The M&M

Arthur Rubinstein - Chopin Scherzo No. 3 in C-sharp minor, Op. 39

2012-11-21T09:17:00.001-08:00

Cold Sassy Tree

2012-11-01T19:17:00.002-07:00

Cold Sassy Tree begins in a small town in Georgia called “Cold Sassy” in 1906. The setting is important to this book because it creates a friendly, yet strangely humorous mood! Because the town is so small, gossip is abundant - I will talk about that in the next paragraph. Before reading this book, I needed to know a little bit about southern towns in the early 1900s - about segregation, voting, women’s rights, etc... I chose this book because a few people recommended it to me.

The book begins with Will Tweedy, a fourteen year old boy, as the narrator, describing life in a tiny town. The first thing that happened in this book was shocking: Will’s Grandfather, Rucker Blakeslee, married a woman who was almost thirty years younger than him, and his family and the town did not tolerate that!

I actually was a little reluctant to read Cold Sassy Tree at first; it was really slow at the beginning, and if a book doesn’t capture my attention right away, I have a really hard time reading it! But Cold Sassy Tree hooked me as soon as the Grandpa married a woman young enough to be his daughter! I thought it was funny how news and gossip traveled so quickly in the town of Cold Sassy! At a certain part in the book, demonstrating how small a town he lived in, Will says, “Cold Sassy, Georgia, had never been a whirlpool of excitement. If the preacher’s wife’s petticoat showed, the ladies could make the talk last a week.” So when Rucker Blakeslee married Love Simpson, the entire town knew all the details in the quickest amount of time! This is the first problem that arrises in the book. To make matters worse, Rucker Blakeslee married again only three short weeks after his first wife passed away! The town of Cold Sassy was furious - and that is when this book got interesting!

To add to the confusion of Rucker Blakeslee marrying a woman young enough to be his daughter, Will Tweedy snuck away from home the afternoon of his Grandfather’s announcement to go fishing, despite the fact that he was supposed to be in mourning for his deceased grandmother. Journeying home from his fishing trip, Will walked across some old train tracks, but was nearly run over and killed by the train he didn’t see rushing towards him! He saved his own life by laying down between the train tracks so that the train didn’t even touch him when it went by. Will was hopeful that after his near-death experience, the town would gossip about him instead of his grandfather, but it was no use. The news about Rucker Blakeslee was the highlight of every conversation!

A few new characters were introduced in the middle part of Cold Sassy Tree, my favorite being Lightfoot McLendon. Lightfoot was a classmate of Will’s, and he had always liked her as more than a friend. One day, Will took her to a cemetery where they talked for a long time, and eventually Will kissed her! A neighbor saw them kissing, and dragged Will home to get a whipping.

The plot in this book was occasionally hard to follow. The vocabulary was not too difficult, but sometimes the author described something in great detail and I got a little lost. So this book challenged me just enough to help me learn, but not so much that I couldn’t enjoy the entertaining, hilarious story line!

Eventually, Miss Love Simpson told Will a secret: Love was only Rucker Blakeslee’s housekeeper, not actually his wife! They were married so that Rucker wouldn’t have to spend money on a housekeeper, and Love could have a family since hers had all passed away. The rest of Cold Sassy didn’t know this, so Will kept it to himself. But soon enough, Will observed that Miss Love and his grandfather did have affectionate feelings for each other! Sometimes Will spied on them when they were alone and he came to realize how much love was between them. This story reached its’ climax when Rucker Blakeslee became very sick with Pneumonia. The entire town worried, especially Miss Love.

The conflict the town saw when Rucker Blakeslee married Love Simpson seemed huge in the beginning, but eventually they came to accept the fact, and they focused on bigger problems, like Rucker’s illness. However, this major problem in Cold Sassy Tree was not resolved how the characters wanted it to: Will’s grandfather died soon after becoming sick. The book ended in a happy, memorable way, but left me with all sorts of unfinished thoughts and questions. But I guess that makes a good ending; the story was concluded, yet left me wanting more of the story! This is definitely a book I will never, ever forget.

I would recommend this book to anyone in a heartbeat! Cold Sassy Tree is unquestionably in my top five favorite books of all time! This novel surpassed my expectations. I loved the characters, time period, setting, plot twists, conclusion, etc.. Cold Sassy Tree is a life-changing book!

My favorite character in Cold Sassy Tree is Miss Love Simpson; she plays a very important role in this book. I love her character because she has such a cheerful, optomistic personality. She wasn’t always happy, though. When she first was married to Rucker Blakeslee, the town resented her for it; they said she didn’t respect Rucker’s privacy and deceased wife. At first she was unhappy all the time and felt like she couldn’t go anywhere in public for fear of being looked down on. But towards the end of the book, Miss Love learned to accept the fact that Cold Sassy didn’t like her, and only then did she find true happiness in her life.

I think that if I lived in the town of Cold Sassy, I would be friends with Miss Love. She is so spunky and exuberant that it makes me happy just to read about her! The author spends a lot of time describing her animated piano playing - which I also love! That is just one example of a connection I made with Miss Love, because my favorite thing to do is play the piano too!

Miss Love Simpson always spoke her mind; that is another of my favorite things about her. I think she is a good match for Rucker Blakeslee, who was very outspoken. Miss Love had the ability to talk people into or out of something, but she never did it for selfish reasons. She supported her husband, and he supported her. He taught her to accept pain and hardship and find ways to turn it into a blessing. On page 134, Miss Love says, “I’m saying that after I missed the love boat, I wasn’t going to settle for a raft-meaning somebody like Son Black. But I'm glad to settle for a man I can respect, and a family I'm proud to be part of. I think Mr. Blakeslee is probably the only completely honest man I've ever known..."

Cold Sassy Tree is an excellent novel, one that everyone should read while they are still young. It discusses the themes of the struggle to understand death and the start of the modern era. There is a lot to learn from this book, and I don’t think I will be able to comprehend and know everything about it until I’ve read it over at least ten times!

My favorite thing about this book is the fact that it is unique. It reminds me a lot of Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury, but the tone is completely different from any book I’ve ever read! The tone of this book makes me think of a person who is cheerful and spunky, yet has a little bit of an attitude. I also loved how each character talked differently; I would have been able to tell who was speaking a certain sentence by the grammar and tone without the character even being written down!

The only hard parts of this book for me were the occasional lengthy descriptions of past events, character history, or facts about the town. The vocabulary was sometimes difficult to understand as well, but I’m glad it was a challenge for me so that I can learn more. Harder books are so much more interesting than easy books!

I definitely recommend this book! It gives so many fascinating perspectives one would probably never be able to see otherwise. It opened my eyes to another part of the world I have never seen, and I learned about the early 1900s. Everyone should read Cold Sassy Tree - I can guarantee that you will think of something you’ve never thought of before!

One of my favorite songs is “Somewhere Only We Know” by Keane, and it reminds me of the book Cold Sassy Tree. Here it is:

I walked across an empty land

I knew the pathway like the back of my hand

I felt the earth beneath my feet

Sat by the river and it made me complete

Oh simple thing where have you gone?

I'm getting old and I need something to rely on

So tell me when you're gonna let me in

I'm getting tired and I need somewhere to begin

I came across a fallen tree

I felt the branches of it looking at me

Is this the place we used to love?

Is this the place that I've been dreaming of?

Oh simple thing where have you gone?

I'm getting old and I need something to rely on

So tell me when you're gonna let me in

I'm getting tired and I need somewhere to begin

And if you have a minute why don't we go

Talk about it somewhere only we know?

This could be the end of everything

So why don't we go

Somewhere only we know?

Oh simple thing where have you gone?

I'm getting old and I need something to rely on

So tell me when you're gonna let me in

I'm getting tired and I need somewhere to begin

And if you have a minute why don't we go

Talk about it somewhere only we know?

This could be the end of everything

So why don't we go?

This could be the end of everything

So why don't we go

Somewhere only we know?

This song reminded me of Cold Sassy Tree because one of the major themes in the book is growing up, maturing, and learning. To me this song represents just that - remembering childhood, never giving it up. Will Tweedy narrates this book, and it follows him through a couple years of his life in which he matures a lot. He talks about going to school, dealing with foreign emotions, and growing up into a man.

The song “Somewhere Only We Know” sounds like something Will would write in a poem or song, describing his feelings about growing up in a fond, memorable, yet a little unsure way. If he were to write it, it would be in memory of his deceased grandmother whom he loved so much, and he would write it to one of his friends that died as well. One quote that I like from Cold Sassy Tree says, “But to mourn, that's different. To mourn is to be eaten alive with homesickness for the person.”

The line “Oh simple thing, where have you gone?” makes me think in depth about memory and time. That is exactly how I look back at childhood, and I am sure that’s how Will would feel too! Where are all those days I spent doing simple, everyday things that brought so much pleasure? How can I always cherish those precious, childhood memories and keep them inside of me? He would say, “Oh, how I want my grandmother and best friend with me again. I wish I could visit those times agin, even if it was just for a little while.” I love this quote from Cold Sassy Tree: “I have learned to quit speeding through life, always trying to do too many things too quickly, without taking the time to enjoy each day’s doings. I think I always thought of real living as being high. I don’t mean on drugs – I mean real living was falling in love, or when I got my first job, or when I was able to help somebody, . . . In between the highs I was impatient – you know how it is – life seemed so Daily. Now I love the dailiness. I enjoy washing dishes, I enjoy cooking, I see my father’s roses out the kitchen window. I like picking beans. I notice everything – birdsongs, the clouds, the sound of wind, the glory of sunshine after two weeks of rain.”

I think that in life, we often take simple joys for granted. While in reality, something can only be here so long before it has to be taken away so that we remember to keep counting our blessings and express gratitude and thanks for everything. We don’t realize how much we love something until it is gone and we can’t have it back. Whether it is childhood, a loved one, or even just a beautiful sunset you don’t want to forget, treasure it. You never know when it will end.

Saint Saens Piano Concerto in G minor 3rd Movement (Paoley Tjia)

2012-09-07T15:45:00.001-07:00

Why I Will NEVER Go Bungee Jumping

2012-05-21T16:46:00.002-07:00

Okay, so for today, I’m going to tell you a short story. Yes, I wrote it myself, but I do have to give my sister Julia credit for the crazy – yet amazingly wonderful idea.

So here it goes!!!

It was just a normal, stinky day at prison camp – oops, sorry, I mean Fairfield Junior High. Teachers were grumpy (the majority of them loosing their temper and indignantly chucking pencils at students – YES, this has happened before…), students’ eyes red and swollen from lack of sleep, the cafeteria overflowing with students and permanently stained with cheap ketchup and the stench of rubber hotdogs. Flies buzzed around the heads of the pencil-chucking, frizzy-haired teachers, and students bounced the rubbery hotdogs on the lunchroom tables (I did this today!!! Shhh, don’t tell the lunch lady – the one that always seems to be watching me…). While I was at lunch today, picking hairs out of my practically frozen pizza, a girl with a pointy nose like a witch and earrings the size of a watermelon bumped into me as she strutted past my table.

“WHATTHEHECKISTHATHARDTHINGONYOURBACK!!!!???” She screamed in my face.

“Excuse me?” I asked politely.

“What the heck is that hard thing on your back!?” She repeated, after swallowing a ton of air and catching her breath.

Long story short, I ended up having to lie down on a cot in the nurse’s office (I’d virtually passed out), all at the thought of my dreadful memory.

THE STORY BEGINS HERE:

Flashback to April 1904. I can remember vividly that gloomy night in Paris, France at about midnight. The sky was dumping its’ rain on the city, and I was in the act of hurling myself off the Eiffel Tower.

STOP! I know what you’re thinking, and no, I was NOT committing suicide! Don’t interrupt me. Now, back to the story.

Picture a billion, golden, glowing city lights zoooooooooming towards you. That’s what it looked like, the Eiffel Tower growing taller above my head, and the city swelling below me. Without warning, the bungee chord snapped in two. The Eiffel Tower flashed once in my memory, and the ground literally smashed my face - the hardest punch anyone could ever imagine.

And that was the last thing I remembered.

At least, that was the last thing I remembered until September of 1978, when I vaguely recall waking up for a time. Everything was blurry, but I registered that I was positioned on an operating table with something hard and metallic shoved up my spine. And that was the last thing I remembered.

Just kidding, that was only the last thing I remembered until May of 2001, when I was brought back to a new home, safe and sound. Well, sort of safe and sound. It was safe and sound besides the random hard and metallic thing shoved up my spine.

Then came the tricky part of rehabilitation. I couldn’t figure out what had happened! One minute I was in euphoria land, bungee jumping off the Eiffel Tower experiencing the ultimate thrill, the night that was supposed to be the greatest night of my life. The next, everyone was saying it was the twenty-first century, and talking about mysterious gadgets called “computers” and “iphones” and “X-Rays”.

Eventually, I caught on and tried to live my life as if it had been this way forever (to tell you the truth, though, I never quite caught on to the “Don’t worry, darling, you were just paralyzed for a few years,” and “you’re a normal person now,” and “actually, we froze you for a hundred or so years, that’s why we’re in the twenty-first century now….”, therapy and so-called “help” from doctors). I attended middle school like all the other kids, even though I was approximately hundred years older than them. Yeah, I had a hard time explaining to everyone that somehow my age had been frozen for a century….

No one believes me yet.

But maybe they will now, after the incident in the lunchroom that the whole school has definitely heard about by now. Maybe even that bratty girl who just HAD to ask about that hard thing on my back will believe me .

But whatever happens, I know that my life will never again be the same. And I will NEVER repeat my mistake bungee jumping, not even off the Eiffel Tower ……

So, did you like my story?

You don’t need to tell me. I know it’s weird. J

The Eiffel Tower

2012-05-19T16:19:00.002-07:00

Okay, so everyone has seen my profiles on websites like Pinterest, The Mnm (this one!), Facebook, etc…. , and each of them have been the Eiffel Tower at one point. Can you guess why!?? I love the Eiffel Tower!!! I love it because it is really old, unique, famous, and France absolutely intrigues me! So today I went onto the internet and looked up cool facts that most people don’t know about this famous work of art, the Eiffel Tower:

Why is the Eiffel Tower called the “Eiffel Tower” Because it is named after one of the most influential people in it’s construction, Gustave Eiffel. But its’ main architect was Stephen Sauvestre, and there were around fifty other engineers, and 121 construction workers.

When was it finished being built? The Eiffel Tower was completed on March thirty-first, eighteen eighty nine (03/31/1889). It took about two years and two months to build. So the Eiffel Tower is one hundred and twenty three years old as of 2012.

Did you know that one person died from constructing the Eiffel Tower?!

How tall is it? The Eiffel Tower is approximately 984-990 (depending on the temperature) feet tall!!!!

How much does it weigh? It weighs approximately 10,000 tons, and 7.3 thousand of them are from the metal it is made out of!

The Eiffel Tower is mostly made of iron, and it is coated with a dark brown paint. Did you know that it is repainted every seven years? This year, (2012), it will have been painted exactly twenty three times!

What is the Eiffel Tower used for? It is famous worldwide, and about 6.8 million people visit it every year! Over a quarter of a billion people have visited it in its long history. The Eiffel Tower is also used as a radio broadcasting tower and an observation tower. Not everyone knows that it has an antenna 24 meters long!

The Eiffel Tower is so huge, it has 1665 stair steps and 108 stories!

*I got my information at www.eiffel-tower.us/Eiffel-Tower-Facts.html

How Long Can You Live???

2012-05-12T20:23:00.001-07:00

How long can you live without these important things? Read on and find out!

1) FOOD: This depends on a lot of things. Your weight, age, gender, height, body composition, and tons of other things influence how often you need to eat and even how long you could live without food. It’s said that one guy named Gandhi fasted for twenty-one days straight! He didn’t even die! But most people aren’t normally like that. Doctors say that the average human can survive without food for about eight weeks (but that’s if you drank water like you normally would).

2) WATER: How long you can live without water also depends on many things. A baby locked in a hot car or someone who is physically overexerted in the heat without hydration can actually die within a few hours. But the average person in normal temperatures and conditions could live about five days without water. If you didn’t drink anything for a really really really long time, scientists say that your skin could turn a cold, blue-grey color.

3) OXYGEN: Those who are in very good physical condition can survive without oxygen for a longer period of time than those who are not. Also, smokers and obese people generally have a harder time holding their breath than others. There have been rumors of people holding their breath up to eight minutes, but most people can only go for a minute or two. How long can you go without oxygen and still survive? Let’s not test it!!!

4) SLEEP: One experiment on this was by Peter Tripp in 1959 who stayed up for more than eight days! A few days in, he began to hallucinate and said he saw things like cats, mice, cobwebs. A few years later in 1964, seventeen year old Randy Gardener wanted to break the Guiness Book of World Records. He stayed up for 11 days, but didn’t have any hallucinations. But it was reported by doctors that he couldn’t focus his eyes had slurred speech, and had a very short attention span by the last day. Studies have been done on rats and they can live about a month without sleep. Scientists say that humans can live just a few days shorter.

* I found my information at: http://adventure.howstuffoworkds.com

10 Things You Must Do Before You Die

2012-05-03T07:44:00.002-07:00

Here are some extremely important things (well, sort of…) that everyone should definitely do before they die:

1) LEARN ARCHERY: They’ve been saying that the Hunger Games really sparked something here. Archery has been a popular sport! Plus, it’s not your average basketball, soccer, football, blah blah blah. Those are cool too, but archery is so much more unique!

2) SURF: Just because you don’t live by an ocean that doesn’t mean you can’t take up surfing! (Just watch out for sharks……they are my worst nightmare!)

3) GET A BLACK BELT IN KARATE! Martial arts are awesome! It’s a great way to be active, and they say that wherever you live, you’ll need to use some kind of defense/martial arts (Karate, Kung Fu, Jujitsu, Tae Kwon Do, Judo, Aikido) at least once in your life! That’s kind of scary, but it’s true!

4) LEARN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE: You never know when it will come in handy!

5) LEARN TO PLAY A MUSICAL INSTRUMENT AND TAKE LESSONS: Music will change your life. It influences the way you think, act, and even learn! Classical music increases intelligence!

6) COMPOSE SONGS AND RELEASE AN ALBUM: This is how some famous people start out, right? If you’re good, your musical career could take off!

7) GO ON ADVENTURES: Here are some ideas for your next grand adventure: ride in a hot air balloon, go sky diving, swim with sharks (again, my worst nightmare!!!), learn to fly a plane, go on a cruise, watch a rocket launch, live, break a Guinness world record, jump from a cliff into deep water, climb mount everest, ride a mechanical bull, fire a pistol, go scuba diving, go to the Mardi Gras in New Orleans

8) VISIT FAMOUS PLACES: The Great Barrier Reef, the Amazon Rainforest, the Grand Canyon, Victoria Falls, Egypt Pyramids, Eiffel Tower, all 7 continents, the Terracotta Warriors, Notre Dame Cathedral, Mount Rushmore

9) DO RANDOM THINGS: Play the kazoo in a public restroom, juggle in front of an audience, put a message in a bottle and throw it into the sea, hop on a pogo stick all the way to school/work, burst out into song in a grocery store (very loudly!), have a paint ball war, break dance on a cross walk in front of everyone, pretend to faint in the mall

10) AUDITION FOR SOMETHING: Audition for a commercial, a rock band, America’s Got Talent, a movie, a Broadway play

FACEBOOK OR FACEDIARDY?

2012-04-27T13:51:00.003-07:00

Yeah, so Facebook can be a great thing. It’s a mind-blowing idea that you can talk to and connect with someone on the other side of the world! It allows you to socialize, let people know what’s happening in your life, and follow others’ posts. But Facebook can also be a bad thing. Instead of explaining why it can be a bad thing, I’m going to tell you a story that I think will illustrate my point very clearly. And just so you know, this is a TRUE STORY. Yes people, no matter how out-of-this-world it may seem, this story is very true and very recent. So brace yourselves. Here goes:

Once upon a time, there was a happy family. It consisted of a mother and a father and a couple children. Anyway, one day the father got in a very serious car accident and had to be rushed to the hospital in an ambulance. The police that had arrived on the scene called the wife (who was at home with the children) to inform her of the accident her husband had been in. Immediately after receiving the phone call from the police, she hurried to the computer and posted the following on Facebook: “[Jeff] has been in an accident! Gotta run to the hospital ASAP!!!” A little while after the accident, the husband passed away.

Seriously, people!!? Who has time to post on Facebook that their husband is dying when he was rushed to the hospital thirty seconds ago!? Facebook has become a diary to some people. I’ve seen posts on that thing like “eating an apple right now”, then two minutes later another post comes up something like “mmm, that was a yummy apple”. I mean, people put their entire lives on Facebook! Do you see what I’m saying?? I don’t know about you, but to me it seems like people just have too much spare time, so they end up writing down every little thing they do and posting it online for the whole world to see!

Wow. Facebook. More like Facediary.

My Feelings About Math

2012-04-21T07:39:00.001-07:00

My brain is a knot

Of numbers on paper.

All tangled together, combined into one.

My brain is confused

I can’t get it right,

These mathematical equations

Are crumbs of knowledge

Rolling around on my plate.

My brain is an amoeba

Of cells squished together.

I’m left brained –

Not right –

Maybe the other way around!

You know, I really hate math

But I love words.

Ann Romney's Never Worked a Day in Her Life? Yeah Right!

2012-04-12T16:29:00.001-07:00

This morning, a Democrat suggested that Ann Romney is no "economic expert" because she “hasn’t worked a day in her life”! When I heard that someone actually said that, I was so glad Mrs. Romney didn’t let that go! She immediately fought back, saying that raising her own five children was as much as a full-time job as her husband’s! Mitt Romney said that he considered it even a more important job than his.

Mothers today aren’t respected as much as they should be. I mean, seriously! Stay-at-home moms spend their own precious time to take care of messy kids, clean, cook, chauffer, etc… The list goes on and on! This is all because moms care about their homes, their kids, their families. So let’s give moms credit for their full time, twenty four-seven job. Don’t forget they don’t even get paid! Someone would have to be very low class and unappreciative to make a prideful comment like, “Stay-at-home moms haven’t worked a day in their lives”! No one has the right to say something like that – something so prejudiced and snotty. The man who hurled that prideful comment at Ann Romney had a mother, right!? It seems almost like he isn’t thankful to his own mom for everything she did for him. If you have ever babysat even for one night, you know a little of what some moms experience every day! So lets give our moms the credit they deserve. They’ve done so much more for us than we even know.

My Favorite Quotes

2012-04-08T19:38:00.005-07:00

“So now do you see why books are hated and feared? They show the pores in the face of life. The comfortable people want only wax moon faces, poreless, hairless, expressionless. We are living in a time when flowers are trying to live on flowers, instead of growing on good rain and black loam. Even fireworks, for all their prettiness, come from the chemistry of the Earth. Yet somehow we think we can grow, feeding on flowers and fireworks, without completing the cycle back to reality.”

- Ray Bradbury (Fahrenheit 451, page 83)

“You are never alone………….except for when you are!!!”

- Alexa Matthews

“Let thy heart rejoice”.

- 2 Nephi 9:52

“With death comes the very essence and beauty of life; without death, there cannot be life.”

- Unknown

“There is no such thing as an ugly person. Only people who think there are.”

- Unknown

“As long as I keep practicing, this is the worst I will ever play.”

- Me!

"Smile until you're happy!"

- Tori Sandholtz (did I spell that right???)

“The bud may have a bitter taste

But sweet will be the flower.”

- William Cowper (author of God Moves in a Mysterious Way)

“If music be the food of love, play on.”

- William Shakespeare

"The Lord is good unto them that wait for Him, to the soul that seeketh Him."

- Lamentations 3:25

“The aim and final end of all music should be none other than the glorification of God and the refinement of the Spirit.”

- Johann Sebastian Bach

“Life is not measured by how many breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away.”

“People stay where they are celebrated……not tolerated.”

- Jeff Taylor

“Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”

- Albert Einstein

"Hope is good;
for He will help
all those that wait.

When in doubt,
call out His name:
He'll hear thy voice

So turn to Him
with all thine soul
He'll give thee peace."

Wordle!!!!!

2012-04-06T17:05:00.000-07:00

Wordle is so much fun!!!!
Check out some of my creations:

http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/5116377/Sheer_Delusion

http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/5116342/Viola_Hair

http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/5116365/JAWS

http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/5116363/Flame_Boat

Movie Etiquette

2012-03-30T22:24:00.000-07:00

So today after school, (no, Mr. Thompson, this isn’t one of those blog entries where I’m just going to tell about my day. J I actually have a point!) my friends and I went to the movie Hunger Games (again). I was really anxious and excited to see the movie all day, but it was a disappointment when we all got settled down and into the movie when six, obnoxious teenage guys with the attitude “I’m too cool for you,” strutted into the movie theater and sat down right in front of me and my friends.

First of all, their heads blocked the screen. You know how much that bugs!? The entire movie I had to lean to see over their giant spiked lumps sticking straight out of their head that they probably called hair! Everyone appreciates kind people with etiquette during movies. Now what did these annoying teenage boys do wrong? Oh, just wait. The story gets better and better.

So the first thing that bugged me was their heads and hair in the way right as soon as they sat down. They were not off to good start! But as the movie continued, they continued to laugh (very loudly), make fun, and text with their phones on very bright!!!! I was being driven crazy!!! During the saddest part of the movie when Rue died, these obnoxious guys laughed and said “ANYONE NEED A TISSUE??” sooooooo loud that my friend sitting next to me put her feet up on the back of their chairs and pushed forward. Apparently they didn’t like that (they weren’t meant to!), so they pulled their arms back and pushed my friend’s feet off their chair!

By this time, everyone was watching, and I was practically fuming I was so mad, that I just plain kicked their chairs! They got mad and turned around to see who had kicked them, except they thought it was my friend who had done it!

The moral of this story is:

1) NEVER TURN ON YOUR CELL PHONES AND TEXT OR DO ANYTHING WHATSOEVER DURING A MOVIE!!!!!

2) NEVER LAUGH REALLY LOUD DURING A MOVIE

3) BE KIND

4) REALIZE THAT EVERYONE ELSE IN THE MOVIE THEATER PAID THEIR OWN PRECIOUS MONEY TO SEE THE MOVIE, SO DON’T BE OBNOXIOUS!

5) DON’T MAKE FUN OF SAD THINGS THAT HAPPEN - YOU WOULD CRY IF THAT HAPPENED TO YOU TOO

6) DON’T SARCASTICALLY ASK IF ANYONE NEEDS A TISSUE

7) DON’T MAKE LOUD CLANKING NOISES WITH YOUR POP BOTTLES

8) NEVER SPIKE UP YOUR HAIR AND SIT RIGHT IN FRONT OF SOMEONE IN A MOVIE

9) DON’T THINK IT’S FUNNY WHEN PEOPLE GET MAD BECAUSE YOU’RE ANNOYING

10) DON’T BE RUDE!!!!!!!!

I wish I remembered that you can always go tell a worker to kick people out of movies.

Lindsay Stirling: Not Your Average Violinist....

2012-03-24T19:12:00.001-07:00

Most people think that the violin is strictly classical. Well guess what? It’s not! Sure, there’s Bach, Vivaldi, and Mozart who are phenomemal musicians (like the best out there!), but there’s other great, modernday composers too! Lindsay Stirling is one of my new favorite role models. She plays the violin. But she doesn’t just play the violin, she dances while she plays!

Lindsay Stirling was born in September in 1986, and began her studies with the violin by taking private lessons when she was only six years old. She is twenty six years old right now, but stopped taking private lessons from a teacher when she was eighteen. That’s twelve years of taking! When she was young, she took jazz and hip hop dance lessons. Lindsay served an LDS mission in New York City and currently goes to college at BYU (Provo, Utah). She has also performed in places like half-time basketball games, “America’s Got Talent”, and many more!

I love Lindsay and think she is a great example to young violinists. Most people think that the violin is a classical instrument, and sometimes it even gets looked down upon by people who don't appreciate classical music. But Lindsay is changing the way people see the violin. It doesn’t have to be Bach and Mozart anymore. It can be pop music and hip hop dancing!

Lindsay loves to compose her own violin music, make up a dance, then film herself in cool places. I first found out about Lindsay Stirling on YouTube. After she records herself playing, she posts her videos online. She records her playing in cool places like the woods, old ruins with graffiti all over them, Medieval castles, and even man-made ice castles! I’ve seen lots of her movies, and my favorite of her videos is when she spontaneously picks up her violin at the beach and starts playing in front of everyone!

Lindsey Stirling has inspired me to keep practicing my violin, and maybe even to do what she’s done and learn to do hip hop dances at the same time!

If you get a chance, you should look up Lindsay Stirling on YouTube. When you’re finished watching, you’ll want to play the violin!

THE HUNGER GAMES

2012-03-24T18:42:00.001-07:00

Okay, so there’s this new movie that just barely came out early Friday morning. It’s called The Hunger Games. Yeah, you’ve probably heard of it. In fact, chances are, you’ve read the book and seen the movie and are now a huge fan. Well, the Hunger Games books (and movie!) are really big right now, mostly because of the brand new movie. So I’ve never actually read the book (I meant to a while ago, just never got around to it….), but I saw the movie today. I didn’t really have any idea what it would be about, but I can honestly say that I LOVED IT!!!

I’m sorry if you’re reading this and for some foreign reason you hated The Hunger Games. Because for the next couple paragraphs or so, I’m going to talk about how amazing the Hunger Games are!

First, I loved how the director set up the movie. Again, I never actually read the books, but everyone who had read it and saw the movie said that the movie was exactly like the book! (I’m going to take their word for it…) I like that. I often find it frustrating to read a book and have perfect characters and settings in my mind, and then go watch the movie and be completely disappointed because the movie ends up being nothing like I imagined it should. Everyone I talked to said that each of the characters were exactly how they pictured them in their minds, and the director didn’t leave anything out of the movie that was in the book. I was happy about that. J

Second, I was sooooo relieved when there wasn’t as much gore and “graphic-ness” in the movie as there potentially could have been. I have always hated seeing blood and people in movies die, so I was extremely pleased when it didn’t show every gruesome act or dead body when something violent happened. I don’t like to have gross images in my head, but of course, it is hard to make a movie about killing without any violence, so there were a few parts that I had to close my eyes at. All in all, though, I was relieved that it wasn’t as bloody and graphic as I was expecting.

Third, I thought that the characters were all very well cast. Katniss played her role perfectly, and I was happy with who the director chose to play Peeta and the other main characters. I was also thankful that everyone in the movie acted well. If they hadn’t, it would’ve ruined the entire movie and storyline for me!

Lastly, I have to say that Suzanne Collins has a pretty good imagination. I’ve come up with and written stories before, but I don’t know if I could ever think one up as good as The Hunger Games! I loved the plot and the way Suzanne Collins avoided cheesy scenes when there could have been, since it’s also a little love story. I was so glad that there weren’t any slow, useless, boring scenes. The entire 2 and a half movie kept me on the edge of my seat!

Maybe I’ll have to read the book now! J

March

2012-03-13T15:22:00.002-07:00

And now March is here, with her bright, cheerful sun and teasing winds. The clouds roll in the sky like they’ve not a care in the world, and the air itself hums a sweet melody. The shadows are pleasant and friendly; they tell stories in the evenings.

But something about March, even with all her confident, proud beauties, something is on edge. Something does not seem to me that it is quite right. The air isn’t as inviting and calm as it should be. I feel as if there was something I forgot. That is why I write.

But this is all probably only a miscommunication, a misunderstanding between nature and me. My expectations are too great. I crave Summer, with her cheerful, smiling sun, but all I’m getting is a mild Spring day. Which is typical for March, if you know what I mean.

Alright, I apologize and retreat. I’m being too harsh on Mother Nature. In time, Summer will come. I know that. It’s given. I look forward to that day when I will greet her. I know I won’t sleep until she is here.

Now, there is more to what I say than what I can write physically. I want to preserve this moment: the fresh breezes, the assuring sun, the grass growing ever-greener day by day. What can capture this essence? Communication can – some kind of technology….but I fear this form of communication does not exist. At least not yet, that is. No, this moment cannot be captured by video, nor writing, nor speech, nor paint, nor photograph. Perhaps by music it can… But even then no one would ever know exactly what I was seeing or thinking or feeling when I wrote the piece.

Well, I will wait until Summer. When she comes, time itself will capture the very time she brings.

Writing Calms Strife

2012-03-10T17:28:00.002-08:00

When you get that feeling,

When you get that thought,

That something is missing

Found only by fraught.

When you think of time

And find no meaning there,

You know that its time

To ease your feelings with care.

So pick up your pen,

Take out a fresh page,

Put your feelings to words I just know you’ll engage!

For writing is magic;

It comes from the heart.

So write what you feel,

Your wisdom impart.

You’ll gain sense and direction,

New outlook on life.

Your soul will be thankful

Remember: Writing calms strife.

A Different Kind of Prom

2012-03-04T16:45:00.000-08:00

A DIFFERENT KIND OF PROM

I wouldn’t know, because I’ve never actually been to a prom, but I’ve heard others talk about their experiences in this subject and prom sounds like a really big deal. To a bunch of teenagers, at least. And most of those people that I’m talking about are usually girls. Those high school girls who obsess over Prom are mostly worried about their looks. To them, looks determine the rest of their prom experience, maybe the entirety of school and socializing, possibly even their entire lives. To them, looks influence who their date is and how the dates act, who their friends are, what their social status is, what they are involved in outside of school, the list goes on. So, to summarize basically all of what I just said, the majority of high school girls (and some boys) obsess over their looks and social status.

Prom is just one example of a time when teenage girls get excited to measure the level of their popularity and beauty. They do this through their date (ex: who can get the cutest date, etc…), their dress and outfit (ex: which girl has the most showy, expensive dress), their friends (ex: am I in the “popular” group?) – am I making any sense? Again, I’ve obviously never been to a prom. I’ve only heard stories. But from what I hear, Prom is the time for high school girls to see how much people like them and how pretty people think they are.

Now, I don’t think too many people will be reading this, if any, so I’m just going to come out and state my opinions like they are fact. Because in my mind, my opinion is pretty much fact. J

Okay, back to the whole Prom deal. You know how much girls let popularity, beauty, guys and dates, and Proms control their lives. Well, they are going to be disappointed to find out later in life that all those hours spent grooming their long, over-curled hair was practically a waste. I’m not a guy, but I know that they don’t care about girls and their hair all that much. But for some reason unknown to me, Prom is just a sample of girls’ obsessions.

Girls who obsess the most over guys, dates, beauty, popularity, etc… are usually the ones to obsess over Prom. That’s given. But imagine for a moment that no one obsessed over Prom? What if no teenage girls thought they are only as good as their hair? What if they didn’t measure their social status daily? What if your soul determined your beauty?

What if there was a prom, just one prom, where everyone attending was as beautiful as their inside?

When Would You Live???

2012-03-03T20:50:00.002-08:00

WHEN WOULD YOU LIVE???

If you could live during any other time period in the history of the world, when would you choose to live? I would choose one of these:

1) Medieval times

2) 1700’s

3) 1800’s

4) Now! J

1) I have always been fascinated by castles and Medieval stuff. Yeah, I know that the Medieval era was not all princesses, princes, and magic. That’s given. That’s not what I like about it. I just love the time period. I think it’s really cool that remains of castles can still be found today.

I might add to this post a little later, I’m just spacing out right now and I have nothing else to say about time periods or the 1700’s or the 1800’s or now or the Medieval times. Whoop De Doo. Horray.

ATHENA: What I've Learned

2012-03-03T20:47:00.002-08:00

ATHENA: WHAT I’VE LEARNED

Okay, so the past couple of weeks in English, we’ve been learning about Greek mythology (of course, Mr. Thompson, you knew that! J ). Each person in my class was assigned a famous person (god, hero, etc.) in Greek mythology and had to do research on them to write an essay. Honestly, before this assignment I had no idea whatsoever who Athena was or why she was important. I didn’t even know that she was a Greek god! Some of my friends and I went and asked Mr. Thompson for a specific person to do our report on, and I asked for Athena. I only asked for her because I liked her name, not because I knew anything about her and/or thought she was interesting. I’ve learned, though, that Athena was a pretty cool Greek goddess! Now, I know that she isn’t real (obviously), but I’ll just talk for right now as though she is real. It’ll be much easier that way.

Well, anyway, I learned that Athena is/was the goddess of wisdom, peace, skill, strategy, war, fine arts, and crafts. I’m glad I chose to ask Mr. Thompson to be assigned to her that day, because after doing a little research, I think Athena is awesome! I love how she is tough, not the typical soft, sweet, beautiful, dough head goddess like Aphrodite, for example. Athena was the goddess of war!

Do you want to know how Athena was “born”? One day, Zeus was walking along (this is a really long story, but I’ll make it short….it might sound choppy and unclear, but it’s the only way, trust me) and saw a woman named Meitis. He swallowed her (I told you it would sound weird) because he knew she was the goddess of wisdom, and he wanted to be wise. A little while later, Zeus developed a terrible migraine. He ordered one of his servants to crack his skull open to rid him of the pain. When the servant obeyed, Athena came out of Zeus’ cracked skull, full grown and dressed in full armor.

I might add to this later, just so you know, but that’s all I feel like writing about Athena right now. J

20 Things To Do When You're Bored

2012-03-03T20:46:00.001-08:00

20 THINGS TO DO WHEN YOU’RE BORED (like I am right now! J )

1) Have a dance party: turn on your favorite music, grab some friends, find some snacks, be crazy, dance around just for fun! This is especially fun on a rainy day when you don’t feel like going outside (or doing homework!).

2) Go swimming: Speaking of getting wet, sometimes you just do feel like getting wet! That’s great too!

3) Do homework: Yeah, I guess you could if you wanted too….

4) Squash Hopping: Okay, so I call it squash hopping, it’s a lot more fun than it sounds! Here’s whatcha do: Draw a face on a squash (the twisted, crazy shaped ones are the best) and leave it on a random person’s porch! This is so much more fun than it sounds!

5) Tramp-Fort: During the winter when it’s all snowy and white, find a trampoline with lots of snow around/in it and build a fort underneath! I did this with my friends, and it was a blast!

6) Make a movie: Find some props, sets, people, costumes, and film yourself as if you were a professional actor!

7) Play Jenga: I don’t know why, I just love this game. Don’t you? I can never get enough of it.

8) Public Humiliation: Go with a bunch of friends outside to a public place dressed like you never would in public! Depending on how adventurous and brave you are, this could or could not be complete public humiliation. Note: the humiliation level varies with the degree of embarrassing clothing/costume worn.

9) Have a feast! Need I say more?

10) Set up your own business: Lemonade stands don’t usually work anymore unless you’re super lucky (or your lemonade is gourmet), but try setting up a neighborhood carwash or something and see how much money you can earn!

11) Go caroling: In the middle of the summer, get a bunch of friends or even random people and go caroling door to door! Or go out into a busy place to sing and leave a hat out to see if people will give you tips!

12) Window Art: On a Saturday before you wash the windows in your house, take a dry-erase marker and decorate the windows!

13) Grocery Shopping: Okay, listen. This isn’t the normal, boring grocery shopping you’re thinking of. Here’s what you really do: Go to a grocery store, talk in a random accent to everyone you meet, and buy lots of crazy, strange things you normally never would. Leave the store, then return a few minutes later and return all the things you bought. J

14) Have a campout! Go camping in your backyard complete with a tent, grill, and whatever else you take with you when you’re camping!

15) Play Taster’s Delight: Taster’s Delight: (noun) Game in which two friends challenge each other’s taste buds by blindfolding and feeding each other strange food, then taking turns guessing what they have eaten.

16) Write a dictionary: I know, I know, this one doesn’t sound too fun, but it actually is! Grab some friends and together, write a dictionary of your own; make up words and definitions, then talk in your new, made-up language all day long!

17) Paint War! Wait till you hear what you get to do on this one! Here’s what you’ll need: Paint, spray bottles, thirty or so friends, a large field, time to spare, a fun and crazy attitude, old clothes. Fill the spray bottles with paint, and have a paint war! (Hint: It’ll be extra fun if you stay in your paint war clothes and go somewhere public with all the people included in the fight. It’s super funny when strangers ask what happened!)

18) Create your own rock star concert! Write your own songs, choreograph your own dances, plan staging and lighting, and set a date for your concert! Invite lots of people to watch you perform, and feel free to even give out autographs and tee shirts with your name/logo on them. You’ll feel like a total rock star!

19) Blog! J (Ha ha)

20) See if you can do all of these things in just one day! I can promise you that it will be one of the best days of your life!

Just so you know, I have done each of these things before, except for number 20. Some I did alone, others I did on really crazy days with friends. Yes, I know you’re about to ask, I had a paint war with some friends last year. I have to admit, that was probably the most fun day of my life! Sixteen of us crazy, hipper girls smothered in paint piled into a truck and drove to Bowmans (the grocery store). We bought lots of strange, random things. That was fun too. One old guy at the store saw us all and asked my friend, “When was the last time you looked in the mirror?” I still haven’t figured out if he was serious or just being funny!

Fruit or Dwarf? Planet or Veggie?

2012-01-18T19:45:00.000-08:00

(Or the other way around??)

Does it ever just drive you insane when scientists try to be all specific and sound smart even if they have no idea what they’re talking about? Well, maybe not like professional scientists. . . that probably sounds more like ninth grade students. Let me adjust that question: does it ever just drive you insane when ninth grade students try to be high and mighty when they’re not? Never mind. That’s not even what I was planning on writing about.

Anyway, my point is that sometimes scientists tend to act like ninth grade students. Sometimes they can’t make up their minds, and change their “theories” and “predictions” just to be super precise.

I remember way back when I was a little third grader, just barely learning about the planets and the order they’re in. I remember the teacher drilling into our heads little rhymes, poetic chants to help us remember the order. And it was a critical fact that Pluto was the last planet in order from the sun.

Then, a few years ago, all those smart scientists made a discovery that crushed Pluto. They found a bunch of other little planets about the size of Pluto. Apparently, they didn’t want to have to memorize a hundred more planet names when reciting the planets in order from the sun, so they kicked Pluto out. Completely just chopped his poor little head off. Smooshed him like a bug. If Pluto was a person, of course. But Pluto isn’t a person. So they just got rid of Pluto. Now in school they teach that there are only 8 planets (is that right??). Pluto supposedly fits into the category of a dwarf planet.

Then, the scientists got all smart and specific again. “Oh, the poor kids,” they said. “They’ll have to learn all about dwarf planets now and get all confused! Maybe we should just keep Pluto as a planet…”

Seriously people. Make up your minds.

Another example of smart people trying to be way to smart is the Tomato Debate. I’m not even sure if that’s a real thing, but it sounds cool so I’ll just call it the Tomato Debate.

In the beginning, tomatoes were vegetables. Then smart people got all smart and decided that since tomatoes have seeds, they should officially be classified as fruits. But if fruits and veggies are officially going to be classified by whether they have seeds or not, then cucumbers, squash, green beans, and even walnuts are all fruits!!!

Suddenly, tragedy struck. Those smart people got smart and started feeling bad for people (just like the scientists) because they had to learn their fruits and vegetables all over again! So they said, “Maybe we should just keep tomatoes as vegetables...” and the problem continues, hence the Tomato Debate.

I say we keep Pluto a planet, and keep Tomatoes as vegetables. Scientists and smart people don’t need to be so specific! Life will be that much simpler if we do. J

Speak

2011-12-30T09:23:00.000-08:00

Here is a short story I wrote. Enjoy!

Speak

Mae burst through the door, I imagined her cherry face full of excitement. “They’ve found it! It’s here! I went to the market at the village and I saw it with my very own eyes!”

I spun around to the sound of her voice. “You did!? What does it look like?”

“Oh, it’s beautiful. You should have seen it. It is purple. A soft, violet purple.” Mae’s eyes searched the room as she changed the subject. “Where is everyone?”

I took to my sweeping. “Saraiah is sleeping in her chamber and everyone else is at the dock buying fish.”

“Then you should come with me!” Mae attempted to drag me out, but her frail, undernourished body prevented her from doing so effectively.

“Mae,” I sighed. “I’ve got loads of work to do. Mother wouldn’t be happy if-”

“You can come while they’re still at the market and Saraiah is sleeping. We won’t stay long. You’ll be back in time to finish cleaning before they return.” Mae pleaded.

“All right,” I gave in as usual. “But promise we won’t stay long.”

Mae led me down the long winding path towards the village. I smelled rotting apples and dry, crusted, flaky leaves crunched under our feet. I felt the coolness of the shade from the thin elm and oak trees on my skin. The autumn sun was warm and delicate.

Soon we reached the village. I pictured shops lining the wide streets caked with mud and filth. A dense stench of salt and fish hung in the air. Crowds of people were gathered around something, Mae explained. She said she couldn’t see over or around heads. I tried shoving my way through aimlessly, but did not succeed.

Finally, (with the help of Mae darting in between large bodies and dragging me behind) we were able to come to the front row of the gathering. Mae described to me open barrels that sat before us containing small, feathery lavender plants. Men with matching teal coats hoisted and loaded these barrels into a ship bearing the royal crest. Crimson colored flags had been mounted at various places upon the deck, thirty feet above us.

Gasps and whispers floated. “Mae,” I spoke curiously. “Where are they taking it?”

“A gentleman earlier told us that they were ordered to bring it to the King’s palace. It is rumored that His Majesty will distribute it fairly to each village at the beginning of November.” Mae guided me back out of the growing mass of people. “I wonder what they’ll use it for.”

✵ ✵ ✵ ✵ ✵ ✵ ✵ ✵ ✵

Mae and I were home just in time to finish the housekeeping that evening. The new purple plant was the highlight topic at supper. “I heard the King is going to use it to Silence the Insane, permanently this time.” Father informed us as he aided Mother in dishing out cabbage and Salmon soup to us. I smelled thick, warm steam rising from my bowl. “But that seems a weak thing to use such a powerful Magic for.”

The entire village had hoped for decades that once the scientists and magicians working for the King had discovered such a magic as the purple plant, the King would use it to aid the impoverished kingdom. But no, the King had decided to use it to Silence the Insane! The need of the kingdom appeared greater than the threat of the Insane.

Late that night, laying blindly in bed, the ruckus of Mother and Father disputing about their opinions of the King and what he should use the Magic for slipped through my doorway. I felt the cool, clear moonlight streaming onto my olive skin through my open window. I imagined bright, twinkling stars speckling the night sky as Mae had described a robin’s egg.

“Aid to the poverty-stricken farmers,” Father argued with intense. “That’s what the King should use it for! Those farmers are the entire kingdom’s supply of food. If the peasants are broke, so is everyone else.”

“No!” My mother disagreed and I heard the clamor of a pot shattering on the floor. “Taxes are much too high! He should use the Magic to somehow create money and lower taxes!”

“That will lead to inflation!” came Father’s reply.

I tuned them out of my thoughts, and stood up. Blood rushed to my head, causing me to sway slightly. I felt my way to the window. A draft assisted me in finding it with ease. Bracing my arms against the edges of the small dugout window, I hauled myself up and out.

Immediately after escaping from my chamber, I fled to our garden on the roof. Our garden was composed of a simple pond complete with fish and even a few frogs. There were dozens of silky, cherry red roses and a stone bench. Mother worked for long periods of time daily on the task. In affect, it shaped a lovely, comfortable setting.

Placing myself down on the raw, stone seat, I explored my thoughts. What made the “Insane” so insane? Why was the King so concerned about getting rid of crazy people when the kingdom was so helpless?

Abruptly, color and depth flooded my world along with a frightening, pale hunched woman. She was walking below me on the cobblestone street, to my left. I peered down at her, observing her appearance. She was clothed in a black robe with stringy grey hair extending far below her wide, stubby waist. I thought she looked rather like a wet dish rag.

The hag took hesitant, awkward steps headed for a near evergreen tree. Once arriving at the tree, she reached her claw-like, deformed hand into her pocket and drew out a handful of something orchid and delicate.

“She’s one of the Insane!” I shrieked silently. “She must have used the Magic break out of the asylum!”

The diseased hag muttered a few strange words that sounded like a curse in another language. A blue flash instantly pricked the darkness, and the Insane woman was gone along with the path that she had tread. Not a trace of her or the dusty road below me was left. A great black hole replaced the lovely trees and road that had previously been before me.

I gasped. So this was why the King was so zealous about “Silencing the Insane”. They were evil magicians who’s cause were still unknown to me, but clearly the kingdoms meager circumstances must have been an effect of the Insane.

Misuse of Magic was always severely punished. The most thought, effort, and trials in court went into punishing people who disobeyed Magic law. Magic had the potential to help, or destroy. When one decided to cast a spell, it had to be planned years in advance to ensure that it would not create a Magic Gap. A Magic Gap was when the use of Magic went against what destiny held. The world was like a ball of yarn: A few threads were cut each time a Magic Gap was created, just like going back in time and changing history. It messed up what was meant to be.

Seconds after the flash, my eyes were dull again. The brilliant colors (even in the dank light) had vanished.

Heavy pants escaped me as I scrambled down from the roof and into my chamber. I bumped into things, franticly searching for the door that led back into our Kiva room where my parents had been altercating.

Fortunately, both were still awake and less dramatically conversing. It smelled like they were sipping something sweet and warm. “I saw one of the Insane!” I choked. “I SAW an Insane! She stole the stuff and disappeared!”

“Haelaa. Bad dreams have to happen all of us once and a while. Be calm, and so will your dreams. Now, shhhh. You’ll wake Saraiah and the others.” My mother soothed.

“No!” I cried desperately. “I really did see her! You don’t understand! I sneaked up to the garden on the roof and saw her poof away! There was a giant flash and everything!”

“Haelaa!” My Father’s deep, molasses like voice halted me. “Go to bed. You remember you are blind, right? You haven’t seen anything for fourteen years! You must have been dreaming.”

I shrank back a little and turned halfway around. “Why don’t you believe me?”

“Haelaa! Go to bed this instant! Be gone!” My Father again shooed me. I tiptoed back to my chamber, deciding to try again in the morning when my parents were in a better mood.

✵ ✵ ✵ ✵ ✵ ✵ ✵ ✵ ✵

Weeks went by in the same manner. I told everyone I knew about what I had witnessed. No one believed me, not even Mae! No matter who I told, or how, they just scoffed and went on their way. Nevertheless, I kept trying. I had to warn them about the Insane getting ahold of the Magic! Word eventually got around about my story. Gossip and rumors spread like measles. There even arose suggestions that I was an Insane myself!

“See that girl,” they pointed. “She’s crazed. She claims to have seen a witch casting spells over our town! The strangest part is that she’s blind. Supposedly, an Insane stole some of the Magic, but she couldn’t have even seen anything! She’s been blind ever since she was a toddler.”

Even small children would pause to stare at me. “That girl’s an Insane,” they would say.

There was no point in trying to persuade any longer. Quite soon, my story had webbed its way around the entire town and still no one believed me!

On the third day of November, the King sent a proclamation to each village. One of his subjects stood upon a roof and read the announcement while our whole town gathered below to listen with much intent.

The man read:

“My dear people,

I am aware that there has been much confusion concerning this new type of Magic that has been discovered by my scientists and magicians. I will start from the beginning and explain everything now:

For centuries, scientists have searched for an indestructible, powerful Magic that can grant almost any wish ever thought of. People have yearned for the day when it would be discovered. Just this autumn, my scientists found it. It is a cotton-like plant similar to lilac. Because of its intense Magical abilities, there are not many restrictions on what it is able to be used for. It can and will be used for good as well as evil purposes.

We must keep this valuable Magic from falling into the hands of the Insane (extremely dangerous magicians who crave power and create Magic Gaps when they do gain it), we must “Silence” the Insane permanently. When the “Silencing” ritual is performed, a special doctor will use this new Magic to calmly cast a spell upon an Insane person. This will not completely kill the person (since I hold the people of my kingdom very dear to my heart and killing is extremely brutal), it will only cut off the nerves connecting muscles to the brain. The “Silenced” person will then not be able to think, talk, move, breathe, or use any other senses. However, the heart will continue to beat. You ask, how can the heart beat if there is no oxygen? My scientists and have discovered a way to do this using the special Magic. The useless body will then be stored in a special dungeon used only for Silenced persons.

I will silence the Insane first, then distribute the rest of this precious Magic to each village and assist you according to your needs.

Sincerely,

Your loyal and gracious King Edward

A sudden bust of courage, energy, and frustration gushed into me. I clambered to a rock. “The Insane have already gotten hold of the Magic!” I yelped. Tears sprouted from my darkened eyes and stung as they ran down my face. Something burned inside of me and needed to be let out. “I am a witness! An Insane woman stole some of it and used it to do something - a curse - I don’t know - but it’s probably bad, and it’s most likely about to affect us - she made a road disappear! Now there is just a black hole where the road used to be! I think its a Magic Gap that she created! No one believes me, but really, I swear to you I speak the truth!”

Chuckles and whispers snaked their way through the crowd. I even made out a few townspeople imitating me in childish voices.

“Please!” I pleaded with all the energy inside of me. “If we don’t do something, the Insane will! We need to capture this woman that already has it and ban the Magic or it will spread faster than ants on a pile of sugar!”

Again, mutters of “don’t listen to her, she’s blind and is probably delayed mentally” found their way to my ears. I tried to ignore them, but some comments were from my own friends and family!

Too embarrassed to show my face any longer, I sprang off the rock and darted through growing laughter. The burning in my heart had vanished, and was now replaced with a dark, weeping hole.

Bitterness took over me. I whipped around bodies, shoving aside anything that blocked my path. In contrast to my splotchy crimson face, a graceful rain drizzled. I imagined dramatic storm clouds gathering around the bright full moon.

The drizzle gradually evolved into a downpour. Raindrops the size of large pebbles pelted me the last few minutes of my dash home.

Once safely inside, I warmed myself by the fire. My heart thumped like drums in my chest as I reflected on what so suddenly had happened.

My sopping wet clothes dripped rhythmically, the fire blazed calmly. Shouts and wild footsteps abruptly shattered the peace I was savoring. Picturing a mob with glowing torches, I dampened the fire with a pail of water and thrust myself upstairs to hide.

Feeling my way up the steep stairs, my whole body throbbed. Anguish and fear stuck to my insides like sap. My heart had been crushed. People who I had trusted and loved betrayed me! Where was I to go now? What was I to do with the rest of my life I had just ruined?

Tears of frustration and hatred gushed out of my eyes as I heard a boom throw down the front door. Hands shaking, I whimpered and concealed myself inside a dugout cupboard upstairs. Darkness engulfed me. I sank back, waiting for certain death. My clothes were sticky from tears now. I probably looked hideous from crying so much.

Dozens of heavy footsteps approached my hiding place. I pressed my body into the muddy wall behind me. “Please don’t look here, please don’t look here!” I sobbed. The hoard of people less than five feet away from me growled and the noise of glass cracking came from downstairs. What was I? Some sort of beast being hunted? Questions circled in my mind like bobbing apples. I had been trying to warn my community, and they repay me with this?

Then came the end. A violent punch caved in the door of my cupboard. The aura of ferocious men crouched around my meek hiding place was torture. I felt their eyes glaring at me, an energy something like hunger melting through. I smelled the torches, the stench of their breath. The sound of their hard boots clacking on the icy stone floor sounded like skeleton bones. Unexpectedly, I smelled a sweet calming scent. It reminded me of spring flowers. I swallowed the peaceful aroma before I had time to comprehend what the smell was. I had injected the Magic.

Crying softly and helplessly, I savored the last moments of my life. My already dull, blind world darkened to an incomprehensible blackness. Sound faded, leaving me cut off from the life and sunlight of the world.

My last breath was that of lilac.

Ode To My Muse

2011-12-30T09:20:00.000-08:00

Do you look into the future and see heaps of gold?

Or do you do you see yourself scraping up some old green mold?

Is a baseball visible, or the grand Whitehall?

Do you look into the future and see anything at all?

I look into the future and see a black and white thing

This thing is my muse,

The piano I choose.

I press down the keys, and out comes a sound;

A sound of true beauty, no impurities found.

The notes on the page

Seem to take me away

So soon I engage

And my whole heart is there

The song is a dance

I’m now in a trance

The music has got me somehow

And now you can see

The musician in me

For this thing is my muse, the piano I choose.

By Emma

How does a piano work?

2011-12-30T09:19:00.001-08:00

How Does a Piano Work?

The Hammer / keys

Each key on the piano is connected to a hammer covered with felt inside the piano. When you press down a key, the hammer hits three strings, making them vibrate. That’s how the piano makes sound.

The keys to the right on the keyboard produce a high sound, and the keys to the left on the keyboard produce a low, deep sound. This is because the strings inside the piano on the right are thin - that’s what makes them high. The strings on the left are thick - that’s what makes them low.

As long as you keep holding down a key, the sound continues. Once you take your finger off, the sound stops. This is because each key is connected to a damper inside the piano. When you press down a key, the damper is lifted off so that the string is fee to vibrate and create sound. When you lift your finger off of the piano, the damper falls back onto the string to stop the vibration.

The right pedal (damper pedal)

When you press down the far right pedal (the damper pedal) and strike a key, the sound keeps going even after you let go of the key (until you take your foot from the pedal). The sound is so much richer when you use this pedal because when one string vibrates, nearby strings vibrate as well. That’s a law of physics and very hard to explain.

The left pedal (Una Corda pedal, or the Soft pedal)

When you press the left pedal down and strike a key, the hammers shift a little to the side, making them hit only two strings (per key). This way, the sound is a little softer.

The middle pedal (Sostenuto pedal)

In most pianos, this pedal lifts a piece of felt and places it between the hammers and the strings. This makes the sound muted.