It's over.

In choir, at our end-of-the-year commemorative celebration of sorts, all of the seniors are "roasted". Sophomores and Juniors essentially pick on us for our quirks or embarrassing moments. We receive lovely award certificates that say "Biggest Mouth", "Smallest Bladder", "Most Coordinated", or the likes.

I was roasted for "Most Likely to Start a Blog, Get Everyone Addicted, and Stop Posting".

I've been pressured into a final post. Just for old time's sake. While I appreciate the attention, I'm always baffled when people want to read what I have to say. It's weird. I don't know. I've never been a good judge of outward perception, nor have I ever harbored a large amount of consideration for it.

I can honestly say that this will be the last post on this blog. No more. This blog has officially become irrelevant to the rest of my life. It is the past. I'm sure I'll look back on it when I feel sentimental, but otherwise, it is just another metaphorical item to add to the scrapbook of my life's documentation.

But this blog isn't the only aspect of my life receiving the treatment of irrelevancy. Over the past few months, I've realized that practically everything I've done over the past four years no longer matters. No grade, no extracurricular, no petty clique, no junior high awkwardness, no standardized test score or essay--none of it counts now. I understand that, and I am utterly relieved. I am so happy to be starting with a completely clean slate, and moving forward, beyond the triviality of everything.

Before I bid this blog adieu, I'll leave the readers with a bit of advice. I started this blog for myself, but it's of no further use to me, so I leave it to you. The underclassmen and the people who will be in the same position as the one I am currently in. Feel free to skim, ignore, pass on, do with it as you please. It really doesn't matter to me.

1. Don't feed the trolls. If you sense drama, try not to get involved. There are causes worth fighting for, and then there are some that are not. Most are not. I can't begin to express to you how petty the majority of high school drama is. Fight meaningful fights, and think about what you can obtain from stirring the pot before you stir it.
2. Think about people as people, not a collective. I'm particularly guilty of this. When people are viewed as a collective, they lose their individuality, and are held to a different standard. This is why people "hate" Friendswood, or a certain clique, or a certain race, or sexual orientation, or any social grouping feasible to the mind. Get to know people, don't observe their group from a distance. I really wish I had done this more in high school. It's certainly a goal of mine for the future.
3. What people say about you--it doesn't matter. Coming to terms with this improved my personal sanity tremendously. Who cares if someone with closeted self-esteem issues spreads a lie that you're lesbian, or a whore, or a geeky introverted nerd, or an obsessive freak, or fat, or ugly, or that you have family issues, or that you hang with a certain "crowd"? It doesn't matter. As long as you are pleased with who you are, it is not important how people perceive you. And most of the time, you won't be able to correctly tell how other people think of you. Just get over it, and live for you, not for others. You'll make actual friends, not false images of friends that way.
4. There is nothing wrong with being in a relationship in high school. But don't seek it out. No one should need to settle just so that they can get romantic attention. Set your goals, follow them, don't lose track of them. And if you click with someone along the way, so be it. But being in a romantic relationship should never be a goal. Oh, and NEVER CHANGE YOUR GOALS AND ASPIRATIONS FOR A PERSON.
   
5. Be an individual. Express yourself. Don't worry about starting or following trends. Because here's the deal with trends: no one derives anything from them. They benefit no one. I'm not saying you should intentionally defy them, or go through extra measures just to be different, but try not to be a clone of everyone else. You want to be remembered for being you, not for being just another sheep.
   
6. Decide whether knowledge or innocence is more important to you. I wish I chose innocence, but I chose knowledge. Knowledge is going to be harder. It will be more emotionally taxing. It isn't fun. But I feel more of a person, and less of a caricature because of it. Knowing some things about the world has ruined me. I am so much more coarse because I chose to not be ignorant. I'm going to recommend ignorance to you, because I wish I could be. It is so much easier to push your questions aside and go with what you're told. I would be so much happier if I hadn't read some of the things I've read or researched the things I've researched. I would elaborate further, but I don't want you to be like me. I would never ask someone to believe what I now believe, or go through the events that caused me to be where I am. If you're sane, keep yourself innocent.
   
7. If you're masochistic and knowledge is the path for you, embrace it and don't limit yourself to a single culture. There is a world outside of small town America. Some people think that humans innately follow the same habits, from the beginning of time to every point forward. That may or may not be true, but find out for yourself. Look at schools in other states or countries. Study other cultures. Venture outside your friend group. The suburbs are nice and safe, but they don't represent the actual world well. Break the bubble.

As I said, I can guarantee there will be no further posting on this blog. As I psychologically differentiate life up until this point from life in the future, I will have a completely different blog, Atomic Katherine, which you can follow if you're still interested. The posts on this one should be less about specific events and moreso about thoughts in general. Also, I have a tumblr. But that's just me posting videos and stuff that interests me.

Fare thee well.

100th Blog Post

Happy 100 blog posts! In honor of this momentous occasion... I'm going to stop doing BEDA. Kthanxbai.

BEDA 16: Avatar

Blogginglateblogginglate. I am neglecting this project. Sorry, kittens.

Speaking of kittens...





Yeah, I got a new kitty. Her name is Avatar. And she is pretty much the most adorable mammal ever.

BEDA 15: I like cats.

I'm too lazy to make a decent blog post. I'm getting a cat tomorrow. Please suggest names. Kthanxbai.

BEDA 14: AP Cal BC Chapter 11 Test Review

DISCLAIMER: This post is more practical than humorous. It most likely does not apply to you. Sorry.

That said, here are, as dictated by Dr. Crotteau, the problems on tomorrow's test, for those who were not present and/or not paying attention today. Click links to videos on topics for clarification.

1. Does a given sequence converge or diverge?
2. Given an amount of money invested annually, and an equation for the interest rate, calculate the total money after 7 years.
3. Does a given series converge or diverge? If it is convergent, write the sum.
4. Write a decimal as a ratio of two integers.
5. Use a binomial series to expand as a power series, and find the radius of convergence.
6. Given the Marginal Propensity to Consume (MPC), find the multiplier.
7. Find the 7th partial sum of a series to 5 decimal places.
8. Use the sum of the first 9 terms to approximate the sum of the series.
9. Does the given series converge or diverge?
10. For what values does a series converge?
11. Test a series for convergence or divergence.
12. Find the ration of convergence of series (*use ratio test).
13. Find the Maclaurin series for f(x).
14. Find the Taylor series for function centered at a=1; polynomial function (limited number of terms)
15. Use binomial series to expand a function and find the radius of convergence.... (1+x)^k--->|x|=L < 1
16. Find Maclaurin series for a sin or cos function
17. Use multiplication or division of power series to find Maclaurin series for product of e^x and a trigonometric (sin or cos) function.
18. Use a binomial function to expand as a power series.
19. Given a table (evaluation of a Taylor polynomial), find degree of Taylor polynomial (write functions and evaluate for x)
20. Use alternating series estimation theorem to find the interval of convergence of a Taylor series (given error)

BEDA 13: It counts as a blog post, alright?

If you don't understand one or more, just comment, and I can explain.

BEDA 12: Pop Show Music

Annually, the choir program at my school, like most choir programs, has a pop show--a concert of show tunes, pop music, and generally good times. It's pretty swell.

To be honest, the past couple of years, the music selection has been kinda lame. But this year is the bomb. No. It is the atomic bomb. Like, this pop show music selection could blow up a small island.

Inappropriate joke. Sorry.

Songs to be sung include The Safety Dance, Vogue, Carry On My Wayward Son, Soul Man, The Theme from James Bond, and Thriller. So. Stinking. Excited. Can you even fathom the potential choreography and costumes for this thing. *choirgasm*

In case you don't recognize one or more of the songs, here are some videos of them:

SAFETY DANCE:

sanity.exe has encountered an error...

VOGUE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuJQSAiODqI


CARRY ON MY WAYWARD SON:

The guy that looks like Hagrid is killing me.


SOUL MAN:

I mean... I could post the original... but I'm such a sucker for Drake and Josh.


JAMES BOND THEME: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fj9P9S8dPZo&feature=fvst


THRILLER:

Due to personal conviction, I would like to say that I do not endorse the occult. But I do however, endorse this pop show.

BEDA 11: Practice AP Test

I had a practice AP test for AP Calculus BC today. Which means I started later on filming and editing my weekly video. Which means I stay up later and get less sleep. Boooooo.

My calculus teacher this year did quite a bit less AP reviewing than my teacher from last year, and after taking the practice test, I think I'll definitely have to do more independent reviewing. I definitely wasn't expecting nearly 1/3 of the test to be on series.

But I mean, at least they gave us free pizza.

BEDA 10: Choir Spring Trip

Okay, so I know I only have 7 minutes left of today. But I'm posting this before midnight, so it counts. Even if I'm just going to go back and edit in actual substance after I finish my physics homework (which will most definitely be after midnight).

BEDA 8-9: Tupperware

I'm not able to blog tomorrow, as I'll be in San Antonio on a choir trip. So much for BEDA, right?

One thing most people don't know about me is that I am not lucid whatsoever when I first wake up. I mean, I respond, but I usually don't remember what I say and can't be expected to make very profound statements. I'm sure other people can just wake up and be productive, but not so with me--I have to fight through this world of half-dream and half-reality before I gain total consciousness.

This morning, in my half-awake stupor, I threw away a tupperware container that I forgot to properly dispose of in my I-just-finished-my-homework-and-all-I-want-to-do-is-sleep stupor. Some people may find it funny that my first action upon waking up was to throw away a Tupperware container (I realized, after a harsh scolding, still not completely lucid, and a later regaining of total consciousness, that a trash bag does not equal a sink). My mother, however, was not amused.

BEDA 7: Teachers are Cool

Hey. I'm going to rant again. Just a warning.

If anything is of import to me, it's education. Education is the foundation of a society--through lack or existence of an adequate educational system, a government can manipulate the members of its society, or the citizens can form a productive system of the people. Every law passed, every court ruling, every class division, and every dollar contributing away from or towards the GDP derives from education.

And let's be frank. Texas, as a whole has an absolutely awful education system. And we're probably the state that needs it the most--what with our massive amount of illegal immigrants and general population, in addition to the amount of stock we hold in the House. Our drop-out rate, literacy rate, and SAT scores are shameful. Seriously, everything is bigger in Texas... except the proportion of the budget dedicated towards education.

The most frustrating aspect of our education system is that it isn't good enough to teach the students that education is important. Most people don't understand the role of education beyond some governmental requirement. I was in the bathroom after fourth period today, and a girl said that she had nine makeup hours. Nine. How does one even acquire nine makeup hours? And the sad part is that she's probably not educated enough to realize the detrimental effects of stinted education.

This year has been particularly enlightening with respect to teachers. In the past, I, along with nearly everyone else, definitely took teachers for granted. It's probably one of the most honorable professions in existence. I could never be a teacher. And this year, I've come to realize how fleeting life is. How easily it changes. How life takes things and people away and gives some things back.

I never want to take my education for granted, because I have been better off then most people. And this year, I've had some of the best teachers of my educational career. They deserve so much more than they have received.

BEDA 6: My Love is a Young Rider

I had a choir competition today. Like, all day. Did you know that choral music is exhausting? Because it is, especially if you're standing and singing for three hours straight.

My brain hurts. And I still feel dizzy.

Anyway, during the sight-reading portion of the competition, we read a piece called "My Love is a Young Rider", which is pretty much the largest innuendo I've ever seen in a choral arrangement. And I've heard the song "Standin' on the Corner, Watching All the Girls Go By", so that's saying something.

The lyrics to the song were fantastic. At one point it said (mind you, I may be paraphrasing) "the young girls on the Platte should stay away from my cowboy, for he pets you, and courts you, and then he leaves to ride other broncos". Brokeback Mountain, much?

BEDA 5: Powderpuff Sign-up

Each year, the sophomore class hosts a notorious fundraiser for prom--Powderpuff Football, in which the junior and senior girls compete in an intense game of flag football. I didn't participate last year on account of my complete lack of athletic ability, but I decided to seize the day and participate this year.

Each of the 95 girls participating either chose or was assigned a number between 00 and 99... excluding the number 69, as the sponsor felt it was too inappropriate. The fact that she took it off the list is even more funny than someone actually having it. Anyway, I inquired as to if numbers with decimals were permitted. After receiving a positive response, I requested the number 3.14.

Yes, dear reader, I am player number pi. This will be glorious.

BEDA 4: Science Fiction

She was born this way. Oh wait, wrong mega-pop star.

Yeah, I'm going to be honest. I don't really have time to blog tonight, what with a remainder of a dystopian novel (Brave New World) asking to be read, the executive branch wishing to be studied, and Calculus begging to be reviewed.

Nevertheless, I'm finding the time to discuss science fiction.

A good majority of my time is devoted to science fiction, in fact. Reading it, watching it, forcing other people to read or watch it, discussing it. But the funny thing is that I wasn't always into that broad sub-genre of literature and film. I mean, I read science fiction books in elementary school, but they weren't my favorite--I was definitely more enamored with the Wizard of Oz, Harry Potter, and Anne of Green Gables back in the day.

If I could pinpoint any moment in which I started enjoying sci-fi, and absorbing every robotic ounce of it, I would say it was either after reading 1984 in the eighth grade, or watching GATTACA in freshman biology (still one of my favorite movies). Sometime after that, I started obsessively watching Star Trek, fully aware of its camp value and utter cliche-ness, and reading novels by the likes of H.G. Wells.

I'm not sure why I like it. I suppose I just enjoy reading and watching outlandish and pessimistic visions of what humanity could be or may have been. I enjoy how (literally) alien the conflict described is to the boring hum-drum of much of human life. And I like forming conspiracies, and being frightened out of my wits by just how similar dystopian life is to many Earth societies.

I don't have a better conclusion to this, so here's a video:

BEDA 3: Choir Kids like to Creep

Each year, choir competes in a UIL competition. And because not many parents can attend the actual competition, there is a spring preview, typically hosted at a local church.

I don't have too much to say about it, other than choir kids really like to photobomb. (Photobombing is the art of creeping in other people's pictures.) I'll let the pictures I took speak for themselves on this one.






On an unrelated note, I went to a Georgia Tech "meet and greet" for accepted students this afternoon. But really, it was more of a meet and greet with alumni. I mean, it was definitely informative, but there was only one other acceptee in attendance.

I really think I want to rush this fall. It's seeming more and more of a good idea, especially at a largely male school like Georgia Tech. Don't judge me.

BEDA 2: Pi in your Face

So, raise your hand if you promised to blog every day in April, and then completely forgot about it the second day. Oh, just me? Whoops.

I suppose I'll compensate for the lack of yesterday by double-posting today. That's right, twice the fun. But not really.

A few weeks ago, the Math and Science Club celebrated Pi Day, which traditionally falls on March 14th... but we celebrated it March 22nd. But it's okay because pie is delicious. Speaking of which, a new restaurant called the Pie Garden just opened. It's like iHop, except with more pie, worse food, worse service, and more old people. Do not recommend.

Anyway, I don't really understand the point of pi. I mean, I understand that it's the ratio of the circumference to the diameter, and that it's used in many, many equations, but things would be so much easier if it were the ratio of the circumference to the radius. Like, the whole radians thing where you have to multiply by two? Ridiculous.

Watch this video for a better explanation.

Yeah, I think I'm going to refuse to use pi in Calculus, opting to use tau instead. That'll go over well.

Pictures from Pi Day?






Yeah, Math and Science Club is cool.

BEDA 1: Wreck 'em

Click the picture. Click it.

Oh, hey. This is awkward. We haven't seen each other in a while. Sorry for neglecting you. This (my inability maintain any interest in anything for more than six months) is exactly why I should never be trusted to take care of babies or puppies for an extended period.

Anyway, today is April 1st. And I'm not clever enough to come up with some elaborate joke. So instead I'm blogging. Actually, today is the first day of BEDA, or Blog Every Day in April, if you prefer. I figure that since I took March and most of February off, I should compensate by going on a massive blogging binge. Which may result in another massive purge as I become more and more disillusioned with the idea of high school.

A lot has changed in the last month. A lot of things I haven't blogged about. I suppose the most notable is that I will officially be a Ramblin' Wreck from Georgia Tech. But don't worry, I won't forget to wear my seatbelt. You know, seatbelts can be the difference between life and death in a car accident.

Wow, tangent.

Yes. I will be attending the Georgia Institute of Technology, majoring in Nuclear and Radiological Engineering and partaking in the Honors Program. Which means I'll also be a helluva engineer.

Why Georgia Tech, you inquire? I was accepted to Georgia Tech, along with Baylor and Tulane, by applying early action. It's a great school, particularly for engineering, and is a very well-known name for graduate programs and the working field. It is quite academically rigorous, which is a quality that I was particularly looking for in a school--first in foremost, I am going to college to learn, not to party. Oh, and there are a lot of Asians.

I wasn't accepted to most of the other schools I applied to, which were admittedly schools that I thought were out of my reach. My philosophy was to apply to as many outstanding schools as possible, and cross my fingers that I would get into one of them. I must have applied to too few schools, or not crossed my fingers hard enough.

But I definitely don't want you to pity me, as I'm extremely excited for next year! Georgia Tech is tied with Caltech as the #4 engineering school in the country, ranked only beneath MIT, Stanford, and UC Berkeley. It is an absolute honor to be part of such a program, and I'm very anxious to meet all my fellow jackets and get out of Texas.

Also, I spent like five hours on skype today with a potential roommate. She's crazy rad. And she's a nerdfighter. NERDFIGHTER! We're basically going to be best friends.

Star Trek and Georgia Tech

I've officially been accepted to the Georgia Tech Honors Program. And because I've been accepted to college, and the honors program, have a bad case of senioritis, and have been feeling decidedly spunky lately, I responded with the above e-mail (click on the picture for a better view).

Good choice? Good choice.

**Note that this does not mean that I will definitely be attending Georgia Tech. It just means that if I do, I'll be in the Honors Program.

UIL and Anglerfish

I am afraid of fish. You have no idea how massively uncomfortable this makes me.

Oh, hey. Long time, no see. Lately, I've been devoting most of my efforts towards my youtube channels, EveryFlavorVlogs and katherinifyable. Which explains why I haven't been updating the blog. Sorry.

On to things pertinent to senior year.

I'm officially on the UIL Ready Writing team, which means that I competitively write essays on behalf of my school. To most people, I suppose this is the exact opposite of fun. But I'm different--in an ideal world, I would do nothing but write essays, watch Star Trek, and make videos. I actually look forward to cold writes in English. I like to tell people my opinions when I'm asked, and I like to flaunt my (humble) knowledge of current events, literature, history, and science. Essays are my thing.

In order to obtain my sacred position on the team, I had to try out. Yes, there are other people that enjoy sitting in a chair for two hours and analyzing ethics. Actually, there are five other people that tried out for the three spots on the team.

So here's how it works: we're given two quotes--one relatively modern, and one from another era. We choose one of the two quotes, and write an essay over it, interpreting it as we wish. Unfortunately, the paper with the prompts is missing in action, but I do, however, have the essay that I wrote in response, which gained me my spot on the team.

The Hope Lies with the Proles

"The hope lies with the proles." It is the phrase echoed by Winston Smith in George Orwell's 1984, suggesting that the key to triumphing over an oppressive system resides in education. It is a paradox: freedom derives from education, yet education is limited when freedom is limited--they are mutually dependent. Without education, the knowledge that injustice persists will remain unknown, and injustices will continue.

The anglerfish dwells in a permanent state of ignorance, completely unaware of how truly abysmal a life it leads. The anglerfish is frightening, scaly, and an unattractive specimen of the animal kingdom. It is a habitant of the deep sea, a highly inhospitable environment as a result of tremendous levels of pressure, a severely limited amount of light, and it consequently maintains a highly restricted diet of whatever happens to fall into the depths of the sea. Yes, the deep sea anglerfish has no reason to be happy, but it is ignorant of a better, more hospitable world. It is content with the depressing sea around it only because to the anglerfish, nothing else exists.

Humans too often suffer from the condition of the anglerfish, or at least they do in Orwell's 1984. The proles, non-government workers with mundane, unknowingly restricted lives, are unaware of their manipulation and oppression by the INGSOC regime. They, like the anglerfish, have no motive for their happiness, yet they are content with their lives because nothing else exists to them. But the anglerfish and the proles differ: the proles have the power to rebel and resist their oppression. This idea of the human ability, necessity, and desire for rebellion litters the pages of Helen Maria William's Julia, which contains her poem "The Bastille: A Vision." In the poem, a prisoner of the Bastille, after immense torture, gains an omniscient persona that permits him to envision a future exempt of injustice. The speaker further exhorts the reader to resist subjugation and strive for injustice. But the key is education. Without knowledge of their situation, the proles do not know how to rebel, or, for that matter, how to rebel.

In the world beyond dystopia, satire, and omniscient personas, the paradox of freedom and education persists. China is largely recognized as one of the most controlling and restricting governments, and is increasingly recognized as such by its own citizens, with the growth of the internet. Companies such as Google have been criticized for their permittance of the Chinese censorship of the internet and communication, yet many Chinese citizens remain anglerfish in their world. Recently, however, large steps have been made towards the public education of China's people. The Google homepage has been rerouted to Hong Kong, which cannot be censored by the Chinese government. Now, searches including "Tienanmen Square" contain images of violence, uprising, and oppression, rather than the prior, highly-censored search results containing tourist information. In addition to Google, the Nobel Prize committee has made leaps toward universal freedom and education. This year, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to an orchestrator of rebellions against the Chinese government, who coincidentally is also imprisoned by the government he resisted on account of his efforts. His receipt of the prize is predicted to lead to greater awareness among the Chinese people.

In the Middle East, such a rebellion that is only hypothesized of china has already occurred. A single fruit vendor, residing in Tunis, disenchanted with the treatment he had received from the government, lit himself on fire in a solitary act of resistance. His spontaneous suicidal mutiny did not go unnoticed by his fellow Tunisians.Within days, rioters plagued the streets in such great numbers that military force was required (although, they too could not dampen the flames of rebellion.) Their passionate opposition inspired many Egyptians, particularly the radical political party The Muslim Brotherhood, and spurred an overthrowal of their long-time president Hosni Mubarak, and a complete reestablishment of the Egyptian government. and it began with a Tunisian fruit vendor, who unknowingly educated the masses in a rash act of bravery.

Overcoming justice isn't easy. It requires martyrs and dedication. However, the first and most important step towards freedom is education--of the masses, not of the elite. But until the public is educated, injustice will continue until people are aware of the world around them. The hope lies in education

You may have picked up on the anglerfish motif. I'd like to chalk that up to my own creativity, but I infact ripped it off from the famous vlogger Hank Green, of vlogbrothers fame. Watch the video that inspired it here:

More Interviews

I had initially intended to blog about my interviews with Columbia Engineering and Harvard immediately following their occurrence, but I was preoccupied by the time-suckingness of Poet Museum.

I interviewed with a Mechanical Engineering major from Columbia School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (c/o 2010) on Sunday at a Starbucks. The kid that went before me was named Dennis, and I was the third person she interviewed that day, which may or may not be ominous. I didn't feel spectacular about that interview--for some reason, I wasn't able to think on my toes quickly. I kinda felt like I was translating all of my thoughts into another language.

On Monday, I met with a Harvard graduate (c/o 2004) at Panera Bread. The interview was to occur at 6:30 pm, but for some reason, I thought it was at 4:30. Needless to say, I was incredibly stressed out when she wasn't there at 4:45, until I realized that I came at the wrong time. So I went home, did some homework, and came back at the correct time. There was a knitting club going on simultaneously, which was quite awkward... and ridiculously awesome. I genuinely enjoyed this interview. Very stimulating conversation. DISCLAIMER: I don't actually think I can get in to either school.

Poet Museum

The last week or so of my life has been completely and utterly devoted to Poet Museum. Poet Museum is to senior year as national conventions are to presidential elections. (Side note: I didn't come up with that analogy... it is the brainchild of my government teacher.) Poet Museum is either the culmination of a massive amount of effort, and the point at which seniors are officially allowed to succumb to senioritis. In a word: ugghhhhhhh.

My partner and I chose to present over Helen Maria Williams. She's fairly obscure, so I'll summarize: she's an over-sexed radical for the French Revolution who lives to be provocative.

I made this video, which is a (ridiculously dramatic) reading of our poem. And by "made", I really mean "spent over twenty-four hourse agonizing over".

Yes, the first song is "O Children" by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Yes, that is the song that Harry and Hermione danced to in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. And yes, that is Voldemort at 2:54, between the clips of Hitler.

And here are a few pictures of other people's presentations that I made my brother take because he was loitering around our table too much:

On Hortas and Justice

A Horta, from Season 1, episode 25 ("The Devil in the Dark") of Star Trek, The Original Series

It’s funny how the simplest, most concise statements can be interpreted a multitude of ways. Take, for example, the phrase “You cannot eat my sandwiches”. It could be taken to mean “you cannot eat my sandwiches”, meaning that someone else can eat the sandwiches, but the person being addressed cannot. “You cannot eat my sandwiches” could be interpreted as an accusation that the person addressed does not have the ability to eat the sandwiches. “You cannot eat my sandwiches” may mean that something else can be done with the sandwiches. “You cannot eat my sandwiches” may ban the person addressed from eating those specific sandwiches, but still entitles the person to eat other sandwiches. And finally, “you cannot eat my sandwiches” limits the person from eating the sandwiches, but says nothing about not eating other food.

Even the biblical phrase “Thou shalt not murder” is a hazy command. What or who shalt thou not murder? Shalt thou murder murderers? Shalt thou murder those who aren’t of the same nature? Does the law apply to thou, the individual, but not to thou, the group? I am no judge of character. I’m not very apt at determining the guilty party, or rather, the more guilty party, in a situation. I wouldn’t know what consequences to assign to a convicted criminal. But sometimes, I we (which may refer to either my own subset of the population, or the entirety of it, depending on your perception) are too quick to judge.

In the Star Trek episode “Devil in the Dark”, a creature is murdering many miners in a colony on Janus VI. The crew, which includes Kirk, Spock, assorted red shirts, and miners from the colony, embarks on an expedition to kill the creature. However, Spock (who prides himself as being logical and devoid of emotion), brings up the point that the creature may be the last of its kind, and killing it would be a “crime against science”. When faced with the creature, which identify as a Horta, Kirk finds himself unable to kill it, on account of its seemingly passive nature. Spock does a trippy Vulcan mind trick, and finds that the miners had killed thousands of Horta eggs (without actually being aware that they were eggs), which the Horta was obligated to protect, and was acting out of defense when she murdered members of the colony. And then, like any classic Star Trek episode, all conflict is resolved and the Horta and the colony work in peace without any further issues. I’m not sure who was more or less justified in that situation, the Horta or the colonists. As previously stated, I’m not sure where justice lies in most situations. However, I do acknowledge that I am no judge.

This is exactly the issue that Elizabeth Bennet faces in Pride and Prejudice. Elizabeth, who “fancies herself a good judge of character”, initially perceives Mr. Darcy as pretentious and haughty. His actions are later revealed to be (relatively) justified as the novel progresses, and she falls in love with him, in another Star Trek-y ending that is far too resolved to plausibly reflect actual life. Austen purposefully make Elizabeth relatable, so that the reader may realize that he or she (probably she) is also guilty of prejudice. It is indeed a “truth universally acknowledged” that the majority of the words that spew from our mouths about other people is complete codswallop. I, for one, stick my foot in my mouth multiple times in a single day. And I’m fairly sure I’m not the only one with saliva on their toes (but I wouldn’t want to make assumptions, as that would be judgmental).

Even (or rather, especially) under the hand of the government, people are misjudged and punished although innocent. Consider, for example, the millions of Jews whose lives were taken although leading innocent lives. But even their deaths were justified to their murderers. Do you know how many innocent people have been ordered to death in our own governmental system? The woman who kept the inn where John Wilkes Booth and his cronies formulated their plans to assassinate Abraham Lincoln was sentenced to the death penalty, although not actually having any knowledge of the assassination itself. I mean, I understand that it was during a time of political turmoil, and the entire country hated anyone who had anything to do with John Wilkes Booth, and our current society is much more civilized (or at least, we think we are), but seriously?

I’m not too big on judging in general. Not merely because I’m so bad at it myself, but because there is so much room for error on issues that have the potential to be serious. So many issues are simply not able to be quantized. Honestly, I don’t understand our societal need to group, rank, and isolate individuals. Why should it matter if I’m ranked fourth, fortieth, or four-hundredth in an easily-manipulated system largely based on effort rather than intelligence, in which the variables are readily skewed? Why should the amount of melanin in my skin restrict or permit me to receive special scholarships? Why would the number of blemishes on my face, the yellow-ness of my teeth, or the shape of my figure make me more or less beautiful than any other person? The fact of the matter is that as much as we want it to, there is no formula to life by which we can determine justice, and as wonderful mathematicians as we fancy ourselves, there is no way that we could possibly derive one.

P.S. I have a multitude of news, ranging from college interviews to AP English projects, to battling exhaustion.

So Afro-tastic!

I mentioned our "rival" high school in an earlier post. My dear friend Cristine is dating a boy from there, who she coincidentally met when we infiltrated their side at a football game. Her boyfriend looks like Bradley Uppercrust III from An Extremely Goofy Movie. And he's the "flasher who lives next door" in their adaptation of Hairspray, which she forced a group of us to see with her a group from our school saw this past Friday.

It was so afro-tastic.

(I can get away with saying that because I'm quoting the musical.)

Our school has very little diversity. We might have twenty African-Americans. So it's always a shock for one of my peers to see a person of non-European descent. And if we do see one, we tend to clump together, because frankly, we don't know how to react. Hairspray was a nice breath of fresh air. That was a nice paradox, eh?

On the way home, Cristine's car got a flat, and thus, we were sad pandas at an Exxon Mobil station, which the other girls believed to be in a "shady area".

Tell me he does not look like Brad from an Extremely Goofy Movie.





See? Twins.

So much yes.

Oh, also, the front bumper of my car fell off. Again.

On Looking for Alaska

I started Looking for Alaska by John Green yesterday. I just finished it. I mentioned yesterday that when I was a third of the book in, I wasn't blown away. I mean, it was good, but it just seemed like triviality with an occasional profound thought. At one third of the way into the book, John Green (who is one of my greatest role models), seemed to underestimate youth and follow the assumption that so many adults adhere to: that young people live to violate every law and regulation imposed on them. But, upon completing it, I get it.

You really need to read this book.

I'm creep.

I found an acronym for the seven requirements of democracy. And yes, it is an acronym, as opposed to simply a mnemonic, because it does form a pronounce-able word, as opposed to a series of letters that each begin a word, forming a sentence.

I- Inclusion
M- Majority Rule and minority rights

C- Citizen control of the agenda
R- Representation
E- Equality in voting
E- Enlightened understanding
P- Participation


I had a good laugh over that. My original mnemonic was "Every Politician Eats Certain Illegal Meals Regularly", so I think it's definitely an improvement.
-----------

Also, I've started Looking for Alaska, by John Green (of the vlogbrothers), who I might add is an awesome author, vlogger, and person in general. I'm about a third of the way in, and so far, it's thought-provoking and interesting, but difficult to imagine in the voice of John Green. But you should definitely read it.

Facial Hair

This seemed like a nice, attention-getting thumbnail.

On Friday, my calculus teacher got onto a kid about a facial hair infringement. And when I say, "got onto", I mean that he hardcore drilled this kid about the few hairs that poked out from the dermis on his skin. Wow, dermis is an awkward word. Needless to say, it was really entertaining.

The strange thing about my calculus teacher, is that he's a very stringent enforcer of rules, but only the trivial ones. For instance, when I filmed a video during his class, it was the subject of my video taping that got in trouble for wearing a hat, as opposed to me getting in trouble for operating an illicit electronic device. The boys get in trouble for facial hair while he simultaneously allows us to cook pancakes in the classroom, which I'm fairly positive is an encroachment on the fire safety codes and a definite encroachment on the school policy on food and drink, but I'm not really complaining, because I like pancakes.

I have this theory that Dr. Crotteau is trying to send us a message about the foolishness of law-making bodies, or life in general. As if he's saying that humans tend to dwell on the small things, and ignore the big picture.

----------

I've been receiving complaints about the frequency with which I update this blog. And while I apologize if I'm disappointing anyone, we need to get something straight. I started this for me, to document my senior year, so I can look back on how I have changed over the course of the year. It's something between an interactive scrapbook and a diary. I do realize that it's on the internet, and I know it's public, but I imagine it like I'm allowing the world insight into my thoughts, rather than publishing these posts as a means to gain notoriety among my peers. As conceited as it sounds, I guess I'm trying to say that I don't feel like I'm obligated to post anything. Please note that I'm not bothered by the comments on my lax blogging, but I only mean to establish my purpose for this blog.

If you do want to see more regular blogging of similar interest level, the blogosphere in my town has recently exploded, and you should definitely check out some of these blogs from my peers:

• Suprisingly Swift (which I'd like to point out is a misspelling of "surprisingly") by Jordan Salley
• Airplanes and Cameras by Ashley Easterly
• clickclicksaddleup by Jill Olsen
• Mischievous Misadventures by Nick Drone
• When the Solange Sings by Solange Mainer

----------

On that note, here's an ironically self-promoting bunch of videos, this week's occurrences on EveryFlavorVlogs.

My video from Monday:




Julia's schmexy video from Wednesday:




Kathy's tasteful video from Friday:

I'm not very interesting today. But these videos are.

I don't really have a lot to say. My life has been super boring over the past few days. I watched Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince with my brother today, so I guess that's something.

Here are a couple of videos:

JULIA'S BIRTHDAY VIDEO-

KATHY'S OBNOXIOUSLY LATE VIDEO:

Yelling at Things

This is me, in Spanish class.

In Spanish, I did a speaking activity in preparation for the AP Exam. Which means that I spent a little under an hour in a closet, embracing the fact that I seemed schizophrenic, and yelling things like "You never loved me as a child!" (in Spanish) at a CD player. It was wonderful.

-------------
Julia, Wednesday on EveryFlavorVlogs, made a fantastic video. And I'm not just saying that because she bribes me to do so with furry creatures. Unfortunately, we set a four minute maximum on the videos, and she exceeded it by thirty seconds, so she will be punished. If you have any suggestions (that are legal and not too cruel), leave them in the comments. Dooooooo it.

-------------

I'm extremely self-conscious, particularly around people I respect. And despite how seemingly public my life is and the care-free attitude that I've adopted this year, I really do care what people think about me. In fact, I obsess over it--last night, I think I spent over two hours checking to see if the number of people that have viewed my videos or read my blog has changed.

I'm also an active learner. To commit things to memory, I need to write, talk, and ask questions. I'm a very "passionate" person; I have a need to commit myself and get involved in the deepest ways possible

Because of my active nature, I ask quite a few questions in AP Government. And I'm fully aware that the teacher thinks I, along with my commentary, am obnoxious. Which does not make me happy, because I don't want to annoy one of my favorite teachers of all time. But I do.

Frustration.

The reassuring thing about the internet, though, is that I know you chose to be here. Which means that you either don't know that I'm obnoxious, don't care that I'm obnoxious, or don't think that I'm obnoxious. I just wish that I could know that about the real world.

Oh, Politics.... Oh, Videos.

In my AP Government class, which is starting to replace AP English as my favorite class ever, we were given a political survey, to determine where are views lay on the political spectrum. I, as I expected, was moderate. No surprise there.

However, we were also supposed to give the survey to our parents. And I forgot. So I gave it to my calculus teacher instead. Here's a bit of a background on Dr./Mr./Captain/Professor Crotteau: he served in the navy as the captain of a nuclear submarine, has a billion college degrees, and is an extremely strict rule enforcer and follower.

That said, when I handed him the survey, he immediately told me, "I'm going to let you know right now that I'm definitely going to be conservative," as he made large gestures to the right. He was moderately liberal.

I love it when (other) people put their feet in their mouths. I mean, it happens to me a lot, and I just feel embarassed, but when it happens to other people, it's just hilarious.

Also in Government, we were permitted to research third parties for extra credit. I knew the assignment was going to be entertaining (I mean, can you say "Pansexual Peace Party" or "U.S. Marijuana Party"?), but I didn't actually expect to agree with any of them.

But, alas, I too put my foot in my mouth.

The Modern Whig Party, I found, stood for nearly everything that I stand for. And I'm not asking you to agree with me, but you should definitely check it out--I like that it's less of a "party" and more of a collection of independents with similar values. Jeez, I sound like a public service announcement. The Modern Whig Party is rad, and I plan on supporting it.

If you don't feel like you agree completely with the views represented by the major parties, I definitely encourage you to check out this website that links many third parties, if only for a laugh.

I will say that I was extremely disappointed that they didn't even mention The Rent is Too D*** High Party. Albeit, it wasn't exactly for a presidential election. But it should be. Jimmy McMillan 2012? (P.S. on The Rent is Too D*** High Party's website, it says at the bottom of the page that Jimmy is single and open too dating. Ladies?)

----------

In other, slightly less political news, there are a few new videos that it's your patriotic obligation to watch. And I have a website (http://about.me/katherinifyable) that links all of my social networking thingstuffs. So if you're like, "Katie, there is no way I can remember everything," I can be like, "Umm... you don't have to." Just go to the website, people.

Kathy, EFV's freaky friday girl, talks about things she loves:




I attempt to tell jokes:




And I talk about kinky fan fiction in as G-rated of a manner as possible:

Yes. Be politically active (or laugh at those who are). And watch videos (or laugh at those that make them).

Creeper Stare

A few days ago in Physics, a friend brought in Entertainment Weekly. She showed it to me, and proceeded to inform me that the zombie girl at the bottom looks just like me. I'm not sure if this is an insult or not.

This isn't the first time this kind of thing has happened, either. I get told I look like people from horror films all the time. For instance:

Dakota Fanning as Jane, from Twilight

(Yes, I know Twilight is not a horror film. But it has vampires, so it counts.)

Lady in the Water

I've also been told Kirsten Dunst, and Uma Thurman...

I don't actually think I look like a lot of these people. I see the resemblance in Dakota Fanning, but not so much in Lady in the Water. I think it's just that I've mastered the creepy murderous stare. And I put it into use frequently, because it's hilarious to see the reactions to it. Not familiar with the creeper stare?

Yes. The creeper stare is a beautiful thing.

You know what else is a beautiful thing?

Yes. Don't forget to watch on Friday to see another excruciatingly awesome video!