Hyperlink

Ok, so I finally got to post on my team for Swazi trip '09's blog. My post is here . Every week I have to update it with my new "assignment". So keep checking there, & here, to see what's up in the (usually) wonderful world of me!

P.S. Hi lurkers!

Politics, or, We Don't Know Anything Anyway

This political year has been of especial interest to many people this year. History has been made several times over. Not only do we have the first big contender for presidency of African heritage, but also, a woman has been picked as the Vice Prez for the other big contender.

Oh yeah, you know who I'm talking 'bout now. Barak Obama and Sara Palin.

Obama had his speech-when was it?-a week ago? *yawn* It was soo boring. You'd think that someone who's had so much of his running steam based off his likability and eloquence would at least have an interesting speech. But no, that was too much for Obama at his acceptance speech. Now, my family and I are not Obama supporters or Dems, or even liberal. We're pretty core-line conservative, but I at least wanted to hear if Obama could say anything interesting and was disappointed when he didn't. Now, I know I'm too young to vote in this election. But I'll be of voting age next time, and if Obama wants to run again, he should be adding my generation into his calculations. And actually many of my friends and peers have watched and payed some attention to this race. If for nothing else, 'cause Obama's black and Palin's a woman.

Yes, many of my peers who wouldn't be able to tell you any candidates during any previous race have payed a good amount of attention to this race. It's interesting to us. Man against woman, minorities against majorities, rich against poor, oh wait, forgive me, both candidates are rich (regardless of what Obama tries to say.). It's the ultimate no-no race. It's pulling up all the taboos you're supposed to leave untouched. Everything from racial and gender issues, to teen pregnancy and the handicapped.

Which brings me to another thing. The media's having this freaking feeding-frenzy over Sara Palin's daughter being pregnant at seventeen. Why? I mean, it's not like Palin told her daughter, "Go have a good time getting knocked up tonight dear!" It was her daughter's choice. She's seventeen. More than capable to realize what she's doing and what the consequences are. She's dealing with enough, so is it too much to ask for them to leave the poor girl out of it? Yes of course it is. This is politics after all. Just as vicious as Hollywood, with far more important things in the balance.

Now I know that Sara Palin isn't the one up for presidential candidacy, but I'm sorry John McCain is boring. Yeah, he's got the whole soldier-and-POW thing goin' for him but, let's be honest here, there's nothing about him that just smacks you from the first and makes you go "Wow. That's really different.". Now, maybe he has something in his speeches or policies that is cool or special or something, but I am after all a teenager. And everyone knows we don't pay any attention to politics.

My Commentary of the Olympics and History in the make

I'll be the first to tell you, in general I hate sports.



Sure, I played basketball once, but that was a long time ago when I was young and dumb. I am wiser now. Team sports and I do not mix. Neither do I and most sports really. I only watch the Superbowl for the funny commercials and the snacks my dad will only give me if I stick around. I never watch basketball. Too many painful memories. And baseball just puts me to sleep.



So saying I'm not a fan of sports would be a smige of an understatement for me. Unless it's the Olympics.



I ADORE the Olympics. And for a few short weeks every few years, it's all I care about. Ok, so not really. But me and my family are pretty obsessive over it. We'd watch the Olympics all day, every day if they were on. We scream and cry for our favorite athletes. (And boy, do we ever have favorites.) We get all wound up when the Chinese, or the Russians, or-heaven forbid!-the French get higher points or lower times. At least one of us girls gets a crush on at least one male athlete every time. And at least one of the boys decides they're going to be an Olympian in an at least one sport. The Olympics are quite eventful 'round here.



So here's some highlights of the Olympics and of our reactions.



First off: Michael Phelps.
Man, can the dude ever swim! And it doesn't hurt that he's got a totally hott bod. What? I'm just sayin'! But enough of my fan-girlishness (and my cousin's, and my best friend's, and my little sisters', and my little sisters' bffs, and every other straight female in the entire country!). Let's get down to the theatrics.
When we saw that first relay where we just barely won against those @#$! Frenchies (oh yeah, who got smashed again? Because, pardon me, but I don't think it was us. Score!) my family started screaming and jumping and pointing at the screen. (Yes, we know they can't see us or hear us. Who cares!?)
Then Boopsie and I watched the replays and realized how close Michael Phelps got to having a err, wardrobe malfunction there at the end with his low, low suit. *snicker, snicker, snort*
Skip ahead a few races (and medals) and we're at the seventh race and WoW, was that ending amazing! Just as we were starting to get slightly bored of Mr. Phelps ("Oh, wow. Michael Phelps got another gold medal. Big surprise.") he had that AmAzInG-win-by-a-nail-literally-finish! And then his mom's face! Ah-ha-ha-ha! She was in total and utter shock! (I've got to get some pictures up to show you) She thought he came in second but then when her daughters started screaming "He won! Michael won!" the poor woman almost fainted. And the guy in front of her! Bwahahah!!!!!! Everyone else was jumping around and screaming and he was just like, "Omg. Omg. Michael Phelps won. By like a nail. Omg." *snicker, snicker, snort!*

On to gymnastics!
By far, Boopsie and I's favorite Summer Olympic sport, gymnastics also became a favorite the Princess and the Hobbit-Hannah girl. They were jumping and twirling and attempting to stand on their heads. (That didn't go very well)
We got sooo enraged when we got lower scores than we deserved. Boopsie and I freaked out (jumping, screaming, tears of joy) when the Men's team got bronze, and the Women got silver, and then Nastia Luikin and Shawn Johnson got gold! But we also freaked out when Kevin Tang fell on the pommel horse, and when Alecia Sacramone fell, and when Nastia got silver when she deserved gold, and when Alexander (Sasha) Artemov fell and, and, and, ah! It was too much! Towards the end there Boopsie and I started to sound like that commentator guy. ("What a reep off!")
Shawn Johnson became our favorite out of the women's team and we decided they we would be best friends if we ever met. And on the guy's team, well, they were all so cute! But our favorites were Johnathon Horton and Sasha. They were the cutest. ;P
Yes, gymnastics was very emotional at our house. Mom cried when Nastia got gold for all around, Boopsie and mom cried when Shawn got gold for balance beam, I cried when Sasha and Nastia didn't get gold...and dad? Well, he made fun of all the guys that weren't American. Especially the French and Germans.
Now I'd like to make an observation about our teams.
Isn't it interesting how diverse our teams are? Our all-around gold medalist for women, Nastia, is a Russian immigrant (her parents were actually gymnasts for the Soviet Union.), as is Sasha who's dad got a lot of medals for the Soviets. Kevin Tang is of Asian descent. Alecia Sacramone is Hispanic. Raj is East Indian. Johnathon Horton's dad was an astronaut!

I just think it's cool how all these people from totally different backgrounds, ancestries, etc. came together to fulfil the "American Dream".

But after all, isn't that what being an American is all about?

*********************************

Ok, I'll post more about the Olympics later (probably sometime tonight) and when I do I'm gonna cover Marathons (yawn, so boring), diving, beach volleyball, volleyball, and basketball. Plus I'm gonna do a post of pictures from/of memorable moments or people/ (Not that every moment and person wasn't memorable. This is the Olympics after all! But these will just be the one's I noticed and remembered.)

Freak-me-out

Have you ever been somewhere, just going about your own business & then BAM!-you see a ghost? Well, not a real ghost, but a "ghost" from your past? On the Fourth of July, I got the biggest freak-out by one.
We were leaving the firework show on the water in Ocean Springs. The fireworks had been beautiful & loud. Poor 4-going-on-14, he was terrified & kept saying "I am going to die.". Perfectly serious. So as we walked away, sandy & slightly shell-shocked, I saw him. There, standing on a corner looking at me was a guy who looked exactly like a guy I used to know. Only this guy was shorter & his hair was longer. He stared at me for a second, then smiled, waved, said hello & even pointed me out to his friend! I was so flustered & weirded-out I didn't even realize my dad was talking to me 'til he asked loudly what planet I was on. So I kept walking to our van & after a couple blocks I glanced behind me & EEK! He was RIGHT THERE! Like, ten feet behind me smiling at me. Finally he went down another road, but I was still so weirded-out. It was almost like someone had plucked a memory out of my mind & stuck it right there in front of me.

Inspire

What would inspire and drive men
to fight?
To sacrifice
Everything?

Riches? Honor? Fear? Power?
Yes to all of these, but in this case it is
an idea.

The idea that perhaps
people should be free to make their own choice.
That maybe, just because something
or someone
is older, more powerful and simply stronger
it's not always right.

The idea that
"all men are created equal"

The idea that
"we the people"
are maybe able to make
our own choices.

Such an idea
inspired men to face
fire and water,
cold and heat,
hunger and disease,
blood and broken bones,
and the ultimate defeat of death.

We can sum this idea up
into a single word:
Freedom

Imaginary Vacation

Since I can't afford a vacation to any exotic places, I'll post pictures of them. And dream.
..........................................................................................................

Troy, Turkey

This horse is really there at Troy. It represents, of course, the Trojan Horse from the Homeric legend.

Athens, Greece

I would just LOVE to go to Greece. So much history.



Sydney, Australia

Surfing, sand, sun, sea, surfer-dudes. Need I say more?

Ginza, Tokyo Japan

I would love to spend a semester in Tokyo. Hey! Maybe I will.

In Memoriam

Today is Memorial Day. It hasn't been a National Holiday for quiet a while.
I've researched the history of Memorial Day & this is what Wikipedia (I'm addicted to Wiki!) has to say:
Following the end of the Civil War many communities set aside a day to mark the end of the war or as a memorial to those who had died. Some of the places creating an early memorial day include Charleston South Carolina; Boalsburg Pennsylvania; Richmond Virginia; Carbondale Illinois; Columbus Mississippi; many communities in Vermont; and some two dozen other cities and towns. These observances eventually coalesced around Decoration Day (What Memorial Day was originally called), honoring the Union dead, and the several Confederate Memorial Days.
Since I'm a Mississippian, I will give special place to the Columbus story
Many of the states of the U.S. South refused to celebrate Decoration Day, due to lingering hostility towards the Union Army and also because there were very few veterans of the Union Army who lived in the South. A notable exception was Columbus Mississippi, which on April 25, 1866 at its Decoration Day commemorated both the Union and Confederate casualties buried in its cemetery.
Now, also since I'm a Mississippian I can add more to the above lines. Columbus began to commemorate Union & Confederate soldiers because church ladies started decorating all the graves, not just the Confederate ones as they said "The Union mothers are missing their sons too, & we'd want them to honor our boys so we'll honor theirs." Bravo ladies! But it's so true. Even to this day, there's resentment against the "Yanks" here. I know it might sound crazy to some of you, but it's true. The pain from the Civil War ran so deep here in the South. Plus, we Southerners are notorious for holding long set grudges & bad traditions.
Now that you know this, perhaps you'll see Memorial Day in a new way?
But isn't it tragic that it took the deaths of so many (over 600,000!) to bring us back together?

They Say the World

Sees you
Like you see yourself
I wonder if that's true
I don't think it can be.

No one sees Isode
as a punker
except herself.

People don't see Maya
as fat. Ever though
her main topic of conversation is
her weight.

So I don't believe
the world sees you
like you see yourself.

I believe the world
sees you as they want.

As whatever they are most comfortable
with. So perhaps it is
useless
to try & change our image.

And yes. I am a bit jaded.

But I still try.

Yes, I did go to Swaziland. But I'm still not sure what to say. How could I? But, I do know now that I want to help, maybe not overseas (although I plan on taking a missions trip back to Swaziland next summer), but in the inner city of our own country. This summer in fact my youth group will be helping around the metro area. I am physched, but most everyone else (especially the guys) are rather, um, terrified. And one in particular thinks I'm insane. Ah well. I am.

In Memory

As I'm sure most (if not all) of you know, Charlton Heston died over the weekend. Mr. Heston is well remembered in my family as the actor behind Moses, Judah Ben-Hur & El Cid.

Ben-Hur was my absolute-no-doubt-about-it favorite movie when I was nine & ten. I loved Ben-Hur & the chariot scene was watched until I wrecked the library's copy of it. (Hehe, oops) And last month I introduced my little sister, Princess Laura, to Ben Hur, & yes, she was enraptured. Although she might deny it if asked, she said while watching the chariot race "I like the guy with the white horses. I think I'll marry him. And the horses will come to our wedding." :D

My dad loves the Ten Commandments the best. Every time we watch it he says "We have to get this movie on DVD". Of course, he's been saying that for the past, oh, ten years? (Love you dad!)

But as I've gotten older, El Cid (which means The Hero) has become more of a favorite. Less well known than the other two, the story of honor, love & all that jazz, really is inspiring. But now, as my little sister wants the computer so I'll end with this quote from Mr. Heston on his announcing he had Alzheimer's"For an actor, the hardest thing is losing his audience. I can part the Red Sea, but I can't part with you."

BTW. he was married to the same woman for 64 years. Wow.

Meet Eem

Eem is my adorable new Betta "Fighting" Fish. a friend gave him & his bowl to me so the only thing i had to pay for was his food & a water purifier. quite a gooddeal. ;D anyways, why the name Eem you might ask. well, really because it sounds cute. *hides face in hands in embarrassment over this display of girliness* but Eem is also Elvish for I. i found that out at this
http://arwen-undomiel.com/elvish/eng_to_elv.html site. btw, Eem is almost exactly the color of the font.

cHiCkEn PoX on my EYES!!!!!

WWWWWAAAAAHHHHH!!!! i've got a pox in my EYE! ooh! it hurts! *sniff* i need Sonic & a good book.

Jane Austen on PBS

Last night the first in the installment of the Complete Jane Austen aired on Masterpiece (Formally Theater). The one that played was Persuasions. I think I fell in love with Captain Wentworth. *happy sigh* I mean, what's Mr. Darcy to a naval officer? I mean, really. Anywho, I could so relate with poor Anne Elliot. Well, not the turning down true love part, the unrequited love part.The pining after someone you think is lost forever part. *dramatic sigh* Field & I loved the sisters, Louisa & Henrietta. They sorta reminded us of ourselves. ;D

Ya know, I think one reason I really liked this movie was because the main man wasn't wearing leggings! To qoute Larry the Cucumber "I don't look good in leggings". Too true! Or wait, maybe he was. I don't remember now. *rubs temple*

Ooh! Y'all have to check out this link: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/austen/menofausten.html

You vote for your fave Austen man. Although I can't think who would want Mr. Collins. I

ck. Now, I shall end this post with another pic of British handsomeness. (And guess what! The hero of Mansfield Park looks emo! Yayness!)

ChIcKeN pOx!!!!! HELP!!!

WAHHHH!!!!! i have cHiCkEn PoX!!!!!! *sob* my head hurts, my back hurts, my buttock hurts, EVERYTHING hurts!!!! the actual pox will appear soon. (see what a good blogger i am? i blog even as my pox are appearing!) so, i'm on the computer listening to my music since it got delete from my (insert profanities of your choice here) MP3 player!!!! WAAAAAAAAH! i NEED my Move Along song! *sob, sob, SOB* oh well, at least i'm still going to Swazi! i'm really started to get excited about it. i just wish i could see my friend in DC since i'm stopping there. *cyber hug Bex*

ah, well, now i must get off, & take my petty concerns & sickness with me. you are now free to go find a more interesting, uplifting blog now. try my mom's or her friend, Ms. Kelley. i think everything on there's is funny & uplifting, though maybe not as wll wrttn. ;P


~Pox-for-now-girl