ventures of the fourth

So yeah, about that posting thing. I guess writing regularly is sort of unrealistic BUT, I will write when i have time. It always slips my mind that I even have a blog until everyone starts sharing YouTube videos. You know what I'm talking about - everyone trying to one up everyone else by showing off all the funny you tube videos they know. Or stumble videos. No one ever likes to see other peoples videos. Anywho...
Went home this weekend- to the WB that is. I dont think anything could possibly top fourth of July on Wrightsville Beach. If there were one weekend that i could go back home during the year, besides Christmas (maybe, its debatable) it would be the fourth of july. But, unfortunately I'm not updating on the events of the weekend, even though it was super fun.
A thought did strike me when i was at home- harder than usual. I'm spending the summer in DC, a place where everyone is on top of everything and every day life is significantly faster paced than with what I am familiar. Everyone is up to date on current events and conversations you have with people are just generally more sophisticated than those had back home. Maybe its the people I hang out with, but it just sort of seems like nothing ever changes in Wrightsville Beach. Places are the same. People are the same. Things are the same. The same people go to the same places and do the same things. Plus...aside from presidential elections and other major events, i feel like people are clueless as to what actually goes on outside of the bubble of Wilmington, NC. Its sort of funny how I can be in a place where in a matter of days there was a shootout and a major metro debacle and no one I know from home even knew that either one of the two had happened. I received no calls from home. Its like a black hole. People are just a little less interested in things back at home and sometimes its refreshing, but other times its just like....really?

some music i got from australia

Delirious (Laidback Luke Mix) - David Guetta

Streetgirls (Tocadisco Remix) - Tocadisco feat. Meral Al-Mer

"A reason, a season, or a lifetime"

So i haven't written in a while, I know. I've been meaning to and its not like I dont think about it either, its just when I have time to actually do this, I would always just rather be doing something else. Its sad because the thing is, as I write I remember how soothing it can be- almost therapeutic.


Its weird looking back at my last post. I remember exactly where I was, and how exciting my life seemed to be. The people in my life were new, and as I was getting to know them it was like I was slowly getting know myself a little better. I never wrote on my page after that night at the concert, but my experience in Denmark from that night forward was life changing. I met people who I hopefully will keep in touch with for a long time, and I made memories that will be with me forever.
Its amazing how fast everything changes though. When I wrote that last post, it was like everything around me was falling into place. I finally had a grasp on things. What I didn't realize however, was how short lived it would be. I returned to the United States with my life in order, or so i thought, but I was soon to find out otherwise. Things I thought had disappeared, seeped back into my life, while more 'issues' seem to be piling up as even i speak now. The difference between before Denmark and after, isn't the people I met or I things I did. Its what I learned about myself, however cliche that might sound.
I have a habit of depending on people. My friend recently explained the nature of relationships in a more simplistic way than I had ever seen them. She told me that 'People are in your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime.' And, even though it may be dangerous, to recognize the nature of relationship, gives you a different perspective on how and with whom you should spend your time. I have finally come to terms with the categories the people in my life are in, or so I think.
So finally figuring that stuff out has been tough. But, I think I have done it. Its hard becoming independent after being dependent for so long, but it can be done, and I don't think it should ever be undone. Only when it becomes undone, does any relationship become a burden.
So yeah, that's a struggle that I think I have finally tackled, and its been hard, but for the future now i know. I've never really let people drift out of my life, but since being away, and meeting people that live far away, I've had to learn. 'A reason, a season or forever."
I'm going to start writing more regularly too. I just don't want to be like THAT girl...who has a blog. Is that weird? Is this weird?

REM in Kobenhavn

So Im in Copenhagen (Kobenhavn) and this weekend has probably been my favorite weekend ever. Let me just say listen to the last 3 minutes of this REM song (which i saw live at their concert last night) (this is a video from that concert). Its so good.

its called 'country feedback'

this is another good one. He told us that this song, "Imitation of Life" is number one on Japan's hit list right now.

COKE

paper baby

birds

one man band

where to go?

So its the end of the semester and I'm no more found than I was at the beginning. yes, I've cleared a few personal things up, but I mean I still don't know where I'm going. All of my friends this summer are doing incredible things. Things that are actually really impressive, but part of me doesn't really feel like Im getting anywhere. So i realized what I'm interested in...sort of. But that sort of, leaves a whole lot of things unanswered. Political Science, i thought. but then again, Im not interested in politics, which i think is a big part of political science. International studies? maybe, but I haven't taken one class for that major and id have to start all over again basically. So where am I left? I don't know. Advertising? I don't know...maybe. but I didn't apply for the creative program, which is all I would want to do if went into the field. Its so hard. Everyone is achieving so much and going in A direction, but I feel like Im not really progressing towards anything. Maybe towards, the end of my chance to change majors, thats about it. "Just do well" people keep telling me, but what is that? I can't do well if I;m not interested in what Im doing. they go hand in hand. and plus, what is doing well? Success? what is that? Are you successful if your unhappy making a billion dollars a month. I don't think so. I guess time will tell...

storms

Storms. I love storms. Ever since I was little it would always be sort of a big deal when a big storm was coming. My brother would be the first one to spot it...he'd point out 'an underdraft.' And Id grab a blanket and my mom, my brother and I would all sit on my porch and watch it come in over the water. Sometimes they were a let down. A little rain, a little thunder. But sometimes its crazy. Thunder and lightening and tornadoes. Watching lightening from our porch is especially awesome. You sit out there, look out at the channel and you can just see lightening striking for miles. Sometimes, we walk out to the beach. Ive convince a friend or two to walk to the beach in really bad storms. They're always really scared of lightening but I assure them its fine...(?)...anyways. Sitting in beach stand, watching storms, is probably my favorite thing to do. Its so incredible and I don't think you can appreciate storms until you just sit and watch one. I love them, but being with people during them makes it better. Be it friends of family, theres something about sitting an watching a storm with someone thats really meaningful.

earth, wind, water, fire

We all have a favorite color or a favorite animal or song, or car etc... Its something we sort of all have talked about at one point or another. But has anyone ever asked you what your favorite smell was? what about sound? I think the most satisfying things in life are definitely the simpler things. But naturally, we appreciate them less. A favorite smell, sound, feeling. I love when you hear,see or feel something and it sort of brings you back, it relaxes you if you will. Theres something about the most natural experiences that makes you feel small, and I love that feeling. The fact that YOU are small. And I think thats the main difference between materialism and naturalism. The fact that material things make you feel important and natural things make you feel small is huge. I love standing beside the ocean and feeling like the world is HUGE. Take also the smell of rain or freshly cut grass or that winter smell of wood burning. Everyone appreciates them, but theres something different about these natural experiences than the more materialistic ones. They mean more. They sort of pull at something inside of you. My favorite smell in the world is rain. My favorite sound...I love the ocean. Water, no matter if its falling from the sky or crashing to the ground, is a sound that will always comfort me. Ive grown up near the ocean so it kind of makes me feel safe when its around. Anyways, its just something that was on my mind.

breakdancing..what?

This video is the most ridiculous breakdancing video I've ever seen. i don't know if any of you have ever tried to break dance, or do the robot or do anything like that, but it is not as easy as these guys are making it out to be. The last guy that comes out on stage I swear is machine. I don't know how he does that. If i had any weird talent like that I would do it all the time and show off to everyone.

copenhagen!

I just filled out my last form for study abroad next semster, so it looks like I am going to Copenhagen! Im actaully really excited. I was when I first signed up too, then I went through a little period of uncertainty because people kept telling me good and bad things. But I just saw a list of the people that are going and everybody seems really cool! (which is sort of weird because I haven't actally talked to anyone in my group Ive just seen pictures, so from what I know everyone seems cool) Anyways, I super excited about Copenhagen, but what Im more excited about is traveling before classes and during the semester. I might be going with my friends before classes for a couple weeks and if i did that, Id go to Italy. Id spend a few days in Rome, Venice, Florence and then to the French Riviera. This would be two weeks and I only wish I had more time and money to see the rest of the area. After college Im definelty backpacking throughout Europe. During the four months i live in copenhagen we get a 3 week break too. So i was thinking of either going to France, or going to Octoberfest. Yes, Octoberfest. It would awesome. The only thing about traveling to all these places is expense. Its so pricey over there! I would have to buy two passes for the Eurorail, which for would be abotu 1000$. Then theres the hostels. Over there, hostels are about 15 euro, which is 30 dollars here. 30 dollars a night, for a month. And thats not even including museums, food etc. AHHHHHHH. student discounts, anyone?

POPULSIM in Latin America

This past week I have been researching the rise of populism in Latin America. After finally finishing a 13 page paper, I find myself way more interested in Latin American politics than I started out being. It wouldn't surprise me if none of you are aware of the surge of leftist populism that is flooding a handful of countries south of our border. The fact that many of you don't even know what populism is wouldn't even really surprise me. I probably wouldn't know if I wasn't a poli sci major right now. But anyways this is precisely the reason why I thought I would write about it in my blog. Since most of you who read this anyway already know that I wrote a paper on it, i figure ill just explain to you what my paper focuses on. So yeah...THE RISE OF POPULISM IN LATIN AMERICA. So it all starts with a political cycle. A swing to the right, then to the left, then back to the right than to the left again etc. (an in case many of you don't know what the right and left is the political RIGHT= assumes capitalist free market, private enterprises, and basically no government intervention whatsoever. The LEFT is the opposite= no free market, and lots of government intervention) Anywyas so countries in Latin America as a whole were founded as sort of single export driven economies. Meaning given their rich enviorments, the rest of the world really looked to these regions for raw materials as opposed to manufactured goods. So each region specialized a single export, leading to very shaky economies. In WWI and WWII, this type of economy proved undependable since no countries were buying from them, so they adopted a leftist strategy knwon as ISI. So governments intervened and taxed exported good heavily so as to encourage trading within a single country, while also funding a handful of companies to compete in world markets. This stunted competition and just overall was not good. Anyways so by and by and debt crisis exploeded throughout the region in the 1980s. Lefitst, ISI driven economies failed. So in the 80s some Washington based groups implemented some RIGHT WINGED tactics to help Latin America. But, this just led to more corruption in the governments, more poverty, more social unrest and just over all upheaval. SO, no one listens to us Americans anymore basically. Now, a bunch of populist leaders, who are just charasmatic politicians campaining against everything thats not working in an economy now are runnign for offices. So since the late 1990s the country has been turning to leftist ideals such as socialism for asnwers. THE END. but Latin America over all is doing better, short term wise. but in the long run, leftist econimc polices are known to fail.

POWDER PUFF

so i played powder puff football the other day and it was SO fun, but when people say it gets intense they are not messing around. Some girls are crazy. Don't get me wrong, I mean I'm competetive and all, but some girls, granted many were drunk were ridiculous. I would just run the ball because Im fast, but if i hadn't been able to out run them I think i may have ended up the hospital. Picture a team of drunken, uncoordinated sorority girls lined up with their heads down (pissed cause their losing) war paint, cleats, bows in hair, tall socks, mouthguards, etc. And when that ball is hiked back all hell breaks loose. I think it may be one thing to be athletic, and athletically tackle someone, like in actual football. But when your just running with your head down hoping to plough into someone, accidents are bound to happen. Anyways, people got hurt. I heard a girl or two may have gotten a concusion. Maybe a few slipped disks, but come on, why are you tackling. For one thing its FLAG football, i dont even understand how girls fall on the ground, much less slip a disk. I guess being drunk and uncoordinated and then forced to play football is a bad combo, but hey for those of us who the entire combo doesn't apply to it was hilarious.

now i lay me down to sleep...

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the lord my soul to keep.
If I should die before I wake,
I pray the lord my soul to take.
Amen.

When I was a little girl, my grandmother and I would say this prayer every night before I went to bed. When ever I hear it , I think of her. If there are two things I'll never forget about my grandma, its this prayer and her lasagna. She was an amazing cook....Maybe everyone's grandmother is a good cook but, I think she was the best cook in the world. I honestly think she made the best lasagna, spaghetti, manacotti, eggplant, and cabbage I have ever tasted. Nothing could ever come close. Granted she was Italian, so if you didn't believe be before hand, maybe that gives her some credit. But either way, her cooking can't be touched. This prayer is something else i will never forget. Not only did she teach me this prayer, but she taught me how to pray in general. She gave me a picture bible and together we would read through it. If it wasn't for her i honestly don't think i would have ever learned about the bible or how to pray. I mean i went to sunday school, but aside from that, she was the one closest to me who talked about god. She was an amazing woman, my grandmother. The second oldest of 7 siblings, she raised her entire family. And it was only when she died that I got to meet the rest of them.

time of the year again!

Its about that time of the semester again! I wish professors didn't decide to throw it all on you in those last 2 days of class. I mean granted, I have known about all of my assignments for a while now, BUT STILL! Professors should account for the procrastinators too right? RiGhT. But really though, I have so much to do before next wednesday, I don't even know really how to handle it. Heres the To-Do-List so far:
- Adv. build a machine project (and we still have to buy the materials and put it together, which
should be fun...)
-Adv. Creative school application (I don't know what I'm going to do!)
-Philosophy paper on religion
-Political science paper
-finish paperwork for Copnhagen
-go to a speech and analyze for journalism
-50 BLOGS (a few more to do)!!!

UGH!!! and not to mention POWDER PUFF on Sunday and the rest of my life that isn't school work related! Anyways, so I starting to get stressed. And this always happens and i feel like I don't do anything, as in start my work, until I get really stressed, but hopefully I will start everything tomorrow and have a really great head start on it all!

dove- esteem fund

I don't usually post videos that I see in class, but this one really made an impression on me. Yeah we all know about how the media can make girls feel ugly or fat and so on and son on, but this ad really hit home for me. The ad is one of many in a series known as the "dove- self esteem fund" and i feel like any girl could relate to them. They're all on you tube and all of them really speak to girls especially. The little girl shown at the beginning of this commercial is so gorgeous and to know that she, at such a young age, will absorb such distorted view of beauty haunts me. This is how our society is and unless a child knows differently, unless a child is taught differently, they will inherit an insatiable, unreasonable desire for a deceptively portrayed beauty.

MIND vs. BODY

So I have intro to philosophy every Monday, Wednesday and Friday and 10am in the morning. Its crazy. SOme things that we talk about I don't really agree with but not because I have anything to disprove it, just because I believe differently. To be more specific, our teacher is pretty biased when it comes to religion, (to say he's a strong disbeliever) and it doesn't really bother me, I just wish I could know enough, or have enough logic to argue with him. But its impossible, and I don't even try. So we talk about some crazy things. For example right now were talking about how mind and body may or may not be two separate entities. Our professor uses an example of a zombie and a ghost to illustrate. To start, God can create anything that we can think of. So if we can fathom a mind with no body, like ghost, it should be God should be able to create it..right? Can we fathom a body with no soul? The argument sort of reminds me of the excerpt that I used a while back in one of my entries. In the East of Eden Cathy is characterized as being a sort of monster. She is a body lacking soul. She is not lacking a brain. A brain is different. She is lacking a soul. So I do think its possible to lack a mind. Scary...but possible. More broadly put, the argument is labeled Dualism vs. Materialism. Materialism is the theory that everything can be simplified to some sort of physical state. So we can understand everything totally by just studying it. Dualism theorizes the opposite. It states that it is not possible to understand everything by just observing it objectively. An example in the Dualists favor uses a character Frank. Frank can see one more color than anyone else. When observing tomatoes, he claims he sees two different color reds. No one else can see it. He separates the fruits consistently, putting the tomatoes in two different groups every time he asked to resort. Although we know everything about colors, and we know that Frank can see an extra one, there is a missing piece to an outsider's understanding of it. We do not understand how the color makes Frank feel. There is something about the color's effect on one's experiences that we do not know. Therefore Physicalism/Materialism has a missing piece and is not functional.
Anyways, those are just some arguments we have been reviewing. Im no philosopher so sorry if you don't follow.

Intelligent Design

Intelligent Design-
-the view that nature shows tangible signs of having been designed by a pre-existing intelligence.
Evolution Theory
- the theory that acts of random mutations and natural selections gave rise to humans and all other forms of life.

The first time I learned about the theory of Intelligent Design was when guest speaker Kennith Miller spoke at SMU. I don't remember everything he talked about in his presentation, but what I do remember is that 1.) he wrote the science text books I've used throughout most of my educational career2.) he is a christian 3.) and he doesn't believe in Intelligent Design.

Micheal Behe in his essay The Challenge of Irreducible Complexity uses a mousetrap to illustrate the complexity and deliberation of a cell or any other complex organ.
"An everyday example of an irreducibly complex system is the humble mousetrap. It consists of (1) a flat wooden platform or base; (2) a metal hammer, which crushes the mouse; (3) a spring with extended ends to power the hammer; (4) a catch that releases the spring; and (5) a metal bar that connects to the catch and holds the hammer back. You can’t catch a mouse with just a platform, then add a spring and catch a few more mice, then add a holding bar and catch a few more. All the pieces have to be in place before you catch any mice."

But his argument was a weak one. For when Kenneth Miller, a staunch advocate of the evolution theory, read this he immediately published an essay titled "A Flaw In the Mousetrap," In which he proves that even lacking most parts, the mousetrap still serves as a functional machine, just maybe not in the way it was first intended.
He states,"Take away two parts (the catch and the metal bar), and you may not have a mousetrap but you do have a three-part machine that makes a fully functional tie clip or paper clip. Take away the spring, and you have a two-part key chain. The catch of some mousetraps could be used as a fishhook, and the wooden base as a paperweight; useful applications of other parts include everything from toothpicks to nutcrackers and clipboard holders. The point, which science has long understood, is that bits and pieces of supposedly irreducibly complex machines may have different—but still useful—functions."
This is the argument posed between the design theory and the evolutionist theory and both make valid arguments as to why the other is less credible. This is why science is in such a pickle.
However, even after proving that maybe evolution does play part in the creation of some organisms, a flaw/missing piece is still found in the Evolution Theory- "how did life actaully begin?" Asking this question has proved to be dangerous to many scientists and academics alike-- at least when Intelligent Design plays a part in the answer. Many, in attempt to ban the exposure of the theory, have been professionally prosecuted for agreeing with the design arguement. This is the fuel of Ben Stein's new movie, Expelled.