much cheeper than buying food at the popular Co-Op, and you also save a lot of money over buying the items individually (it could cost you up to $6.25) at the cafe. However, many kids hate the cafe, and think they don't deserve their money. So what they will do is take half of the french fries from another platter and put them in the platter they will buy, thus getting 1.5 times as many fries. Kids don't do this with fries, but also General Chao's, popcorn chicken, chicken nuggets and hot food items that come in a platter. The other day I really got angry. It was General Tsao's day in the cafe, and I was ready for getting some chicken from the cafe. There were to girls right in front of me, sophomores or juniors who I didn't know. They were very notable girls. However, right before I took my chicken, they took their chicken AND THEN THE GRABBED HALF THE CHICKEN IN THE OTHER PLATTER AND PUT IN THEIR OWN. Then I had to take the platter that was only half-full. What got me even more mad was that they were sharing the chicken but the cheap bastards were too cheap to buy two platters, instead they had to steal one, at the expense of myself. What got me even more mad is they were stealing chicken from me, an athlete who needs around 5,000 calories a day because of my high-level endurance training, where as these bastards probably only needed about 2,500 each (or less).

I regretted not going crazy when they took chicken from the platter I was about to buy. This would've accomplished several things, like teaching them a lesson, showing the cafe workers that some unethical cheapees steal from them, and most importantly I would have gotten my full share of chicken. I know I would probably have regretted going crazy if I had, but I still like to imagine the predicament those two junior/sophomore girls would have been in if caught guilty.

Drivers

There is this one driver on my road who drives maybe an '04 Toyota 4Runner. He is the most annoying driver ever. One thing that's really annoying is how slow he drives. The speed limit is 40, and I haven't seen a cop on this road since some driver drove into my marsh about 4 years ago. So, most people drive around 50-55 to save gas (except of course around cyclists, who I slow down for). However, this silly bunny in the bulky 4Runner drives around 30-35. I started to tailgate him, get him going a little faster, he only slowed down more to around 30 mph.

random stuff

soooooooooo the last few days have been unfun big time. First of all i turned 18 on monday and I spent my special day desperately trying to finish my CEN essay. Why did i take that class??? I dont even know anymore. THEN I try to do the blog on monday and guess what? it doesnt even work. I cant sign in and i ended up totally confused

The next day I wake up feeling like crap...literally. I was afraid that I had swine flu and I spent most of the day yesterday feeling miserable in my bed. Then I get an email from Mr. Bourne telling me that i was signing in using the wrong email, which led me to wonder why I signed up for this blog using an email i havent used in months or perhaps years??? maybe i get off on punishing myself...anywho I hope this blog counts as on time because it would have been done monday if i wasnt so stupid.

Now we have another problem in the works. I was going to hand in my personal essay tuesday, because i got an extension, but instead i got sick so now its due today. The problem is i emailed it to myself and now i cant log on to school email.

Good Morning Y'all

On a scale from 1-10 my morning was a 6.

Oh and mr bourne: this is my blog to make up for letter #1, which i did not do.

So this morning I woke up and had a niiiice bowl of lucky charms. Arent lucky charms just great? yes?! yes! I then walked over to my bedrooom and got dressed. Then, I went to the bathroom and brushed my teeth. Then I put my socks on. Then I put my sweatshirt on because it was really chilly. Then I went to the kitchen again and put some H2O in a water bottle for the day. Then my mom bid me goodbye, and I embarked on another greeeeaaaaaaaat day.

And then i drove here and listened to the ghostbusters song on repeat. That damn song is stuck in my head and its giving me a false sense of anxiety....

and now, here i sit, writing this long boring as hell blog.

well, good morning! see all of you beautiful people in class today!

Sincerely,

Kristin Tate

tired and cranky

i want to go to bed but noooo ihave to stay up and write this
i am tired and VERY cranky. kristin needs her sleep. ASAP! if i dont get to sleep soon, i will be in a VERY bad mood in class tomorrow. we dont want that now, doooo we?!

i wonder what im going to dream about tonight.. huh... hopefully somethin cool.
i am so tired i can barely see straight. i wana go to bed hmmm yeahhhhh bed. bed sounds good right now. you know what i really wana do?!?!?1 GO TO BED!!!!!
and i have that dartmouth class tomorrow... ughhhhhhhhh

well this is a classic example of "saving it for the blog", children. i have just ranted about all the worries in my head... now maybe i can get a little shut eye. goodnight, i will see all you sinners tomorrow in class

Turkey Day

Two weeks until turkey and mashed potatoes smothered with gravy, cranberry sauce, brussel sprouts, stuffing, squash, and clams. The main course is always fine and dandy, but the pies is where it's at. Pumpkin, minced meat, apple, blueberry, rhubarb, rum pecan, cherry, banana cream, peach, and lime. It's important to fill up your main stomach on turkey and 'taters, but never let them spill over into the dessert stomach. After you finish the main course, don't dive into the pies right away; take a rest for about half and hour and talk with the aunts and uncle. Maybe play a little bridge or hearts. Then, while you're still playing, have someone bring out the pies and cider. Please do not ruin the pies by eating them with ice cream; it will just take away from the flavor. The only exception is apple pie. You can have a little bit of vanilla ice cream with the apple pie if you want. The pumpkin pie should be served with a tad of whipped cream, but other than that don't add anything else to the pies. I would advise starting with the rum-pecan and banana-cream pies; they are too sweet to be saved for last. Don't scarf down huge bites at a time. The meal is all about relaxing, so take little bites and enjoy yourself.

Remember, only two weeks left. I would recommend buying your practice turkey soon so that you can have your warm-up thanksgiving this weekend.

Eat baby Eat

Many people cannot manage to competitively eat. It is an art; do not misunderstand, I am no pro, but I am no novice either. To put my skills bluntly, one day after a crew practice, I ate the "big green" at lous in under twenty minutes. Then i proceeded to "gank" food from unsuspecting gossipers. in my defense, who cares enough about who someone might like, to not notice me "sniping bacon and hash browns."

Any who, when talking about true competitive eating, I fall by the waste side. several heroes in the food eating world include, Kobayashi and Joe Chestnut. Both have done several things to take note and require awe. Joe does the unheard of; he drains a gallon of milk in under 42 seconds. How can anyone challenge him after seeing that? Well, Kobayashi challenges a grizzly bear to a hotdog eating contest. Naturally he loses, I mean its an adult grizzly, but he challenged a bear. How much more epic can you be than test your skillz verse a monster.

Anther blunt realization is you cannot feel that same "hunger" watching other sports, sometimes you can satiate yourself on the food channel or watching Iron chef, but its just not the same, its like asking someone for a coke and getting a pepsi, its lacking.

-just another impressed fan

How Hanover, New Hampshire Will Crumble

• 

Call me twisted, but after the football game the other nite, there was something in the air, I thought, as I looked across the old soccer field towards town at that huge fire, burning through the silhouetted trees. I think - yes, yes i did have one of those glimpses into the future. For a split second, i saw the ruins of hanover. Or, the making of ruins, considering Hanover was completely engulfed in flames. Its definitely going to happen during an alumni bonfire; the fire will spread like fire (derp) - i don't know how, maybe some drunk dartmouth kid pulls out a burning stake from the fire (which will most likely grow over the years) and the whole thing topples on hanover like jenga, who knows? - and this LOTR preciousness that is Hanover, will come to an end.
HOWEVER! the TRUE dartmouth smartiespantzes, the ones who will emerge alive from the fireproof-library long after the city has crumbled, will peeeeeeer out from behind those thick books, and rebuild. Dartmouth, New Hampshire, they'll call it. NO ONE will pay attention as they cross the street, fore it's the first law of Dartmouth, New Hampshire. Secondly, 99 rocks music (its' buttrock, emocore, sadness, screamo preserved) will control all airwaves with a stranglehold. BAH. Dartmouth security, sick of playing "cops", claims dictatorship first over the upper valley, then the world?!? BAHH. All the while, we'll be the graduating class of 3013 at Dartmouth High School. BAAAAAHHH. deep thoughts, deep sigh.

I hate the common app

Jesus christ. I just wrote four essays today. So proud of myself. And I did the Common App. Which sucks for many reasons. The worst of these is that it is confusing. Actually no the worst is that it keeps deleting all the stuff I put in it. What the hell. Completely useless.

And the Common App is even more stupid when you ate trying to do it this late at night. Cause not it keeps pissing me off more and more and deleting stuff faster and faster. It is like an App from heck.

Hmmm I have had such a productive day. I started working at around ten this morning and didn't stop until five minutes ago. Actually thats not true cause this is work. I also spent hours and hours on YouTube, Addictinggames, Jamglue, and reading ridiculous Tucker Max stories. What a quality day.

For food I started the day off with waffles, then moved to toast, and finished up with some ice cream and apple cobbler after a mix of chinese and indian food. Doesn't that sound delicious. I know you are all jealous of the quality of my day.

I have a really cozy bed waiting for me now. So goodnight and see everyone tomorrow.

No Tecca, Heck with You

Having completed Week 6 of the RIP Cory season, one thing has become abundantly clear: Tecca sucks. When I notice that boy skipping flamboyantly down the hall towards me, I don't see a lanky body obscured by a certain type of fro, I see two trains colliding. But don't take my word for it, let's examine the facts, shall we? Gifted the first overall pick despite repeated shenanigans and baggery, he currently sits at 3-3, good for a stellar 4th in the division. In addition to these unremarkable results, his demeanor in losing has been quite pooor (sic) as well. Upon being embarrassed, instead of a courteous pound or bro hug, he insists on busting out, in a voice so high that it cannot come from two testicles, the characteristic "You know what, (insert name of victorious opponent here), f--- you." Stay classy, Tecca.

But enough about the sitzmark on the undergarments of the league. Week 6 contained some truly excellent gridiron action. Natalie Clark Brighton needed a last minute TD run from Michael Turner to edge Jr. Bacon Goots Burger 95-93, despite the goose egg thrown up by Matt Hasselbeck; Mengoots was reportedly less than impressed. Speaking of Hasselbeck, a historically worthless trade occurred earlier in the week between NCB and Reverse Peristalsis All Over the Yard, sending Hasselbeck for Owen Daniels, who actually went ahead and had himself a day...on the bench. To summarize, a total of zero, as in horse collar, points were contributed by these men to their teams.

In other league action, Trashley was too busy being not clothed to instruct Sam Gest how to run his life and thus their team struggled mightily. In a related story, the Mamba was consumed with latching upon a certain bitty and so failed to have any type of day whatsoever. On the flipside of these struggles, Football Head decided to go off and reportedly made the Golden Bear bow to his sensei. Finally, in a rare bright spot for the league, Tom Brady's performance against the Titans, which could best be described as non-consensual, caused Shane's having-fun smile to appear for an almost unprecedented 5 straight hours.

Matt Forte

The Chicago Bears' tailback has consistently struggled in the NFL season thus far. He remains on my fantasy team, but I constantly question why he's still there. But, what flusters me more than anything is why my "friend" initially advised me to draft him as my first round pick. Every Sunday, I open Safari, click on the bookmark "Fantasy Football," and see that Matt Forte has rushed for 13 yards and accumulated a total of 1 point for the week.

The main bullet point of my presentation is that Matt Forte could quite possibly be considered the biggest bust of the NFL season this year. His statistics thus far are the following: 86 attempts for 294 yards, averaging 3.4 yards per attempt. He has one touchdown all year. With his morale and his skill, he has kept my team at the bottom of my league with a record of 2-3 (probably 2-4 after tonight because Forte failed to help the squadron this week).

Who knows, maybe I'll get lucky and Forte will read this post and, from there, two different things could happen. He could feel inspired and run his shoes off for the rest of his season. He could also get in contact with me and make fun of the fact that he's making millions while I'm still in high school and I complain about Fantasy Football on an English blog.

The Swine Flu Vaccine: A Dangerous Solution

I'm a bit skeptical about the swine flu vaccine. This is because swine flu is a new kind of germ, in the effort to develop a vaccine to save mankind from this disease, testing for possible side effects has been virtually ignored. Although the vaccine is probably harmless, a worry still lurks in my mind. What if it's not? This superbug is a new kind of flu, and is much more deadly than the normal flu. I'm afraid that since the this flu is so different, the vaccine will not work the way it is meant to. I'm afraid that the disease will mutate after we all get the vaccine, into an even worse virus, and most of the world will be infected. Then, the most of the worlds' population will die after languishing in pain for a few days. Those who don't die will be either turned into dark-seeking zombies, or will be immune. Finally, the zombies will eat the innocent people who survived the disease. Sound familiar? This is exactly what happened in "I Am Legend."

Although many people denied that this could actually happen, it seems that doomsday is rapidly approaching. We should all be prepared for anything to happen, and know as much as we can about this possibility. I suggest that our APW class watches "I Am Legend" together and takes notes on how Will Smith survived. I'm sure that most of the class knows quite a lot about zombies and other horrific creatures, but I am not one of them. I cannot watch scary movies. The most frightening movie I've seen was "I Am Legend," and I had nightmares for three months. Ads for "2012" practically gave me a panic attack. I saw about five minutes of "Resident Evil" on TV and had to leave as soon as the zombies limped onstage. In event of an apocalyptic event that involves creatures from horror films, I wouldn't know what to do. If I got attacked by a zombie, I would probably cry. That's my only defense.

In light of this approaching disaster, I have some tips on how to survive when the time comes. Everyone should remember the symptoms of a person infected with an "I Am Legend" type disease–red eyes, hair loss, growling–and do their best to stay away from infected people. Make sure to stockpile on nonperishable items. Twinkies supposedly last forever, so they are an ideal food to keep in your basement. Also, never leave home without a few of them in your backpack; you never know when disaster might strike. Remember to stay calm in event of an emergency. Also, talk with some of the zombie experts in our grade. I know of some very competent people who know everything about zombies and end-of-the-world scenarios. Although I'm not saying we shouldn't get a swine flu vaccine, I'm simply pointing out one of the very real consequences that could occur if we all do.

Roadrunner and His Band of Only Bugles

As my new job as a crossing guard, I have realized there are some crazy drivers out there. I know that it is early in the morning, but sleepiness doesn't justify their behavior. Everyday there are drivers decide whether or not they want to stop. Every now and then someone will get distracted while they are stopped, and it will take them a few seconds to realize that I am beckoning them to move forward. If I get the chance, I am going to creep up to one of the sleeping drivers and bang harshly on their hood; hopefully this will elicit some sort of irrational reaction from the driver; by the same token, hopefully the driver won't be surprised and stomp on the gas. I suppose that my directions aren't always the clearest, but there're not that bad.

Every morning, there is one asian couple that turns left from Summer Street onto Lebanon Street. The driver is female and wears glasses. And yes, she is often awarded the "Worst Driver of the Morning" award. She always creeps up to the line, leans over her steering wheel, and points questioningly in the direction she wants to go. "Can I turn left?" No, the circular motion of my arm is merely a friendly morning wave. Once I spell out the turning left is OK, she procedes as far forward as possible--making me jump out of the way before I get run over--and then cuts a very sharp left. This story isn't supposed to re-enforce any stereotypes, but let's face it: it certainly doesn't not support any stereotypes.

The best part of the job is wearing the neon green jacket. It is a very nice shell: high collar, wide cuffs, eye-hurting color. I would really look like a boss if it said something cooler across the back; I was thinking "SWAT" would look nice. It is also a great jacket to wear while riding my motorcycle. It is next to impossible to miss its radioactive glow.

Keeping you safe in your cars and on the crosswalks,

Your neighborhood crossing guard.

Cell Phones

I just lost my cellphone. Right now I am worried, trying to figure out how I will get through the rest of the day without it. I can't remember where I put it, or when the last time was that I had it. How am I supposed to find it when it could be anywhere in school?
Even though I am worried about finding it, I am even more worried about the fact that people rely way to much on their material devices. Cellphones used to not even exist, and now one can't live a moment without it. I find if I even leave it at home for a day I experience with-drawl. It's one of those things that I feel that I need at all times, just in case.
In reality technology is very useful. It probably has saved millions of lives, or helped us move forward, but we seemed pretty well off without it. People are reading less and less, while watching TV more often now that it is also accessible on the internet. The simple things in life just don't seem to satisfy.
Sometimes I wish we could just go back and live life where there wasn't technology. Life would almost be less stressful. Now I have a million and one things I have to keep track of when I go out, because they all are expensive and I don't feel I can be without them. I also always find myself constantly checking facebook or email. I can barely last ten minutes without checking one or the other. It may be just because I get bored, but I feel I would get so much more work done if they just weren't there.
I still haven't found my cell phone, I am still freaking out, but I am sure it will turn up soon, and if it doesn't I will survive...

spaldo

sooo i have a problem. i have a dartmouth class that runs before apw which sometimes runs kinda late. why is this a problem?? because i end up late for apw!!! i hate even missing one second of that class. the classes on grammar usage are so controversial and thought provoking.  reading the poetic writing of my peers is so inspiring it sometimes brings me to tears.  As soon as my dartmouth class ends i sprint back to HHS saying a silent prayer to the gods that i wont miss a second of apw.  just writing this makes me excited for 5th period tomorrow. when i walk in that room  never know what will happen next, but one thing is for sure: that i will leave that room a better man

HOW COULD I FORGET TELLING WRITING!!!!!! dayummmmm that book is amazing.  Its a real page turner. If Shakespeare had read that book, he would have been a better writer. Its a flawless piece of work.  The plots are exciting, the advice life changing. I can only hope that i can get my hands on my own copy, because I know that this beautiful piece of work is something i never want to be without. Thank You Telling Writing

Zombies

Zombies are so cool!!! They are my favorite monster of all time. Now in case of an impending zombie attack, there are 5 things that you NEED to know:

1. Organize before they rise

2. They feel no fear, why should you?

3. Cut off their heads!

4. Blades don't need reloading...

5. Keep moving, keep low, keep quiet, and keep alert!

The ONLY way to kill a zombie is by destroying the brains! According to Max Brooks (Author of "The Zombie Survival Guide"), it takes almost 24 hours for an infected human to reanimate from a corpse to a zombie. Infection can only occur through direct fluidic contact.

I think that zombies are cool because in a way they are a metaphor for disease. Also, people realize what is truly important in life. People are able to see the difference between just surviving and really LIVING.
The end.

Season Marked by Poor Effort

With week 4 of RIP Cory action in the books, some immense surprises have arisen. Foremost, the Mamba has nursed its body back to health after being wounded in a fierce mongoose battle in week 1 to become one of the hottest teams in the league. Whipped Already? (co-owned by Sam and Trashley Widmer) is another squad on the rise, having bounced back from a vicious beating at the hands of the league-leading Natalie Clark Brighton in week 1.

Alas, for every cinderella story, there must also be a silly sophomore with a J-fro, and Chris Tecca has both these qualities in spades. At the time we went to press, his matchup had not yet been completed, but rest assured, he will find some way to lose, as he has managed to do nearly every other week. Another fallen giant, in more ways than one, is the Gunnar Shaw-owned Grizzly Adams Had a Beard, which is currently in the midst of a two game skid.

Other than these erratic performers, the season has been marked by parity and consistency. Each team has both won and lost a game, and the playoff races are tight, with no clear frontrunner. The other teams are: the always abysmal Lata Jobin, the mercurial Illness All Over the Yard, the quietly excellent Ferguson, and Disregard Women Obtain Currency, whose owner shall remain nameless, but has recently gotten himself. Finally, there is the team owned by Will "Mongoots" Gautier, who has been too consumed with watching youtube videos of subpar quality to actually name his team. Seahorses 4eva.

Becoming Famous

We all aspire to be famous. However, our paths leading to that fateful day of reckoning all take different paths. For me, I found my fame in video games. I play a game called Warcraft III, its not World of Warcraft, but a RTS (real time strategy). No I’m sorry I never got addicted to warCRACK, anyhow my story begins on a late, dark night over the summer. The hour was around 3 am and the room boomed with “I gotta feeling.” I was on my game and had just finished “pwning” several noobs. The next game however I was playing with an ally (another person). The game was getting difficult and it seemed as if we would lose. It came down to one final battle, where I microed(controlled units to prevent them from dying, yet keeping them packing dps (damage per second)) ridiculously well. We ended up prevailing and the “kid” (possibly 40 year-old I was playing with) began to praise me with the highest of honors. Saying things like “Are you korean?” and “We just OWNED them.” My story does not end here however, my account name is known on warcraft, people know who I am. When I enter a game I don’t just get the usual “wassup” I get the “please play with me, give me tips.” Most importantly I tell them nothing making sure that the next night there will be ample noobs to pwn. Some people think that beating people who are worse than you at a game would get tiring, I never tire. I feel I have a role in the video game world, to make sure that if a noob is in a game, that they lose, and that they are told to "UNINSTALL! NOOB!".

Mongoose or Black Mamba?

The black mamba is a snake, named after its venomous black mouth, not its olive green scales. According to National Geographic, it is highly aggressive when confronted and resides in the Sahara and other areas of Africa. The black mamba can slither up to 12.5 mph, which is abnormally fast for a snake.

However, the black mamba's greatest enemy is the mongoose. Both its appearance and its tactics make the mongoose the epitome of a weasel. The mongoose especially loves the challenge of attacking snakes. It is incredibly deceptive and takes advantage of the friendly snakes. You can reference the following video to see for yourself .

So, who would you choose in a fight? Why?

The bias may be towards those mongoose bastards, but consider the lethal maneuvers of the black mamba.

Bibles are not packs of cigarettes Tony

I find it extremely inappropriate and offensive to compare the distribution of bibles to advertising cigarettes. I know people say that religion has killed more people than cigarettes have and that the church is corrupt, but the truth of the matter is that large problems don't happen on a local scale, and it certainly isn't the calm and devoted man standing outside the school that is creating a war against Islam.

The cigarette industry is about selling an addictive substance that pointedly destroys the lungs to anybody they can, including kids. We are exposed to more of their advertising on a weekly than a guy from the church could match in months.

On a local level, religion all over the world has been contributing to well-being and community. Religion is something that people can turn to unconditionally in a time of need or sadness. It can be a huge comfort to some to know or think that when a loved one dies they are just waiting in another life. Religion promotes caring, love, and service. As much as it may not be allowed to let someone give away bibles on school ground, it doesn't make sense to bash all religion over it.

It also seems prudent talk about the first amendment. Free speech says that this same man could have just stepped off the sidewalk or walked a certain number of feet away from the school zone and been okay to distribute his bibles anyways, so it wouldn't do anything usefull to combat him.

One last thing Tony. Why did you take the bible?

Trespassing?

So about a week ago, I was walking towards my bus, about to go home. But as I prepared to board the bus, a stout man in a gray suit approached me and asked me if I wanted a Bible. I said sure, why not. At that moment, I was in such a hurry to get on the bus and get a seat that I didn't think to question the man about his intentions, or why he was handing out Bibles on school grounds (some say the place where buses park is public property; even if it was public property, it is so close to the school and kids, just because of its proximity and because it is where buses pick up school kids, that it directly affects kids and the school). Are people allowed to solicit (anything) so close to public schools (perhaps on school grounds)? Not that I have it in for this one guy. I think soliciting religion is the same as soliciting anything else. And one can even make the argument that solicitation of religion is a more serious matter because the product can have long term consequences or affects on "customers."

I wonder if this guy, handing out New Testaments to any kid who would listen to him, asked permission before he started handing them out. But what I really want to know is if this solicitation is a legal act. If this man had been selling cigarettes or some other dangerous substances, even though some seniors were 18 at that point, would we have mounted a full investigation into why he was selling cigarettes so close to a school? Would we have tried to move him far away from the school? I think so. I don't see the difference between advertising cigarettes and advertising religion. Isn't this person trying to force (although gently) his Christian religion upon schoolkids, the people most likely to be influenced by anything in this world, especially religion? Although we do have a Religions class in school, it is: one, an optional class; second, it is a class in which people interested about different religions study religions (as opposed to a class which either focuses on one religion or tries to convince students to believe a certain religion). In my personal opinion, I think this man was taking advantage of schoolchildren (whether consciously or unconsciously), finding a way to spread his faith easily among people who might be more open to solicitation than adults. I don't think this is a terrible offense. I simply think that the school should be more public about its policies for solicitation on and near school grounds. I think that if this man were to come to the school again, he would most likely face some harsh opponents and biting criticism.

The Big Decision

To sleep, or not to sleep: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous homeworks,
Or to take arms against this sea of assignments
and by sleeping end them. To delay, to sleep-
No more-and by a sleep to say we end
The College Essay, and the thousand math problems
that flesh is heir to! 'Tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wished.

I could keep going, but it would just get dumber and dumber. But really. The big question is this:
Should I stay up into the ungodly hours of the night, get all my work done, but be moody and sleepy through the day?
Or should I not drink that cup of coffee and sleep now, only to be faced with worse grades and self-disappointment.

Well, it's a redundant question. I know already I'm going to stay up late and try to get things done. Which means to finish my first draft, and read as much of Jane Eyre as possible.

But sometimes when I'm reading the books I'm assigned to read, I catch out of the corner of my eye another book. It doesn't matter what book. I recently got three new Camus books, and a shiny shiny copy of Ulysses. And for some reason, I have this overwhelming desire to put down my book and start reading one of dem. Or wikipedia in great detail literary movements and eras. I like figuring out this stuff, and reading classics, and learning tons

... just not when it's assigned to me. I think this means that college is either going to be great, or be awful. Depends where I go, I suppose...

52

I was doing some figures in my head about time, since I've been feeling I've had so little. I came to this discovery. I get home around 6:00 everyday, after rehearsal, and all of a sudden, I've got a full six hours before I drag myself into bed. I know I have a lot of work to do: I have to read Jane Eyre in less than a week; David Copperfield was the summer reading, NOT Vanity Fair, the other 900 page novel; I have to learn music for SOS to teach. Then of course there's college apps. And DaChords. A lot of things. Include personal goals to this, and we've added a whole lot of things I want to be achieving. I used to complain that I've had 'so much to do, so little time', but I have a full SIX hours everyday, weekends I have the whole day. So, with a little math, I have 52 hours each week (6 x 5 for weekdays, 2(24-9 for sleep -4 for rehearsals)). What have I been doing for the last three years with all this free time? I honestly can't really say. And how many goals have I successfully achieved? Very few. Too few for having 52 free hours every week. There's something very wrong with this picture.

I am sooo bored and tired right now. This worst thing is that I should be home asleep right now. I was under the impression that I would have 2 classes today, 2nd and 7th, so i got up early and came to school. But NO when i go to 2nd my teacher tells us that he decided to give us an X. WOW that would have been fantastic...if he had told us yesterday. Then I could have slept all morning. I still would have come in before 7th because I am being forced by another teacher to attend the Shakespeare play, which I am not so excited for. Now that I'm here I might as well just go and deal with it, but I'm not really pumped up for it. I have already had 3 cups of coffee today, and 4 people have already told me that I already look baked out of my mind but I'm really not. I'm kind of wishing that I was right now as I sit in the computer lab with activity period about to begin with a bunch a freshman fooling around with photo booth. It is times like these that i cannot believe that I am actually still in high school. It is still only september and I feel like I have been a senior forever now.

I was going to write a letter for this but then I was like who am I going to write a letter to? what am I going to say? Then I basically forgot about it. Bourne said we could blog about anything so I just decided to go with it. Apparently I get a 4/5 for this since I finished this by the end of the week, which is good because I think I bombed the descriptive essay. Im hopin 2nd semester rolls around soon because I already have a bad case of senioritis and its showing no signs of easing up. I guess thats all I got right now...hopefully we won't get this assignment again because I'm way to lazy to write a letter so I'll probably end up putting out something crappy like this again.

So at Matt said, "save it for the blog" and here it is.
I think the argument about not having crew docks at Fullington farm is plain silly. There are not that many people that are going to be affected by the long dock put in. It helps the majority, and that is what we should focus on. helping the greater good. There are hundreds of members on the HHS crew teams and there are also countless members of the upper valley that participate in crew that will also enjoy the crew docks. There does not have top be a gate that locks everyone out of the dock, since it will be in a public place. there might however be locks on the fullington farm boathouse, which will have our shells in them and therefore. for a good reason.

I think it is not benificial to many people if the crew dock is not made, and therefore it should be.

Abutters

For those who don't know, the Fullington Farm/ Wilson's Landing controversy is a movement by the peaceful and reasonable crew program in Hanover to find a place to row out of. After rowing out of the Dartmouth boathouse for twelve years per a deal made back when the team was small, they are ready to see us off. Having looked at many places along the Connecticut, only the property at Fullington Farm next to Wilson's Landing will suit the purposes of the team. Through massive fundraising the property was obtained from its previous owner and the Friends of Hanover Crew organization is now attempting to obtain town permission to build a larger dock at Wilson's Landing to launch shells out of. The boats would be stored on the Fullington Farm property and out of the way and the dock would be taken out by the team during the winder.

This is a wonderful opportunity for the town and the crew team. Hanover benefits from a 180 foot (out of the way) dock alongside the maybe twenty foot one that is there now, and thus an opening up of the only public boat launch in town. The town would not have to pay for any of it and the crew team would only be using the area from 5 to 7 every morning for two months in the spring. Additionally, one Saturday each June the site would house a home race.

As is obvious to any reasonable observer, the impact to long-time users of the Landing is minimal. Any activities that occured there before still can, only with more space. The only factors in the way of this watersport utopia are a few misers, a number of uppity busybodies, and the Abutters.

I hate abutters. Abutters in the way I mean it are selfish people who are more concerned about their property value than they are with the appropriate expansion of recreational opportunities for the public. Abutters are loud, grumpy, and hard to please. Rather than being excited about a wonderful opportunity for students and community members alike, the Abutters are doing their best to bring the whole operation down before it gets off the ground.

Some of the arguments that opponents have used are as follows:
My property value will diminish. (Why?)
Construction on the Fullington Farm property will obstruct my view of the river. (That isn't true).
It will change the nature of the site. (Well obviously it will. The change will be positive).
You will kill bugs in the shallow water with gasoline drips! (Excuse me? Shut up).
I don't want 120 kids milling around near my house every morning! (Kids are everywhere theses days deal with it).
The "bullhorns" will wake me up. (Close your window).
The people who made laws in the '70s wouldn't have wanted this. (Who told you that?)

In my opinion, the decision that the selectboard makes needs to one ONLY about policy. Rather than worrying about zoning issues or environmental problems (because that is the job of the zoning commision), the selectboard needs to decide whether or not it is better or worse FOR THE TOWN OF HANOVER, not the three neighbors, to let Friends of Hanover Crew put in a new dock.

So, in conclusion, it will be a tragedy if the selectboard does not give the team permission to go ahead with construction. If it doesn't work out for some legitimate zoning reason later in the process, that is understandable. For now let's give the team a fighting chance at giving everyone a nice new dock.

So Many Locks

My biggest complaint about this school building is that I am locked out of the school as soon as I arrive. Apparently, the janitors are required to lock all but the main door and one of the cafeteria doors so that strangers do not wander into the school and start shoot the place up or stealing valuable items. As a result, I and many other walkers are forced to swallow a great inconvenience; we have to spend extra time either walking to the main doors or the cafeteria doors in order to enter the school. I arrive at school by walking across the turf field and entering the school from behind. Instead of walking in the school near the classrooms, I have to enter the cafeteria and push through the crowded halls to my first period class. The extra distance really ticks me off.

Next time you feel the lactic acid burn your legs or the blister pop on your feet as you wander the halls to our first class, think about a utopian world where every door in the school was unlocked.

An upset walker.

The joy of running

I am about to embark on retelling a powerful running story that has a lot of historical accuracy, as well as unfortunately many, many, cliches. However if you plan on only reading a segment of this post I plead you to skip it entirely, because without the full picture the story loses its greater meaning.

Running is pain, the only way one can run fast is to take that pain and put it into the back of their minds. What I just typed is commonly known as a lie. Running hurts but you cannot put that pain in the back of your mind. To run fast you must take the pain and love it. Each agonizing and painful gasp as the cramp on your side slowly begins to creep across and cramp the other side.

Yesterday I ran a race in which I was able to achieve my sole purpose in racing. Now the goal that I have may be different from others, and some may try to say they never have the same goal in mind, but they are liars or a saint. My sole goal in running is to find a kid who I should be able to beat and beat him. However, beating them is not enough. I find a person I can beat sure, but I choose that person who has a large crowd cheering for him, that way when I beat him, I destroy him.

Now what justifies beating? For me a loss in running is being passed within the last 400 meters of the race. Naturally I work this into my scheme. I will purposefully slow my pace during that last 400 meters so that the person I have chosen believes he has some sort of hope. His parents and friends are cheering for him. "GO EVEN GO!" The part I love however is with 100 meters to go. I begin to pick it up and immediately the shouts change to, "EVEN RUN, EVEN DON'T GET PASSED, WATCH OUT!" but even more satisfying is the silence that follows.

In the race yesterday I chose who I wanted to beat at around a mile to go. His name was Even and he had more fans than he had skill. He pestered me which of course meant he had little chance I would not chose him. We had been close enough for the majority of the race for me to find out that many people were hoping he would pull through and run a great race. The part that really angered me and forced me to chose to crush him in the end was when we were on a very slim path in the woods, so slim that we had to go single file, the cocky little kid snuck by me and then tried to pick his pace up. Could he add insult to injury? You better bet he could. We had to make to laps around this 1.5 mile loop and toward the end of the loop there was a bell hanging from a string. The previous time I had hit the bell before him, then he hit it behind me. This kid hit the bell so hard on this last passing that the bell swung around the branch it was hanging from several times, putting it out of reach of my swinging arm to hit it. His fate was sealed with that mockery of my pride.

The last 300 meters of this race was on the track. I was feeling surprisingly good for the end of a 3.1 mile race, so I began to set my trap. I slowed my pace a little and let him edge out in front. Screams of "GO EVEN, You got this" filled my ears and I laughed a little on the inside. Never before in my life have I lost a race once I hit 300 meters to go. Sure many people get there before me and are far out of reach, but any kid who is within ten meters of me when hitting 300 to go, is about to see my sprint. Anywho, Even was just another one of these kids, as we reached 200 meters left, I picked up my pace and was dead even with him by 150 meters to go, then I began to toy with the poor boy. Vengeance persay for the incident with the bell. I started wheezing and gasping and slowed so that he thought he had me beat. I let him get 20 meters up on me, a fine challenge I thought. Screams for Even doubled. Just then the fatigue faded from my face and I began my sprint. If you go to X-C races you will know few people have a kick left for the end, I always make sure I do even if it means running the race slower. Now I rocketed up to where Even was so that there was around 50 meters between us and the finish line, when I was on his shoulder, I felt his pain as he tried to go faster but couldnt. I saw the look in his parents faces as I slowly crept ahead of him, then let out my real sprint and destroyed any chance he had at catching me. I had won.

Raphael Addante

Rough Draw, Mamba

As you all know, the NFL kicked off its 2009-2010 season last week. No one would care, except that with the start of the pro football season comes fantasy football: the nerdy pursuit that has been ruining friendships and lowering GPAs for many years. This year, one league stands out above the rest because it is made up entirely, with one exception, of bosses. I speak, of course, of RIP Cory. 

Most of the league'sWeek 1 matchups were fairly routine victories, with no last-minute drama or controversy. Two games did set themselves apart, however: those between Gunnar Shaw's ridiculously racist "Hitler's Youth Army" and Chris Tecca's aptly named "4-Year Sophmore (sic)", and between Robbie Brown's creatively titled "Team Brown" and John Chobanian's "The Black Mamba".

The first contest is noteworthy because it contained the league's 1st overall pick, Adrian Peterson, an object of fierce controversy. The scandal arose from a comment his owner made the day after the player draft, casually gloating, "Dude, I can't believe I got Aaron Peterson, I'm gonna run train!" This seemingly innocuous comment would go on to spark immense debate, as an AP poll shows that 93% of 9th grade girls know that it is, in fact, Adrian Peterson. When reached for comment, Tecca only said, "I suck" and proceeded to soil himself in the atrium. Nevertheless, due to the quality of his own team or (more likely) Tecca's trainwreck lifestyle and utter lack of football knowledge, Gunnar Shaw defeated Tecca in a high-scoring contest.

At the other end of the spectrum sits, or should I say lurks, John "Black Mamba" Chobanian. While his owner may not know his name, Adrian Peterson was able to rack up 37 fantasy points-equalling the total score of the Mamba's team. In a post-game interview Chobanian had only this to say, "This be the mamba. Gimme chances my team sucks." A reporter then offered 96 as an appropriate number. Said reporter picked some numbers, the Mamba guessed incorrectly, and it was confirmed that the Mamba's team does in fact suck. A rough draw, indeed.

In other league news, Prestige Worldwide smoked Disregard Females Aquire Currency, Toats McGoats defeated Lata Jobin, and I Love College bested Turd Ferguson in a battle of grizzled veterans Travis Mulvihill and Clark Brighton.

Prep Schools

There are many different reasons for a high school kid to go to a so-called "prep school." They might have various problems socially, academically, etc. All of these reasons are completely acceptable and understandable. However, recently I lost a close friend as he left for prep school to repeat his junior year. He injured himself over a year ago which prevented him from doing what he really loves--playing sports--and then decided that going away to school was in his best interest so he could make up for the year of sports that he had missed.

Let me give you a little background. This kid had roughly a 3.8 grade point average, a genuine group of friends that he spent time with daily, a close female friend, and a loving and together family. With all of this, why do you go away to school, missing what is supposedly one of the best years of your life--senior year in high school? The answer is still beyond me.

I confronted him with this question over the summer while we played knockout before dinner at another friend's house. He had no response. After I let him ponder the question for a few minutes, he finally answered. He said he didn't know. He said that he didn't even know if he wanted to play sports at the collegiate level. I was confused and angry. He had been telling me for three months that he was doing this solely to excel in his sports and now he didn't know if he wanted to anymore. You may think that I was being selfish, but it isn't easy to just give up a friend like this, having known each other since the third grade.

He's been gone for about a week now and things really are different. He doesn't return home until Thanksgiving week, about two and a half months from now. This isn't supposed to be a "Dear, Annie" entry or anything. I just felt the need to write down my thoughts that have been bugging me for months now.

Please feel free to respond if you have suggestions on 1) coping with this problem 2) getting my friend kicked out of the school so he has to come back or 3) just somehow smacking him across the face a few times.

Thank you for your time,

John

P.S. I am not trying to put down prep schools in any way in this post.

God/s

So I was lying in bed, thinking about the existence of God/gods and the problem of evil. The first thing that came to my find was the downfall of the polytheistic religion and the rise of the monotheistic religion that dominates society today? Why did the polytheistic religion die out? Was it because the races of people that believed in this form of religion died out? Or does the monotheistic religion have some distinct advantages that really appealed to people?

If we let ourselves believe in the gods of old, such as the Gods of Greece and Rome, then I think we would have no problem defeating the problem of evil. In the stories of Homer and Aeneid, and countless other ancient poets and writers, the Gods are depicted as powerful creatures that have their own character flaws. The stories show that when a god is angry, they can kill innocent people (not onmibenevolent ). In this polytheistic religion, we can clearly see many flaws. For one, the gods have varying degrees of power. For example, Zeus the almighty is said to be the supreme god, the one who has power over all other gods; he defeated his father Cronus and took over the "universe". And the fact that Cronus swallowed his own children again proves that he (and all other gods) are not omnibenevolent . However, if this was believed to be true, then there can be someone who is more powerful than him, which means that omnipotence of an individual god does not exist, and therefore omnipotence of the gods does not exist. Another flaw in this belief is the idea that the gods are omniscient. In the story of Aphrodite and Ares, the couple is tricked and captured in a net by Venus' husband Hephaestus. If the gods were omniscient, then Ares would have known that there was a trap waiting for him, and would have escaped or would have chosen another place to lure Venus. And the fact that the pair remains trapped in the net without a way out also proves that they are not omnipotent. And finally, in the story of Iliad , when Juno tricks Zeus and puts a sleeping spell on him, omnipresence of the gods is disproved. If Zeus (or any other god) was omnipresent, he would have been there when Juno sought the help of Aphrodite to conquer Zeus and thus stopped Hera's plan. It seems that the polytheistic religion really does not allow a god to be omnibenevolent , omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent; in other words, the polytheistic religion fails us when we say the goods are all-powerful. Is this the reason for the rise of the monotheistic religions that dominate society today?

With monotheism, there are definitely greater and more varied ways to argue the existence and the omni's of god.

One of the arguments for the existence of god is the prime mover theory. This theory first acknowledges that there is movement in the universe; it says that nothing can move by itself; thus the first thing that moved must have gotten a "push" from God. There is another similar theory that says everything has to be caused by something else (like movement). Since things exist, something must have caused it to exist: the first cause (God). But the idea of the first cause is itself contradictory. If everything is caused by something else, there must have been something that caused to exist. Thus, he cannot be God according to the argument. Furthermore, since everything is caused by something else, there cannot be a first cause because it would assume that that cause was not caused by anything. Thus, there must be an infinite cause of causes. This conclusion is a disturbing one. Why? Because it cannot be true. This conclusion says that time and causes are infinite; thus there is no beginning of time or space. And since every cause has a preceding cause, there must be a first cause that caused everything else. Thus, this argument is contradictory and untenable. And from the cosmological argument (below), since there must have been a time when nothing existed, nothing could have caused anything to exist (no first cause and no infinity of time/space).

The cosmological argument for the existence of God says that since all things decay and go out of existence, there must have been a time when nothing existed. Thus, for something to exist out of nothing, God must have created it. However, if there was a time that nothing existed, there must have been a time that God had not existed. Thus, God cannot exist because he did not exist. And because of the prime mover/cause argument, he could not have created himself.

The ontological argument say that nothing greater than God can be conceived. Thus, if God was only an idea in our minds, we could have a idea better and greater than the idea of God, which is impossible because nothing greater than God is conceivable. Thus, God has to exist in reality. But since we can conceive in our minds a perfect being, which means that we cannot think of anything better, the ontological argument does not really hold. And since we can conceive things that are not existent, just because we can conceive of a perfect being does not mean it exists.

Another argument for the existence of God says that since there are good and bad things (differing degrees of goodness), there must be something absolutely good that all things are compared to (God). But herein lies the problem of evil. For most modern believers, or most Christian believers, god is omnipotent, omnibenevolent, omniscient, and omnipresent. But the are these fundamental tributes of a higher power contradictory? For example, God's omnipotence and omnibenevolence seem contradictory; the only explanation is that God is not always righteous, and does allow the innocent to suffer, which means that he cannot be omnibenevolent. How can there be evil and suffering in the world if God knows everything, is good, and can do anything? Does the contradictory nature of God's characteristics prove that there is no God? What if we believed that God was all but omnibenevolent? Could God exist then? Of course. However, we would have to confront ourselves about the fact that our lives are controlled by a malevolent (and sometimes benevolent) high power? Would we want to accept this fact? Or would we rather believe that there is no God?




If this actually offends anyone, let it be known that I am only trying to think to myself whether god exists or not. I do not intentionally push my views onto anyone. And since I have reasoned that infinity cannot exist, and alternatively has to exist, I see no real way to prove that god does or does not exist.

Please feel free to object, agree, or add anything pertinent to the argument for the existence of god.

Grammar Fun (again)

Here are links to some of my favorite grammar websites:
“Guide to Grammar and Writing”
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/
Look for topics in Word and Sentence Level

“Online Writing Lab at Purdue University”
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/index.html
Look for topics in the Purdue University Online Writing Lab

“Strunk & White” on-line
http://www.bartleby.com/141/index.html

"Hamilton College Writing Center"
http://www.hamilton.edu/writing/index.html

Enjoy!