Saturday, January 29, 2011

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?






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

Sunday, January 23, 2011

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.

Saturday, January 22, 2011

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.
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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

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.

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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:

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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:


Saturday, January 15, 2011

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:



Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Yelling at Things

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.

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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.



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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.

Monday, January 10, 2011

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?)

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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).

Thursday, January 6, 2011

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!

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Does anyone care?


If you haven't heard, bullying and teen suicide has been in the news quite frequently lately, particularly when it pertains to LGBTQ youth. To combat this, my oh-so-proactive school aired a video during homeroom. Except for a very interesting and informative portion in the beginning, courtesy of CNN, it was awful. It was unrelatable, uninteresting, and quite frankly, looked like it had been produced by an eleven year old with Windows Movie Maker. Did I mention the audio wasn't synchronized?

Way to tackle big issues, ----------- High School.

Oh, and kudos on the irony--I thought it was particularly funny when Dr. Phil pointed out that schools aren't being proactive enough to fight bullying, in a video that was a blatant representation of a school not being proactive. Albeit, the video was aired as a way to stall (while the juniors attended an assembly about college) rather than to take a stand against bullying, so I didn't really expect much.

But honestly, I'm not all that angry with the quality of the video or the reasons behind airing it. I'm angry because people don't care.

I was literally the only person in my home room that watched the video. Out of forty people. They chattered about superficial things, munched on carrots, and played various games on computers and iPhones. Some people did homework, and the special needs boy in my homeroom tried to hit on several of the girls. Basically, they did anything they could possibly get away with while the (incredibly lax) teacher was in the room, except watch the video.

This was incredibly frustrating, because some of the people in my homeroom probably definitely needed to listen to what Dr. Phil and Crystal Bowersox had to say. A friend of mine also saw the humor in the clique of girls with identical blonde hair pass around a cell phone as a girl on the television screen talked about how girls bully each other by spreading gossip and rumors.

*headdesk*

This is where I start talking about my own childhood trauma. I know that I really didn't have all that bad of a childhood. I know that you've heard enough stories from the media and lame videos in homeroom. And I'm not asking you to stay--honestly, I would probably go back to facebook as well. But before you go to some other website, please keep in mind that bullying does happen, however well a school district conceals it. The news of teen suicide may seem intangible, incomprehensible, and far away. And the videos of people talking about their experiences seem scripted. But in real life, the land that you and I live in, it does happen. That's all I wanted you to know.

I skipped kindergarten. I was usually the youngest in my class, and my nose was always in a book. I didn't make friends very easily, partially because I thought I was smarter than everyone, and also because I was introverted and socially awkward. From 1st to 6th grade, I honestly felt like the only people that "got" me were the "gifted" students. I remember in 5th grade, I visited the school counselor twice a week to have counseling sessions with another socially awkward girl, because I had a complete meltdown in the cafeteria after the people in my class laughed at me when I spilled mashed potatoes on myself. I remember myself avoiding talking to her outside of the counselor's office because other girls made fun of her and told me she was weird. I never told my peers that I went to counseling with her. I still hear people making fun of her, even as seniors in high school. Sometimes I see her in the girl's bathroom. We don't speak to each other, though. We haven't since the 5th grade.

In sixth grade, I was humiliated by the end-of-the-year assembly. In the past, I had gotten awards for tons of things: science fair, academic contests, perfect attendance, All 'A's, you name it. In sixth grade, I got one 'B'. I didn't even get one award. Not even perfect attendance. Which, as it turned out, was a good thing. I had been told that a boy "liked" me by another kid in his class. Oh, elementary school. The kids in his class made a "mating call" for him, and proceeded to make a howling noise every time he got an award (which was frequently), intending to do so when I received an award as well. Being the awkward child that I was, I wasn't too keen on the idea of being "liked" by anybody, so the award ceremony was bittersweet. Still, I really wish I got All 'A's. It was an 89, too! I missed the award by a point!

((Oh, and that same year, I beat that boy at an academic competition. Which made me really happy, as he seemed like he thought he was even smarter than I thought I was. After sixth grade, I avoided making conversation with him until tenth or eleventh grade.))

Enter junior high, those agonizing world of doom. I thought even higher of my intellect at that point than I had in my elementary years. I didn't have the highest grades whatsoever, but I acted like I did. I overdid everything. If there was a project that my peers would see, it was done above and beyond. If I had to take notes for science, I copied definitions from wikipedia because they sounded more intelligent than those from the book, even if I couldn't understand them. In gym, I never walked during the twenty-minute run, except that one time when I had pneumonia and puked halfway in. I remember an eighth grader (who was also on the cross country team with me) tell me as I ran past her during gym that "overachievers are gay". Another girl called me a b**** as I was dressing out (to this day, I don't know what I did to earn this). Well done, girls. Really classy.

I was the second chair oboist in the top band when I was in eighth grade, and I compulsively forgot to bring my music to class. The girl that was first chair would turn her stand away from me so that I couldn't share with her. She would criticize my playing... frequently. She didn't seem to care when she accidentally broke my reeds while turning her stand. Luckily, I haven't really had to deal with her nonsense since eighth grade.

Honestly, I really didn't care if people laughed at me while I was around, or made lame slanders at me while I was running. I was hurt by the stabs taken at me during band, but it was more of a mild annoyance. I can only think of two times where I was really, truly, emotionally damaged by something that even resembled bullying. And they weren't even to my face.

I don't really remember if it was in seventh or eighth grade... probably seventh. I guess the year doesn't really matter. A friend of mine told me that a girl (who I had never actually had classes with) called me a "freak". More specifically, I was told she said something along the lines of, "Katie Beaman is such a freak. She's like... an overachiever." Note to junior high children: come up with wittier insults. William Shakespeare can assist you. I had a couple friends in that class, and they defended me, and informed me of this. For some reason, I think that made it hurt more. I think the reason why I remember this one event more vividly than any other event from junior high was because of who it came from. This girl was like the queen of my class. She, along with another boy, served as the presidents and vice-presidents for practically every student organization. Theoretically, her opinion represented the people's opinion--thus, if she said I was a freak, I was a freak.

I held a grudge against this girl for years. I avoided voting her into office at all costs--why would I want a leader that didn't represent me? I silently loathed her in each class she was in with me. But I promised myself that I wouldn't say anything. I promised myself that I wouldn't stoop to her level.

And then, she started being nice to me junior year. She talked to me--as a person. She gave me rides home from school. I think part of it was that I began moving out of my awkward phase and up in the ridiculous social hierarchy of high school. I started being elected or appointed into offices--which had never happened before. I wasn't as much of a burden to be associated with; I considered the idea that I had become someone that could be used to move up on the social ladder if they were stupid enough to set that as a goal.

I wasn't sure how to handle it. I was supposed to hate her. She ruined my emotional well-being. Why did she even want to be around me if I was a freak?

And then I realized: she probably didn't even remember. She probably said it as a flip comment.

And that's the problem with bullying. People don't think about the effects. They don't understand that a simple joke made in a math class can lead to hours of self-psychoanalysis and years of loathing in a girl with zero self-confidence and an awful self-image. Most likely, 90% of bullying wouldn't occur if people really knew the outcome. I'm not asking you to be a revolutionary against bullying. I'm just asking you, regardless of age, sex, gender, or race, to consider your actions and words before they hurt somebody.



Epilogue:

It does get better. I've noticed that this year, people (or at least, I) don't really care about the social hierarchy that ruled our lives in junior high. The anime-obsessed kid can be friends with the football player. The bookish introverts can be chummy with the pretentious theater kids. The kids bound to wheelchairs actually have names and personalities, and are awesome to hang out with. I love senior year--but the thing I enjoy most about it is that people simply don't care.

Oh, and about the girl that called me a freak. I love her to death. She's extremely talented, and extremely fun to be around. I've considered bringing up what happened in junior high, but honestly, it doesn't matter. We're totally different people. And that's the beauty of growing up. People change. Attitudes change. Situations change. Perspectives change. Hopefully for the better.


P.S. My Spanish teacher taught me a mnemonic device for remembering the Spanish-speaking South American countries:

Vicious Cats Eat People Because Cats Are Ugly Pets
(Venezuela, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay)

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Moon Quidditch?


Yes, you read that title correctly.

I've been assigned a project in Physics, in which we have to redesign a sport for play on the moon. My partner and I chose quidditch.

We tried asking if we could just write everything off to magic and call the project 'done', but our teacher nixed the idea. And so, we're adapting muggle quidditch for the moon. This will be beautiful.

Basically, we're changing the height of the goal posts, the density of the bludgers, and the size constraints of the field. Oh, and we're kinda revolutionizing the snitch. But we have an issue: should we put through the effort to calibrate the brooms so that they can stay in the air, or should people just bounce around while holding a broom?

If you want to be a superstar, comment below.

Oh, and read this cool article. Apparently, moon quidditch isn't that novel of an idea...

Monday, January 3, 2011

It's been a while, hasn't it?




As can be deduced from the recent scarcity of blog posts, I've been a lazy bum over winter break. Accept this video as my apology:



That, my friends, is the first video in the collaboration channel that I, along with my pals Julia and Kathy, have started. It's going to be kinda rad.

I'm sure you're wondering what shenanigans I got into over the break. I mean, if you weren't interested in my shenanigans, you wouldn't be reading a blog about my musings, right? Without further ado, a summary of my break as told by pictures:









Due to the aforementioned laziness, I'm not even going to bother explaining these--I'll just let you imagine what crazy situations they came from. In fact, be creative leave a comment with a caption for one (or more) of the pictures. That sounds fun.