Wednesday #26 - Where's My Dead Body

Hey Dreamers! Do you realize what today is? It's the halfway mark! The year is halfway over already. Man, it feels like it was only 26 weeks ago that I decided to get back into blogging in the wee hours of the morning (there is a cat sitting on my hand as I am typing this), and now look at us: we made it to summer, we finished the school year, and we've survived to the halfway mark! It's all downhill from here (and that could mean either it's going to be progressively easier or harder as the year runs to completion...). That little piece of congratulations aside, let's talk about something this week, shall we?

Where Is My Dead Body?!?

     In role-playing video games (RPGs), it is a common practice to level up the world around the PC as they level up (i.e. when you reach level 10, the enemies that you'll fight are also level 10). In addition to the monsters, the equipment available to the PC increases in strength and value and such. For the purposes of this theory, I'll be using the game Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim for my examples.

Now that we know this, my question is: where are the dead bodies?

    If it takes fighting things to level up, therefore causing an increase to your knowledge in combat and your abilities characterized by a level up, it essentially takes dead bodies. And when you get to the higher levels of a game, it can take a lot of dead bodies. As one plays the game, we can see the dead bodies that the PC (player character, that's you) generates on their adventure, and we can also observe that the number of dead bodies per level up grows from level to level at an exponential rate (what once took 10 dead bodies to create now takes 100). Because we witness the creation of the dead bodies, we can easily understand how we became so strong. But, we don't ever get to see how the enemies get that way...

     According to the Elder Scrolls Wiki, "Hold Guards level with the Dragonborn until around level 50," which means that they are fighting things throughout that time, causing them to level up in accordance to the level of the main character, but for them to become that powerful, the guards would've had to have killed things to get that strong (either that, or a race of people notorious for their distrust of magic and their distaste for thieves would have to become very skilled in Lockpicking, Pick-Pocketing, Conjuration, Illusion, Alteration, and Sneaking). And this isn't just true of the guards. What about the bandits? They level with the PC until about level 28, but where are the bodies that they killed to get to be that level? The Draugr (ancient mummy Nords) are excusable, because they're from a different time, and are now raised dead,but what about the vampires? Or the Thugs that attack you? Or the Forsworn? All of these enemies level with the PC, but we never see the bodies! The only explanation that I have for this is that somewhere, of the shores of Tamriel, is a giant man-made island of dead bodies. And right next to it is the mound of weapons and armor.

     Not only do the enemies level up proportionally to the PC, but so do the available weaponry and armor. When the game begins, everyone has dinky little Iron weapons and armor, or fur armor, but by level 50, characters are toting around Elven and Dwarven and Glass and Ebony weapons! Where did they come from?!? Why didn't they have them before hand? The PC would've been dead so early on if the damn bandits used the Daedric Greatsword that was lying in their cave when the PC was level 3, instead of waiting until level 64. And where do the old weapons go? They have to go somewhere, especially if every month or so the entire population of Skyrim is upgrading (sure, it's mostly bandits, but still). 

     The only logical conclusion that we can make from this is that there is a massive mound of weapons, armor, and dead bodies polluting the oceans of Tamriel. Yep. That's gotta be it.

 Hearken now, sons of snow, to an age, long ago,
And the tale, boldly told, of the one!
Who was kin to both wyrm, and the races of man,
With a power to rival the sun!

And the voice, he did wield, on that glorious field,
When great Tamriel shuddered with war!
Mighty Thu'um, like a blade, cut through enemies all,
As the Dragonborn issued his roar!

And the Scrolls have foretold, of black wings in the cold,
That when brothers wage war come unfurled!
Alduin, Bane of Kings, ancient shadow unbound,
With a hunger to swallow the world!

But a day, shall arise, when the dark dragon's lies,
Will be silenced forever and then!
Fair Skyrim will be free from foul Alduin's maw!
Dragonborn be the savior of men!

Dragonborn, Dragonborn, by his honor is sworn,
To keep evil forever at bay!
And the fiercest foes rout when they hear triumph's shout,
Dragonborn, for your blessing we pray!

-The Song of the Dragonborn

Jeremy Soule

"Sky above, Voice within." -Arngeir, Skyrim, 2011

Wednesday #25 - The Summers of Hell

    Hello Dreamers! How are your summers going? Mines been fun, but involving a TON of late nights. In fact, Tuesday night was a very late night. It was my "24 hour staying awake" day, which is a thing I try and do every summer. Does it throw off my sleeping schedule? Sure. Do the other residents of my household disapprove of it? Oh yeah. Is there no rationalization for it? Nope.
     Am I still going to do it next year? Definitely. For one thing, it's a tradition, and one that I enjoy. It's kinda like the start of my summer, once I stay up to see the dawn of the new day. Until that point, summer is just kinda this thing that I'm muddling through... And that is no way to treat a summer! Well, the summer before the summer of Hell.
     What's the Summer of Hell, you ask? Excellent question.

The Summers of Hell

     There are two distinct Summers of Hell (that I am aware of), and they both occur after schooling. The first is after your senior year of high school, when your whole world is about to change, but is still situation normal. Your high school friends are still there, and your group is still hanging out, but you're all aware that this entire existence is just about to disappear, and high school innocence will soon be replaced with college responsibility. After that summer, the next time you'll be able to see all of your friends again will at the earliest be Thanksgiving, maybe Winter Break or Spring Break, but if you have anyone who will be going to school far away, then you'll most likely have to wait until the next Summer Break to see them. And both of you will have changed in that time period. You'll have made new friends, new jokes, faced new struggles and hardships, and all of these without your old high school buds. Makes you wish that high school was longer than four years, doesn't it.

     The second Summer of Hell that I can talk about (because it is the only other one that I'm aware of) is the summer after you graduate from college. Imagine how terrible that would be, leaving college. Leaving high school must be terrible, but at least you're going to another school. Once you leave college, you're out in the real world. Sure you can go to grad school, get a masters, but how are you going to pay for that? Or your food? And you'll have to be paying your own taxes. The job market becomes incredibly important to you. And all of these worries are running through your mind all throughout this summer, in a very compressed fashion, since you spent the past school year studying and trying to graduate in 4 years. Now, if you didn't go to college, and you're already working, you get to wonder about your life when all your high school friends leave college and go off to live their lives, and you're left with a considerably smaller friend pool. 

     It's a pretty sucky topic, but it's not gonna be fun.

Two Kinds of Intelligence

There are two kinds of intelligence: one acquired,
as a child in school memorizes facts and concepts
from books and from what the teacher says,
collecting information from the traditional sciences
as well as from the new sciences.
With such intelligence you rise in the world.
You get ranked ahead or behind others
in regard to your competence in retaining
information. You stroll with this intelligence
in and out of fields of knowledge, getting always more
marks on your preserving tablets.
There is another kind of tablet, one
already completed and preserved inside you.
A spring overflowing its springbox. A freshness
in the center of the chest. This other intelligence
does not turn yellow or stagnate. It’s fluid,
and it doesn’t move from outside to inside
through conduits of plumbing-learning.
This second knowing is a fountainhead
from within you, moving out.
-Coleman Barks

"We are all imperfect. We cannot expect a perfect government." -William Howard Taft

Wednesday #24 - School's Out

Can you believe it! School is out! It's over! All those long days of studying, and working, and slaving away, of being beaten down by the man: gone.

...i miss it already...

     Kidding (kinda). In reality, I'm really exited for this summer, since I get to start applying to colleges (grumble)! And apply for a job (that I won't get because I'm too busy to actually be a smart hiring choice...)! and spending time with my girlfriend (which won't happen because she is incredibly busy, like me)! And... you know what, I'm just gonna stop listing stuff, because I starting to realize a pattern of negativity... 

    I will, however, be getting my license (driver's license) this summer, and that's exciting news. For me. For the others who will be driving the roads of lovely Frederick Maryland, it's pretty terrifying. 

     Oncoming road apocalypse aside, I've got the feeling like this summer is going to be great! There is something else that I'd like to address this week: Supplemental Posts. That's right, since I'm not currently in high school, I should be able to post more often. Now, I sometimes have trouble getting the normal posts out on time, so I can't promise any specific scheduling on this whole extra post things. (I might even have... videos...)

Now Close the Windows

Now close the windows and hush all the fields:
If the trees must, let them silently toss;
No bird is singing now, and if there is,
Be it my loss.
It will be long ere the marshes resume,
I will be long ere the earliest bird:
So close the windows and not hear the wind,
But see all wind-stirred.
- Robert Frost

"In the time of darkest defeat, victory may be nearest." -President William McKinley

Wednesday #23 - School Is Almost Over, but I Don't Believe It

Hello Dreamers! How are you guys doing? I hope everything is going quite nicely for you guys, I care about each of you.
     So, today is the last Wednesday of this school year. The next time its Wednesday and a school day, summer will have passed, and I'll be a senior...
     Despite this fact, it doesn't feel like school is almost over. In fact, it feels like school will be going on for another couple weeks, but I know that pretty soon, I'll wake up on the 11th, and I won't have to go to school (maybe then I'll write one of these early enough for people to read on Wednesday, and not Thursday).
     Why is this happening? Its been almost 180 days, but I'm not getting that much of a sense of closure from school. It could be that I have a lot of work this summer, since I have to start apply to colleges, and getting scholarships, and finishing up high school affairs, but I don't think that's really it (those still kinda feel far off... even though they most certainly are not).
     I think that I'm more than a little afraid of the idea of being a senior. I have to be responsible, I have a ton of difficult classes, I have so many more extra activities added onto my schedule because of senior stuff, and I have to say good bye to all of this after this year. After next Tuesday, there is no more "I'll do that next year." That simply won't exist anymore.
     Am I afraid of change? Of course. Who isn't? Change is terrifying, because it's irreversible, and we have no idea what it is. We're constantly marching forward, not sure where it is we're heading, knowing that we can't ever turn back. There's no option to turn around and paddle upstream. And in this whole idea of change, and turning back, high school represents a massive turning point in that. After this, school actually becomes a job of sorts. The real world becomes an actual place, not something we fantasize about. But it's high time I stop being afraid.

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
-William Wordsworth

"If there is no struggle, there is no progress." -Frederick Douglas

Wednesday #22 - Books

    Hello Dreamers! I how you guys have been rockin' it since I last say you! So, this week, we're going to talk about... Books!
     Today (and for the next couple of days, for that matter), I found myself I'm my schools book room, which is a glorious place to find yourself if you LOVE books the way I do. I was assigned to work there, since one of my classes is out of student (all the seniors have left, and it was mostly composed of seniors), and had to apply my organizational skills to the shelves and the supply closets. Something struck me, while I was laboring in that inferno of a room (it's so hot in there, I'm worried the books might catch on fire): I haven't read nearly enough  "classic" books.  Like, I haven't read Grapes of Wrath, Fahrenheit 451, Slaughterhouse 5,  and other selections. So, in order to combat this, I've compiled a list of books that I'm going to try to read over the summer... it's long... like, 35 books long... I'm going to get started on it very soon... like, tomorrow...
     Speaking of books, I'm a huge fan of the Dresden Files, a story of Chicago's only professional wizard, by Jim Butcher. I was out for a drive tonight, and decided to stop by Barnes & Noble, just to see if there was another Dresden File book there. I found the book I've been looking for (YES!), and checked my wallet to make sure that I had enough money to by it, and I found that I was 49 cents short... Luckily, my father was with me, so I was able to get the slight amount of money I was missing. See, at this point in the story, I'd like to point out that this very morning, I removed all the loose change from my wallet, so I had no coinage on me, only... billage... with me. Anyway, I got an extra buck from my pop, and so I run in to get the book (the store was closing in about 10 minutes)(another fun thing that happened: A guy from the local professional baseball team called me Indiana Jones), make it to the check out line a minute before the store closes, and remember that I have a membership  at Barnes & Noble... Which reduced the cost of the book...  by more than a dollar... I feel a bit like a rat in a maze...
     Well, that's a quick little insight into what's going on around me. I feel like ever since I started writing this blog, my life has gotten more interesting, and a bit more sitcom-like... thank God I'm not being stalked by a camera crew and living my life to a set of scripted scenes, only to be shut down after a couple weeks and bad ratings...

Death be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for, thou art not so,
For, those, whom thou think'st, thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poor death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
John Donne

"Believe you can, and you're halfway there." -Theodore Roosevelt

Wednesday # 21 - Goodbye Seniors

Hey there everyone! I'm sad... and I'm happy at the same time. As some of you may know, I am a junior in high school, but as of today, I'm what's known as a Rising Senior, meaning that I'm still a junior, but now that the seniors have left, I'm suddenly required to be responsible and lazy at the same time. Now, before I talk about the whole "me being a senior" thing, I want to say something to the class of 2014, many of whom are close friends of mine, that I will now see very rarely, if not ever, again:

Bye.

     All kidding aside, I do have something I want to say to them. Senior class of 2014, I am now talking directly to you:

     I have spent the past 11 years of school near most of you guys, ever since I entered public schooling. Did I know all of you then? Of course not, but as time went by, I began to meet more and more of you. Some, I knew from Boy Scouts or sitting at football games, while our sisters played in the same marching band we'd spend 3 years playing in together, and some I met mere months ago, but still, you all have affected my life somehow. Whether it was teaching me, leading me, talking to me (or not talking to me), or simply setting a standard to meet, you have been such an amazing group of people to come to know. 

     It's going to be hard next year, since I was friends with so many of you, and in fact, I'm not sure if you know this or not, but I actually made more friends with the year ahead of me than my own yearmates during both freshman and sophomore year. Of the people who walk the halls of our school for the next year, I will feel your absence the most. Now that you're gone, I won't have people to reminisce about Philmont with, or talk Tolkien on the early morning ride to school. I won't have someone to beat box with, or argue Batman with, or discuss the intricacies of Dungeons and Dragons with. You have all meant so much to me, and have taught me so much, whether you know it or not. I hope I can be even half of what you have been to me to the classes after me. 

     Whether your legacy is written on the wall, preserved in a joke, held in a memory, or kept in a picture somewhere, some part of you will stick around the school, and people that never knew you, and never will know you, will be touched by all that you have done for our school somehow. As far as I go, your legacy shall not be forgotten.

     I'll miss you guys so much. Good luck in all that you do, and remember Hawks: you're a Hawk, and no one can take that from you.

WOOO!!

     THEY'RE GONE! Sure, I'm sad that they're leaving, if you couldn't already tell, but I'm finally a senior! I'm not one for the whole seniority crap that can go on in high school, but there are some perks that goes with being a senior, like... okay, there really aren't any that aren't forms of seniority, but I finally get to show to people how great I can be, no more shadow covering me up! It's my turn to leave a legacy, my time to go out with a bang! I'm incredibly nervous for senior year, but I'm so excited too. It's gonna be a good one, I can feel it.

He Chanted a Song of Wizardry

by J.R.R. Tolkien

He chanted a song of wizardry,
Of piercing, opening, of treachery,
Revealing, uncovering, betraying.
Then sudden Felagund there swaying
Sang in answer a song of staying,
Resisting, battling against power,
Of secrets kept, strength like a tower,
And trust unbroken, freedom, escape;
Of changing and of shifting shape
Of snares eluded, broken traps,
The prison opening, the chain that snaps.
    Backwards and forwards swayed their song.
Reeling and foundering, as ever more strong
The chanting swelled, Felagund fought,
And all the magic and might he brought
Of Elvenesse into his words.
Softly in the gloom they heard the birds
Singing afar in Nargothrond,
The sighing of the Sea beyond,
Beyond the western world, on sand,
On sand of pearls in Elvenland.
    Then the gloom gathered; darkness growing
In Valinor, the red blood flowing
Beside the Sea, where the Noldor slew
The Foamriders, and stealing drew
Their white ships with their white sails
From lamplit havens. The wind wails,
The wolf howls. The ravens flee.
The ice mutters in the mouths of the Sea.
The captives sad in Angband mourn.
Thunder rumbles, the fires burn —-
    And Finrod fell before the throne

"Change is inevitable; growth is optional" -Eric Trio

Wednesday #20 - Why I Wouldn't Want J.R.R. Tolkien to Kill Me

WHOA! It's been 20 weeks! You know the saying, time flies... and I forget the rest of it. 20 weeks guys (and girls). We're almost halfway through the year at this point, and it's starting to look up for us at this point. I mean, my Advanced Placement tests are now finished, after tonight I have very small obligations towards my acting class, and in a couple days, when the seniors from my high school leave, one of my classes gets reduced down to three students... Yep, it's almost time to checkout excessively large volumes of books from the library and spend hours each day in a hammock reading... But until that time, I said I was going to talk about AP tests, and so I shall.

AP Tests: Good, Bad, Ugly

     Good: N/A
     Bad: N/A
     Ugly: N/A (I told you, I can't talk about them...)
   
     Luckily, I have another post prepared!

Why I Wouldn't Want J.R.R. Tolkien To Kill Me

     First of all, I don't want anyone to kill me. I'd rather hold off on dying for as long as possible (or at least until next year, we've got a good thing going here). What I'm saying here is that I wouldn't want J.R.R. Tolkien to be the author of my demise (no matter how awesome it would be). The reasoning is simple: Tolkien's track record. Over the course of his works (specifically The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, The Silmarillion, and any film adaptations of his works), many people and creatures die. And just about all of them in horrible, agonizing ways.
Boromir: Son of Denethor, captain of the Citadel Guard of Gondor, best known Tolkien death. He dies when the Uruk captain sends three arrows into Boromir's torso at relatively close range, while Boromir was defending Merry and Pippin in the closing pages/minutes of The Fellowship of the Ring. Not only did he die after the arrows were resting comfortably in his torso, but he thought that he was responsible for the terrible death of the Merry and Pippin at the hands of Saruman, but also for the ultimate heat death of Middle Earth, thinking that his actions against Frodo caused the quest of the Fellowship to fail by separating the Ringbearer from those competent enough to protect him.

Denethor: Okay, Denethor wasn’t the nicest of people. He made irrational decisions as Steward of Gondor, was a royal jerk to Faramir (well, a pseudo-royal jerk; he was only steward, not king), and he was responsible for the deaths of the soldiers who attempted to retake Osgiliath. Despite all of that negative karma, did he really deserve this:

            Anyone with some serious daddy issues may think so, but dying with the belief that Gondor has fallen, and even though his son is (miraculously) not dead, he seemed set in his belief that Middle-Earth would fall and burn… Kinda like he did…

Theodin: Going with our theme of dying rulers, let’s look at how Theodin of Rohan bites it. In the Battle of Pelennor Fields, Theodin is attacked by the leader of the Nazgul, The Witch-King of Agmar. And a Fell Beast. From the air. Sneak attack style.

Theodin and horse were then released from the maw of the Fell Beast, resulting in a horse-on-king trajectory. Theodin then was crushed again when the Fell Beast stood on the horse… Sure Theodin died with a sort of peace of mind that we all hope for, but I’d rather not have the horse involved.

Sauron: Yeah, I’m going to sympathize with the villain, because he died not once, but twice (in the movies. The books bring the death count up to 4). First, his fingers are severed, and he explodes

Then, he spends 3000 years or so as a spirit, till he returns… As a great Eye… Lidless, wreathed in flame… You know of what I speak… (the Eye of Sauron) (imagine the gold Mordor has to dish out yearly for the eye drops to keep that under control). Sauron starts getting things working again, re-stokes the fires of Mount Doom, and all of a sudden, bloop, Ring + Volcano. And we get this:

Gandalf: Here’s where it gets ugly. Technically, Gandalf never died… his spirit returned to Valinor, and he trained (kinda), and then was sent back as Gandalf the White. But, think about how long he had to wait. Sure, it was only three days (after fighting a demon for 10 days, you’d be tired too), but each moment was like “a life time of the Earth”… there are 24 hours in a day, so in three days there are 72 hours. In each hour, there are 60 minutes, so 4,320 in three days. And that’s 259,200 seconds. The Earth is currently 4.54 billion years old. If the world ended today (and that was the standard age of the Earth), Gandalf had to wait 1,176,768,000,000,000 years before returning to Middle Earth… and he returned naked on top of a mountain. 

Well, there's your two posts. See y'all next week!

I sit beside the fire and think...

by J. R. R. Tolkien
I sit beside the fire and think
of all that I have seen,
of meadow-flowers and butterflies
In summers that have been;

Of yellow leaves and gossamer
in autumns that there were,
with morning mist and silver sun
and wind upon my hair.

I sit beside the fire and think
of how the world will be
when winter comes without a spring
that I shall ever see.

For still there are so many things
that I have never seen:
in every wood in every spring
there is a different green.

I sit beside the fire and think
of people long ago,
and people who will see a world
that I shall never know.

But all the while I sit and think
of times there were before,
I listen for returning feet
and voices at the door.

 “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” - J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

Wednesday #19 - GONE FOR AP TESTS

GONE FOR AP TESTS. TWO POSTS NEXT WEEK. SORRY.

"Hope" is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the tune without the words
And never stops at all,

Emily Dickinson

 "Nothing exists except atoms and empty space, everything else is opinion." -Democritus

Wednesday #18 - Caving

Hello Dreamers!!! How are you guys doing? This week, we're talking about caving!

Caving

     So, this past Saturday, I found myself 450 feet below the surface of the world... That's right, I went caving! Well, technically its called spelunking... but that's harder to type... and I have less than 8 minutes to write two posts... so yeah.

It was dark

It was damp

It was sandy

It was rocky

It was freaking awesome!

I also went rappeling. 

That was cool too.

See ya next week, when we talk Tolkien (it's a lot of stuff)

Love

Love is not a thing to understand.
Love is not a thing to feel.
Love is not a thing to give and receive.
Love is a thing only to become
And eternally be.

Sri Chinmoy

"We choose to go to the moon!" -JFK

Wednesday #17 - Spring Break, and Why You Shouldn't Date Superman

HELLO DREAMERS!!!!
       How are you guys doing? Tell me, I want to hear about it. I'm serious, write a comment saying how you're feeling right now (you know you want to). Even if I don't respond to you, simply telling someone how you're feeling will make you feel better (and if you're already on cloud 9, don't get complacent! Cloud 10 is out there, and you're settling for Cloud 9?!?).
     So I recently posted a list of upcoming topics to look forward to, and this week we address a couple of those topics. This week, we're talking about Spring Break and why you should not date Superman... Let's get to it.

Spring Break

     This isn't going to be some crazy story about how I went some where warmer, got drunk, and did stupid things. This is simply a tale of a hike, and a date.

The Hike:

     On the 17th of April (the first day of break), a friend of mine named Tyler and I went on a hike along the AT (Appalachian Trail). We started at Gathland State Park and ended in Harpers Ferry. In total, the hike was about 10 miles long, and was accomplished in about 4 hours (that's 2.5 mph). It was pretty freaking awesome, with jokes and stories, not to mention the killer view at Weverton Cliffs. Of course, there were some B.A. turtles, awesome ice cream cones, and discussions about psychological assault to deter drug use in room mates (a usual hike for me).

The Date:

     So, the National Zoo (sorry, the Smithsonian National Zoological Park) makes for a pretty sweet date. I took my girlfriend there on Friday, to take in the sights (and... interesting... smells) of the various animals there. Totally picked a great entrance point by the Maned Wolf. Which is known for it's distinctly powerful musk, excreted through it urine. 

     Don't I know how to show a girl a good time?

    Urine aside (never thought I'd ever say that), it was really a fun day, even though we didn't get into the reptile house, the small mammal house, the ape house, or Amazonia (lines...). But, we did get to meet one of the coolest birds ever: the Kiwi (not a fruit, a bird).

     The Kiwi come from New Zealand (a series of island south of Australia), which didn't have mammals on the island until humans came to the island. Causing other animals to evolve mammal traits. The Kiwi have really tiny wings. Yep. Tiny, tiny wings.

Why You Shouldn't Date Superman

He'll Kill You:

     Not intentionally, no. Indirectly. In various ways. Like breaking your bones during sex. You think I'm being funny, but I'm not (okay, maybe a little). Superman is best known for his super-human strength. He has the power to quite literally move the moon. And I don't mean George Bailey moon moving, I mean flying into space, and pushing a moon like it was a somewhat heavy couch. If he gets over emotional, tired, or just carried away, you might wind up in the hospital with broken bones galore. 

     He's also being constantly attacked by villains and evil-doers, so if you went on a date with him, chances are you're going to get caught in the crossfire between your hunk of Kryptonian man and another Lex Luthor robot. And unlike Superman, you don't come back to life if you die.

He's Already Married:

     That's right. He's married. Superman (synonymous with Clark Kent) married Louis Lane. Enough said.

You'll Go Broke Buying Sunscreen:

     Superman draws his very life-force from the solar rays of the sun. This means he has to be in near constant exposure to that sweet sweet vitamin D. Assuming that you're definition of dating someone means being around them often, the amount of sun screen you'd need to not shade you skin the same color as your date's cape will make you more broke than your bones after you fell from a tall building that Superman caught you from (it's a physics things: he wouldn't have been able to reduce speed in time to catch Louis without breaking her human bones). You had better hope investigative journalism is a lucrative career.

You'll Get No Privacy:

     Superman has telescopic, x-ray vision. Not assuming weird perverted things, he could see you were ever you are. That means if he wants to find you, he will. And you can't plan surprises either. Whether he hears it with his super hearing or hears it when he reads your mind, he'll know. I hope you don't like the occasional alone time. 

He's Never Home:

     Not that you'll ever see him. Whether it's training somewhere, visiting his adoptive parents, fighting crime in Metropolis, or in the Galaxy when he helps Green Lantern, or when ever the Justice League calls him in. Or if he goes on assignment for his job (you know, that thing he often forgets he has).

You'll Never Be Right:

     With a perfect photographic memory, a super brain, and the memory skills to quickly learn and memorize DNA, you'll never need a fact check again. Especially when you're arguing with him.

He Can Be Toppled By Pubescent Wizards:

     Superman is weak to magic. Not just Kryptonite. But also 11 year-old Brits with little sticks (Harry Potter, so we're all clear). That's right, you're amazing superhero boyfriend can clear buildings in a single bound, move planets, reverse time, shoot lasers, turn invisible, and produce an impact equivalent to 10 octillion megatons (which is equal to dropping 2,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 Tsar Bomba nukes, the most powerful bomb humanity has made) can be dropped by a swish and flick. 

Tyger! Tyger! burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

- William Blake

"Did you just barf that out your neck?" - Teresa Svincek

Wednesday #16.1 - In the Weeks To Come

Hey Dreamers! How are you guys doing? It's Easter!
...and the end of a 4 day Spring Break...
But I'm not here to complain. Instead, I'm here to tease you guys. Because I've got something awesome waiting in the wings...
A LOT OF BLOG TOPICS!!!
That's right! After two months of nothing to talk about, I have finally come up with a list of topics for me to write a blog post on (not all in the same one):
This Spring Break!
Why It Would Suck To Date Superman
Should We Legalize Prostitution?
Adventures in a Cave!
Thousands of Cars!
Shootout at the J.D. Blogger
Morp (also know as "prom")
AP Tests: the Good, the Bad, the Ugly

That's it for today, see y'all Wednesday!

Wednesday #16 - No Acts Of Sodomy

Hey guys! How y'all doin'? Mighty fine?

I don't have anything to talk about this week. But I will have stuff to talk about next week! Like, a lot! 

But still, nothing this week. No, not even anti-sodomy laws in Maryland. I found out the reason behind that law's existence is actually much more boring than I had hoped it to be. It's because people don't like acts of sodomy. If you don't know what that is, just look it up. 

So, nothing much this week. Sorry guys. But I'll have a ton of pictures and stories next week, I promise. 

Moments

There comes a moment

A moment so rare

That if you're not careful

You might not know it's there

A few brief seconds

And all of time

Rushes to fill it up

To add rhythm and rhyme

That moment so short

A couples breaths in length

Creates a memory so powerful

Endowed with immeasurable strength

Those moments are there

They keep happening everyday

We experience them infinitely

In every single way

Soon you'll finish reading

And the moment will be gone

But while you're still reading

The moment still goes on

You'll never again know

A moment quite like this

Never again live the same

As it falls into the Abyss

And the Doors of Time

Slam shut on the past

And you can't reclaim your gamble

After the dive have been cast

So make the bet a good one

Because you might lose it all

Except for the memories

Which you'll wear like a shawl

This moments come and gone

And my words said and done

This is all in the past

Onward time has run

                    "And can you feel the love tonight?" -any drama kid

Wednesday #15 - 7 Days: Sans Music

Hey Dreamers! I almost fell asleep before realizing I hadn't posted ANYTHING today... oops.

7 Days: Sans Music

            Philmont Scout Ranch, located in Cimarron New Mexico, contains 214 square miles of backcountry, according to their website, and has felt the boot prints of 950,000 Boy Scouts and Venturers since its opening in 1939. It lives in the hearts of Scouts as the ultimate adventure in Scouting, a trial of skills and determination. When I stepped onto the dusty ground of Philmont’s base camp, I was more than ready for 10 days of backpacking in the New Mexican backcountry. With worn-in boots and a 60 lbs. pack, I was set for adventure, my eyes on the horizon, my thoughts already miles down the trail. I wasn’t prepared, however, for the lack of music.

            The next three days had beautiful views, happy faces, sunny skies, but no music. We shot shotguns, told stories, climbed rock walls, made jokes, but heard no music. We bled, we fell, we fought, with no music. It wasn’t until the fourth day when this streak was stopped. We were all sitting around a flameless fire pit –dry season in Philmont means no fires- asking each other what we missed while we were out in the wild. Some of the guys said showers, others said indoor plumbing, but I said music. That’s when I started reacquiring it.

            We had a layover on the fourth, giving us two nights in the same campsite and an opportunity to go out and explore the nearby mesa, Window Rock. The climb was some 550 feet, and a mile or so down the trail from our campsite, winding us just a little when we got to the base of the mesa, but this time with music. It that I started singing, and the first song the came to my mind was “The 12 Days of Christmas.” I couldn’t keep singing the

            I’ll never forget how that felt, climbing that height. It was different from all the others, maybe because I was there to kill time, maybe because I didn’t have the weight of a rock on my shoulders, but maybe because there was music. We finished singing “12 Days of Philmont”, laughing at our joke,  

            There are, according to musicgenreslist.com, 273 different genres of music. And these genres of music have been fully integrated into our lives, on our phones, on our computers, on our televisions. Music can be heard playing in elevators, waiting rooms, stores. It’s sitting in our pockets, cars, and homes. We have music everywhere.

            But what if it all disappeared?

My Hero's

My hero's aren't in comics
My hero's don't wear capes
My hero's don't battle mythical
Monsters
My hero's don't have a special call
My hero's aren't talked about daily

No,
My hero's are real
My hero's wear green
My hero's risk their lives
For the ones they love
My hero's risk so much
For so little in return
My hero's aren't invincible
My hero's are normal people
With big hearts
My hero's aren't perfect
My hero's make mistakes
But my hero's are
Courageous
Brave
And honorable
My hero's fight for the red white and blue
My hero's fight for me and you

Kelsey Martinson

"Never give up, never surrender." -Tim Allen, Galaxy Quest

Wednesday #14 - HIMYM Finale

     Hey Dreamers! How's it going? So... a lot happened this week, didn't it? Maybe not for everyone, but for me at least, that's the case. How I Met Your Mother premiered its series finale, so that's over. Mother Nature threw a hissy fit on Sunday, while I was trying to deliver several hundred bags of mulch to people. The percussion ensemble I was in went to Championships on Saturday (we got 5th out of 5...). The last term of this school year started on Monday. I got introduced to chinchillas. Several relationships that my friends had found terminus in the past week. Oh, and my grandfather turns 87 today. Happy Birthday Grandpa!
     It was one of those weeks that makes it feel like nothing in your life stayed the same. Sure, I'm still writing for the same old blog, on the same keyboard, at the same desk, in the same room. I'm seeing everything through the same glasses, with the same eyes.
     But everything feels different.
     Normally, I'd spend my entire night working on homework, wondering how on earth am I going to get everything done in time for their due dates, but not tonight. Normally, I listening to Rhett & Link shoot the breeze about anything while I read some book for AP Lang, but not tonight.
     Tonight I'm sitting at the same old desk, in the same old room, with the same computer and keyboard, but it couldn't be anymore different. I feel older, almost like I'm the clinging remains of a bygone era. I'm one of the last relics of a time when writing blogs was a cool thing, when reading books wasn't stupid. I'm the dying breed of the rare Experiencer. Most people walk about in their hum-drum lives, going from point A to point B, and typically, I fit that mold (unfortunately). Tonight, though, something's different.
     Sure, it could simply be that I'm just being introspective over the ending of things, in that gray area between the end of the old and the beginning of the new (okay, to the person that I said smelled really good today, I just somehow smelt you out of nowhere), but it could also very well be that I've changed, and (I hope) for the better.
     I realize this may be a huge reaction to a show ending that I only started watching in... maybe 2011? and even then, just old episodes, but it was such a major part (major part) of my life, and now it's vanished. Not only that, but now everyone I talk to seems to decry the show, angered and enraged even at the series finale.
     There isn't really much I can say, for spoilers sake, and for your sake, Dreamers, except that I'm just going to remember the big thing that HIMYM taught us: Life is full of unexpected turns, and you never really know where it's taking you. All you can do is make every night legend-waitforit-dary, go where you can (because when in Rome, make like the Romans), do something you love, find someone to love, and never forget the big moments, be it weddings, funerals, births, or rainy nights with a blue French horn, because it's all leading up to something, one fateful day, one destiny-driven train wreck of a night, one... something.
     I guess, this is good-bye, How I Met Your Mother. Thank you for all that you taught me, all the jokes you told, the crappy days turned good, that awesome apartment just above a cool bar... Thank you for everything. I'll miss you, and I cannot believe I went this entire post without spoiling anything. Strange...
It's Been Fun

All those days
Of practiced plays
And hours spent in the sun
Problems and tests
All doing our best
But now those days are done
The chattering halls
The rises and falls
It really was a good run
The battles of old
Their stories retold
Of those days that were won
The ties and strings
The memory clings
From the day when we begun
We've traveled so long
To many a song
And I have to say, it's been fun. 

"And that kids, is how I met you mother." -Theodore Evelynn Mosby, How I Met Your Mother 2014

Wednesday #13 - Curtains (and Tolkien)

     Hey there Dreamers! How's everybody doing? I hope the answer was well, because that implies that you're being moderately successful, and for the most part enjoying life. Which I think is really important.
     Now, I've recently been putting up some pretty weak posts, let's be honest here. I'd apologize for that, but that's stupid at this point. So, instead of apologizing, I'll try my best to write better posts with some extra girth to them.
     For those of you who I turn to for ideas, thank you, even though I won't be using your ideas in this post (probably later). But until that point, let's talk about something very near and dear to me: The Lord of the Rings.
     Well, really it's J.R.R. Tolkien. That's what's actually near and dear to me. But to be more specific, The Hobbit. To be even more specific, The Hobbits movies. To properly reach the level of superfluous specificity, The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug. Okay, now that we've effectively established what we're discussing (and now that I've opened up the first Hobbit movie and am now watching it), we can begin.
     So, I got a rocking poster from my English teacher the other day due to a repeated display for my love of Tolkien works and an above-average knowledge of  his works. Yep. That's what I wanted to talk about.
     Kidding! I was recently involved with a musical with my school, called Curtains (the musical, not the school), and I spent a majority of my time sitting at a table backstage, discussing Canada or sitting on my girlfriends lap (I swear, her idea) when she came around. The whole experience was pretty chill, seeing as I got time to do homework, rest up, and make some new friends (which I love doing). I was on the Tech Crew for the show, and was responsible for the microphones that the actors wore onstage (not just myself, of course. I have to thank Canada and B-rad for their hard work and diligence).
     Now, I was in the musical last year as a cast member, so doing Tech Crew gave me an interesting perspective on how much work and planning it takes to get a show like Curtains to actually be performed. In case you didn't know, it's a lot.
     But speaking of acting: Come to Urbana High School on May 15th, 2014 at 19:00 for the Drama Showcase, put on by the advanced acting class. I'll be directing a scene from Star Wars (Live performance), but with a hilarious twist (don't worry, Han does shoot first). Admission is free, and it'll be a fun night. Yes I will be reminding you about this every single week.
Frozen
You keep my food cold
Below forty degrees F
Refrigerator

"I am fire, I am death" -Smaug, Desolation of Smaug, 2013

Wednesday #12 - Computer/Phone Singularity

Hello Dreamers! How's everybody doing this week? Really? That's pretty cool. But let's talk about something else.

     Are we heading towards a strange phone/computer anomaly? Yes, I realize that this sounds strange, but ask yourself and important question: If smaller handheld technology is better for our small pocket-size world, why are we making phones bigger and bigger? We want smaller phones, and marveled at the fact that we could fit so much into so smaller a device, but more recently, we've shifted away from the small iPhone 4 S size to the monstrous size of the Phone 5. Is it because in our obese world, everyone has fat fingers that require larger screens to accurately hit buttons on a key pad (because autocorrect downright doesn't help), because if so, isn't it worse for morbidly obese people to press specific spots on screen. But good night. I'll write write tomorrow. I need to sleep. 

White Markers
Visiting minds, collecting thoughts, preparing paths
towards fulfilling life.

Unheard of ideas navigating their way through past
memories, seeking refuge in the mainstream of a mind.

Piloting narrow lonely roads, circumventing words,
searching for clues unspent in the totality of unread
inventions, filled with unspoken sentences.

Resting slightly on never-ending displays of strength,
forgetting daily intakes of overlying breath.

Forgotten are the words of explanation, buried beneath
the sandy knolls, white markers tell sad stories of a
life known once before.
RoseAnn V. Shawiak

                "I didn't say that!" -Anonymous

Wednesday #11 - Bro?

Hello Dreamers!

Bro?

​“Come at me Bro!’, “Bros before ho’s”, and “the BroCode.” All of these sentences have one blatantly evident similarity: the word “Bro”.  As the word seeps into everyday use, one can’t help but wonder: what is a Bro? From frat boys to drama geeks, this (typically) male label is applied to so many variants of the modern male spectrum, breaking down social barriers previously thought impregnable. The question still stands: Who or what are Bros, and how can you tells who is a Bro?

​It doesn’t take a literary genius to realize the Bro derives from “brother”, but it does take an adept observer to realize the difference. Brother, defined by Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, means “a male who has the same parents as another or one parent in common with another”, but Bros don’t (usually) share parents. Through their own life, Bros meet each other, and become Bros. But can someone become a Bro? Some may be born Bros, but many become them through following the Articles of The Bro Code, a book that contains every and all the de facto rules for interaction between Bros, and how a Bro lives.It establishes the “Wingman” (Kuhn 24), a partner in crime and a side-kick in picking up girls (which would appear to be the main focus of Bros).

Just because Bro and brother both refer directly to male comrades doesn’t necessarily mean females haven’t or can’t become “Bros”. In fact, in the “holy” text of Bros, known as The Bro Code clearly states in Article 22:  “There is no law that prohibits a woman from being a Bro.” (34) While this article comes into conflict with Article 4: “A Bro never divulges the existence of the Bro Code to a woman.” (14), it can be assumed that once a woman has made the transition from the role of chick into the role of Bro based on the Bro-chick dichotomy, The Bro Code may be revealed to her. But that begs the question: What makes a Bro a Bro?

​A Bro will never grow a mustache, never splits a desert with fellow Bros, never comparison shops, never wears pink.Bros never cuddle, nor share a hotel bed if couches or the floorare available. A Bro isn’t vegetarian, he isn’t a spell-checker, he doesn’t reveal the scores of sport games, he doesn’t leave a Bro without posted bail (unless it’s crazy expensive), and he doesn’t accept help from his fellow Bros when he’s carrying things (except expensive TVs or moving anything into an expensive car). Bros follow these constraints not only to the word, but willingly.

A Bro is more than a friend. He is the kind of person trusted with secrets, delicate tasks, and your car. A Bro is the friend that is there for you because he needs you to help him move, but will only compensate you with lunch.  A Bro is always psyched, even if he isn’t, because that’s what his Bros need him to be. A Bro will ask you if you need help, even if he doesn’t plan to ever give it, because you shouldn’t really need it. A Bro is, essentially, a brother from another mother. But how does one differentiate a Bro from the rest of the crowd?

There are several distinct methods one can use to determine if someone is a Bro or not. One favorite method is something called the “Bro-five”. These can be as simple as the commonhigh five to something as complex and intricate as the Atomic High Five, but are all assured signs of Bros. Or rather, they were. The act of the high five has unknown origins and so it is difficult to determine with any certainty if the Bro and the high five have a shared creation, but it can be certain that a high five or fist bump is an act performed between two Bros. The act of the Bro-five is so important to Bro-culture that Article 107 ofThe Bro Code forbids a Bro from leaving another Bro “hanging”, or without a high five or fist bump (138)

While the Bros can be sifted out through the crowd with the Bro-five, the only true way to determine whether or not someone is a Bro is by becoming their Bro. By becoming someone’s Bro, the complete understanding of what a makes a Bro a Bro is revealed: love. Sure, it’s sappy, but it’s the truth. Love is what keeps a Bro going for his Bros, and keeps him in line with The Code. It’s not just a mutual arrangement that keeps Bros together, but a mutual caring towards each other (and doesn’t that make you want to break Article 41: “A Bro never cries.”) that allows for such a close and strong relationship between Bros (59).

Bros: the best friend of a lonely dude, but the worst enemy of the bachelorette party. A semi-hidden world that exists around us, where Wingmen and Bros leading the charge against the single occupants of bars and clubs everywhere. Some call it noble, others disgusting, but it’s truly a beauty of nature (yeah, it’s disgusting). People can go their whole lives, never seeing a Bro, but know that they’re out there, in the frat houses and the male dressing rooms, always looking out for each other, and wearing their hats either in a 12 o’clock or 6 o’clock fashion.

   

     So, I realize what happened. I clicked publish last night, but it didn't work (for some strange reason). Just so we're all aware, this was finished before Wednesday! I just didn't check to see if it went up. Sorry.

And now a poem and a quote

 The Next Day

Many people dream of the next day

the one the follows our sleep

the one filled with unknown

it rises when we do

full of hope and promise 

Many people wait for the next day

the one that the need to go on

the one that says a is better

it rises when we do

full of hope and promise

Many people waste this day

the one that happens right now

the one that we waited for last

it rose when we did

ignored for tomorrow

-JD Galuardi

"The higher the monkey climbs the more he shows his behind"- Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God

Works Cited

"Brother." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2014.

Kuhn, Matt. The Bro Code. New York: Fireside, 2008. Print.