Wednesday #31 - I Get Really Sarcastic

So, yesterday I finished a class that I was taking online, called Foundations of Technology (anyone who has had to take this class may now groan), and one of the assignments for said class was make a blog that you post on at least once every day for a week, with each post trying to entertain, educate, persuade, control, or manage the other people taking the class. Now, I was pretty sick of this class by that time, so when I wrote that blog, I did several things:
     1. I didn't do it for a week. I wrote seven posts in one day, and altered the day that they were posted so it would seem as though I was posting once a day.
     2. I didn't care what I said, or how much I wrote.
     3. I put a high enough dose of sarcasm in that blog to kill a man at 50 yards (don't ask, even I'm not sure).
Now, since I know you all are intellectual people (I mean, come on. You read Across 53 Wednesdays. Of course you're smart), you'll probably get the jokes that I put into the blog. Here are all of the posts, collectively:

 Day 1

Helllllllllooooo FoT!! How's everyone doing out there? Is moodle treating you well? I sure hope so, because if it isn't, you make have trouble receiving a high school diploma, since this class is required for graduation!

But anyway, this is blog is solely created to meet the purposes of the assignment from Unit 5 Lesson 4 Extension, which states that I have to blog for a week so with the intent to either educate, entertain, control, persuade, or manage my class. Is it just me, or is it a little strange that 3 out of the 5 purposes given are based around the manipulation of others?

     Well, let's get started. Today, I'm going to control you... that's right, you heard me. Through this post, I'm going to control your body...

     Breath in and out, at the rhythm dictated by your emotions and level of activity.

     Continue to carry out whatever plans you had before I took control of you.

     Live your life as you see fit.

Now do as I command!!!

See you guys tomorrow.

Day 2

Welcome to Day 2 of someone spending 5 minutes typing because I have to learn about how to communicate with people, since I totally don't already have a blog that I've been running for more than half a year! I'm glad you could join me. Today, I'm going to persuade you...

    I really like eating nutrients, and I think that you should too. Nutrients are something that we all need, and would die without. I know you're probably thinking "Nutrients! HA! Only losers and weak people need nutrients!" To that I simply have to say "Wrong." Nutrients are necessary for you to do the masochist and neanderthal-esque activities you do everyday, person who I can assume also doesn't like reading and firing neurons. You can't run, jump, or ignore good health practices without the help of nutrients! If you try to, you'll probably end up dead.

See ya tomorrow. 

Day 3

Well, it's Day 3. My goal today is something very hard to do with many people of your age, fellow classmates: educate.

     That's right, learning. It's something that we all must do, or die non-noteworthy deaths after living a short and valueless life. Sure, you could argue that there are totally people who can escape the societal bonds of education, and make it in the world without cognitive action, and probably provide a list of people who fit the bill, but that doesn't mean that you can too. Let's look at the people who probably don't need to learn anything, but still live a happy life, shall we? Be ready to read, it's a super long list:

Rich people, who inherited their wealth, and have parents that don't care about their children enough to make them do something worth while.

That's it. Those are the only people who can live that kind of life style, and get off scott free. Remember that the next time you think: "I hate [insert class here]." If you act on that emotion, you'll die poor and hungry (and don't expect much help from the government).

See ya tomorrow.

Day 4

Hey guys, it's Day 4. We've made it to the halfway point! And it's Wednesday, which means I'll be working more on my actual blog, that posts on Wednesdays, so I kinda have to keep today brief. I will however, but putting a link to it right  here, so you can go over there, and maybe be entertained.

See ya tomorrow.

Day 5

Day 5, the writer is away for the beginning of the day, because he is taking his driving test, which, should he complete, will earn him a provisional driver's license, in the state of Maryland. You should be reading this, in a dry British accent. I don't know about you, but that makes things funny. I hope you were entertained.

See you tomorrow.

Day 6

Day 6, we're almost done... and I'm going to educate today.

Since you guys are taking a class with Frederick County Virtual School, I can assume that you live in Frederick County. Since you live in Frederick County, there's a chance that you'll go into the city of Frederick. If you do, go to the library, take the stairs to the second floor, walk towards the large windows, and go on terrace. Yes, there's a terrace at the library. Something I didn't know about until today. And I've been living here for more than a decade. It's a little sad.

See you tomorrow.

Day 7

We did it! It's Day 7! Finally! For those of you who don't know, yesterday was Christmas in July (it was the 25th), so belated Merry Christmas in July. Today, I'm going to persuade you, my fellow classmates, to complete your class work and pass this class. Imagine if you had to do an entire semester worth of this class. Think of the wasted time, the class that you could've taken, the thing that you could've learned. So, pass this class, don't waste $200, don't waste your summer, and don't waste your actual classes in high school, since they will teach you important things that will carry on throughout your life.

I won't see you tomorrow.

Yep. And the best part about this whole thing is that the teacher found it funny too. And I'm almost entirely certain that she recognized exactly how sarcastic it was. 

Anyway, that's all I've got for you this week, but if you want more, check out my YouTube channel, where I put up vlogs on the irregular. Other than that, there isn't much else to say...

All That Is Gold Does Not Glitter

All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.
J.R.R. Tolkien

"There is no pleasure in having nothing to do; the fun is having lots to do and not doing it." - Andrew Jackson

Wednesday #30 - I've Started Something...

Hey guys! How's everybody been! I haven't talked to you guys in so long! like, two weeks! I missed you last week, while I was climbing walls, pounding metal, and running around a campfire pit.
I'll explain. Last week, I was at Boy Scout Camp (which is why I had Claire post something), and while there, I spent time taking the Metal Working merit badge, the Search and Rescue merit badge, and the Climbing merit badge. In metal working, I got to be a blacksmith, heating up steel, and then shaping it with a hammer, a vice, and occasionally my hands. Then came Search and Rescue, which was largely things I kinda already knew, because I like knowing my first aid, so I spent the first two days of that class knowing all the answers, and got to sit back and watch other people answer... and the teacher that I had was pretty bad too. He would challenge my answers, when I knew that they were right (which is a good practice when teaching someone first aid, because they need to both know the right thing to do, and be confident about what it is that they are doing), but he would take it too far. I would say that I was sure of my answer, and he would continue to ask me if I was sure. It turns out that I wasn't the only one who thought that this man was a terrible (and technically, under-qualified) teacher; he was fired on Tuesday night, because apparently, two Troops had said that he was so terrible that they weren't going to return to the camp the following year, and this elicited the response of you're fired.
Despite the fact that it was someone else's misfortune, I was a little elated to hear that he was no longer our teacher. And the guy who replaced him was fantastic. So, hey, all's well that ends well. But now we get to climbing merit badge, where I struggled greatly. In fact, I didn't complete any of the three climbs necessary until Friday, the very last day. But, with some luck, a popped hand blister, and a miracle, I was able to climb three times in under an hour and a half. Pretty cool, right? I really don't know, that's why I'm asking.
Anyway, the other thing that I wanted to talk about this week, is that I've started vlogging, and I have a Youtube channel where I'm putting them, so if you want to watch them, check it out here:  My vlogging channel.
Well guys, that's all. I'll see you next week, or if you check out my vlogs, who knows, maybe I'll see you tomorrow...
A Time to Talk
When a friend calls to me from the road
And slows his horse to a meaning walk,
I don't stand still and look around
On all the hills I haven't hoed,
And shout from where I am, 'What is it?'
No, not as there is a time talk.
I thrust my hoe in the mellow ground,
Blade-end up and five feet tall,
And plod: I go up to the stone wall
For a friendly visit.
- Robert Frost

"A good leader can't get too far ahead of his followers." - FDR

Wednesday #29 - Tangents

Hello Dreamers! How are you guys doing today? Fun little fact: when this is posted, I'll in a place without any internet access... and I won't have my phone... But it still will get posted... magic... and the Assistant Content Director of Across 53 Wednesdays helping me out by posting this one for me. Big hand goes to Claire Schiavone for doing this for me, and keeping this blog on track.

                      Tangents

For any of you who've taken calculus know what tangents are, but for those of you who don't, a tangent is a line that touches another line at one point, and one point only. So, what's a tangential person? Well, if you were to plot your life on a 4 dimensional graph (x, y, z, t), a tangential person would be someone who you met once, and only once. As in you'd never, ever run into that person again, in all your life. 

And, in a similar fashion, there are also people who are parallel lines to you. People who will have such a similar life to you, with similar experiences and paths in life, but at no point with you meet this person... And there's a good chance you have someone like that. Just something to think about.


Dream Variation

To fling my arms wide
In some place of the sun,
To whirl and to dance
Till the white day is done.
Then rest at cool evening
Beneath a tall tree
While night comes on gently,
Dark like me-
That is my dream!

To fling my arms wide
In the face of the sun,
Dance! Whirl! Whirl!
Til the quick day is done.
Rest at pale evening...
A tall, slim tree...
Night coming tenderly
Black like me.

-Langston Hughes


"Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you."
-Friedrich Nietzsche




Hi, Dreamers! Claire Schiavone, "Assistant Content Director of Across 53 Wednesdays", here (boy, is that a mouthful). As JD mentioned, he's off in no man's land with no internet access and asked me to post this with "a poem and a quote, and a personal note please?" I think I've done just that.
The poem I was planning on using was "Dreams" by Langston Hughes. Glad I glanced back at last week's post, because that is the very poem JD used (thanks a heap, pal). A different dream-themed Langston Hughes poem sufficed. I found the quote in a book (The Slippery Slope by Lemony Snicket). This seems like an adequate "personal note", so on that note (heh), bye!

Wednesday #28 - VGHS

Hey guys! This week I'm talking about a web series called Video Game High School. If you haven't seen it, here's the link for a playlist with all the videos:Yes, this piece of glowing text. And yes, I totally expect you guys to stop whatever the heck you guys are doing to immediately go and watch like 5 hours of videos. I'll wait. Totally. This is a written post, I actually don't have to wait for you to watch it. Since this is read and processed from your perspective, and yours alone, you are the only one responsible for the speed at which you read this post.
That was a weird tangent. Anyways, let's get to talking.

4 Reasons Why VGHS Shouldn't Ever Be Real

Reason 1 - Everyone Wants To Be A Pro

     Look, I know that the idea of a high school solely devoted to playing video games sounds like heaven, but it's not. Hate to shatter the glass, but if the entire world turned into South Korea, we'd be screwed over as a society. Video games, as amazing as they are, and as awesome as they are, take away so much time. If e-sports become a popular thing across the globe, everyone would aspire to become a professional gamer. And yes, I mean everyone. Except maybe the elderly and already successful. But other than those demographics, pro-gaming seems like the ultimate job. It's getting paid several figures to press some buttons, and that's what we all want: to be able to make money and do almost nothing for it. Everyone would try to be a pro, and that means that we have nobody being plumbers, mechanics, contractors, civil engineers, or any other job necessary to infrastructure, which aren't the only department of jobs that would be lacking in applicants. The pro-gaming dream is like the American dream in the 1800s: all you get is a bunch of poor people working literally 6 out of 7 days for 18 hours a day for pennies. I don't know about you guys, but I don't want another Gilded Age. 

Reason 2 - The World Falls Apart

     Kinda boosting off of the last reason, but there's a scene in VGHS where they're showing the news, and the reporter is talking about how the President of the United States is missing, and gets interrupted by the news report that the best video game player gets killed in a random match. A world that prioritizes video games over the government is not a good world. Americans generally don't give a passing glance to their government anyway, and look at what this societies Congress can get away with, or need I remind you of the government shut down? It was only then that the general populous looked at the Capitol and said "This isn't good," but in this VGHS world, the head of the Executive Branch is missing, the guy in charge of the army, the one that signs laws into existence, and nobody seems to even notice, which means one of two things: the society have become so peaceful that the government isn't useful (unlikely), or the government is a mere figurehead, and is actually being controlled by some shadow organization, using gaming to distract the world while they take it over. Almost like the book Epic.

Reason 3 - Becoming A Pro Would Suck

     If you became a professional gamer, you'd have to get into shape. And no, not round, not flabby, not even soft. That's right, you'd have to get fit, and keep your body so you can stay in peak condition, since the healthier the body, the healthier the mind. And the sharper the mind. And the faster the mind. So that means no junk food. But that's not a problem, right? You've always wanted to be that fit, and being a pro just gives you that reason to push towards that goal, so two birds. Have fun balancing that exercise routine with the hours and hours of gaming that you'd need to get to the skill level necessary to actually compete at a professional level, and that thing called a job that you need to pay for the electricity to play the video game, the wifi connection necessary to play, the healthy food you need to get in shape, and the other basic needs of life. Unless you're already rich, your life would crumble before you would hit the pros, and if you're already rich, you don't really need to go and get all that money from winning pro games, or the money from sponsors.

Reason 4 - The World Would Be Controlled By Video Games

     First thing, spoilers. Second, in the beginning of the second season of VGHS, the antagonist of the previous season is on trial for aimboting, and when he is given his verdict, we discover that the court of law he was being charged in was the costumer service of the game company. Sure, knowing Stan Lee was still alive for that is awesome, but do you really want to give so much power to the guys that developed the PS4  or the Xbox One? Think about how terrible those systems were when they were first revealed! No sharing games, no ability to play games from previous systems, internet connection required, no used games, massive price tags. If VGHS became the real world, we'd find ourselves kowtowing to the video game industry, and we would have no choice in the matter, since they have us by the codpiece, and we'd be fine with that. Sounds fun right? Let's just look back at the last time corporations had enough power to properly combat the Federal government, when children would get their hair caught in textile machines, and the factory floor manager wouldn't shut of the machines. 

     See, those are just 4 reasons, and I didn't even bring up the fact that the mom didn't do anything but play games, there's no more console gaming, high school classes can have a wall of guns, high school students don't learn things like math, science, art, or history, and robots with the ability to feel exist but nobody seems to care. As great of show as VGHS is, it's not a place I'd want to live.

Dreams

Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.
- Langston Hughes

"Few men have the virtue to withstand the highest bidder." - Thomas Jefferson

Wednesday #27 - I'm Wasting My Life...

Hey guy! How's everybody doing?
Do you guys ever have days where you set out to do so many things, but in the end you get distracted, and never do the things you were supposed to do? Of course you have, you're human (I'm pretty sure), and making mistakes like that is totally normal. However...
     I HATE THOSE DAYS! I had one of those days today, and now, it feels like I wasted a day of summer, because tomorrow I'm going to have to haul serious butt to get all the work /////////i was supposed to do today tomorrow, I addition to the work I have to do tomorrow... Aside from this evening, today has been a day that I regret... And I don't like regretting days... It makes me upset... Grrr...
That's all I really have to say this week. I'll see you next week, or somewhere in between.

Wasting My Young Years
My youthful mates
Pursue western education
Trying to be useful to the nation
I am wasting my young years
My mother in tears
I am rubbishing my youth

I am wasting my youthful years
Any one who cares
Let him stop me

I welcome the morning sun
With smoke my mouth tap
From a roll of marijuana
Then bless it with a swallow
Of ogogoro (Dry gin).

As my youthful mates
Make hay to farm
I make hay to feast
On their produce.

As the sun roll
The street I roam
With tobacco fastened to my mouth
My eyes left and right looking
For a street fight.

Wasting my youthful years
The polls are coming
I anticipate its arrival
Soon I will be in my looting suit
Loot ballot boxes here and there
They will announce the real winner
That's my contribution
To nation building.
-Inawo Murphy

"Just do what must be done. this may not be happiness, but it is greatness" - George Bernard Shaw