Fall

It's fall!

Thus, click the link below.

http://imgur.com/a/bhgSq

Adventures (Update)

I wrote a post back in February about how I wanted to spend my second semester of high school. Let's take a look and see how I did! (Spoiler alert: badly)

 

"Second semester. Theoretically I have a lot more time on my hands. So here are a few of the things, let's call them projects, that I would like to accomplish before summer rolls around and college starts (AHHH).

1. Take a picture at every CTA "El" stop

2. Go up to people downtown who are wearing headphones and find out what they're listening to (record it on a video).

3. Build a giant Lego.
4. Draw an elaborate picture of my house

5. Learn how to draw.
6. Learn how to make coffee (I know the words "beans" and "grind" are important). (kind of completed)

7. Get a driver's license.

8. Make a speech
9. Be featured in some sort of newspaper/online periodical (love the Paw Print doe).
10. Bike the Drive (again)
11. Balance my damn checking account.

12. Learn how to properly make a fire.

13. Learn how to use my camera the right way.

14. Study a martial art. (starting in a few days)"

College Wishlist

1. Brooks Brothers Driving Jacket

2. Levi's 511 Commuter Trousers

3. Microsoft Surface Tablet

4. Shoes that look like this:

5. A messenger bag.

6. A cool bike! (I Googled cool bike)

7. Emma Stone

A Musical Progression

I'm allegedly in the middle of writing two speeches and creating a slideshow on this humid May evening, but I'm going to leave those things aside (read: minimized) for now.

I took a look at my iPod and music downloads over the past six months. 46 songs downloaded in January, several hundred in February, and consistently less than 40 in each month since then. In every month before January, I've downloaded anywhere from 50-100 songs per month. So it's weird that it's tapered off (besides a bunch of albums in February) since then.

On to content. What type of music has it been? Well in January most of the music was indie-ish type, relaxing songs. There were a few Gorillaz songs and a rap mixtape in there, but, mostly slow, Fleet Foxes stuff.

In February I finally downloaded the first part (600+ songs) of a very large collection of music that my uncle gave me. The vast majority was Neil Young, who helped me realize that I really like harmonicas. Albums and that collection aside, I had around 30 songs downloaded. Only two of them were in English! That was kind of cool to spot.

The following months, March and April, were filled with Black Keys, some Beach Boys and Beatles, and more indie type music. This time the alternative music was more upbeat. I was also introduced to my-now favorite song by Electric Guest (who I had never heard of.) Currently, I have yet to meet a single person who doesn't like this song:

On to May. We only have 3 days left, but I have a measly 19 songs from this warm month. 3 rap songs from the '90's, a couple rock (Nirvana) songs from the '90's, and some modern alternative stuff. If the stars are aligned, the summer will bring the music winds in my favor and a bounty of sound will grace my iPod. Here's my favorite from May:

Culture

Most of our culture is pretty bad right now. Modern culture, that is. You can take garbage, spray it with perfume, dress it up real pretty, and talk about it a lot, but its still garbage. And I get it, I really do. First, just in terms of originality, there isn't much left. As a species, we've more or less done it all. In music, every emotion has been evoked, from melancholy in a Chopin piece to excitement in a Beatles tune.

Look at the top 10 artists on iTunes right now, or the top-selling artists of the past couple years. There really isn't much going on. In recent memory, who have been the real stars of pop? Justin Bieber. Katy Perry. Various singers of repetitive, catchy jams. Catchy, but empty. Yeah, I know that there have been some solid, famous rappers in the past couple decades. Kanye, Eminem, Tupac, and Notorious BIG come to mind. Let's get real though. Can they compare to the literally dozens of hits of the '60's, '50's and earlier? They are outliers, surprisingly good artists in an irrelevant music era. What about Franz Liszt, Beethoven, and Mozart? Versus now, with our Adele, our Glee, and our dubstep.

Don't get me wrong, dubstep is addicting, what with all of that bass and excitement. But what's the message? Literally nothing, seeing as there are often few words. What happened to the social impact of music on society?

I feel you buddy.

Not much left to do in traditional art, either. We've already had a stage when we basically said, "Screw it, I'm throwing paint on a canvas." And that was Jackson Pollock, 60 years ago. There is something to be said for the arrival of digital art and its exciting new possibilities, but I'm skeptical as to whether it will ever be able to capture the emotions of a painting like those of Da Vinci, or Van Gogh, or Picasso.

Photography still has some fight left in it. And that's because of its relevance in current events. Whenever history happens, photographers are there. Think of the defining pictures of the decades. A naked girl running and crying in Vietnam. A man jumping out of the World Trade Center on 9/11. A couple kissing during the Vancouver riots.

What about books? I think the jury's still out on that one. On one hand, e-books. It makes logistic and spacial sense to have a Kindle or Nook with 100 books on it, rather than a crowded bookshelf that takes up space in your already-crowded living room. And now its basically painless to download/torrent a book online.

It doesn't make sense then how books are still doing well. Look at the explosion of Harry Potter books in the past decade. The Hunger Games are wildly successful and there's a movie coming out soon. And it pains me to say it, but Twilight too. Books are looking alright. Maybe it's just young adult fiction. No doubt the days of revolutionary books like The Art of War, The Tale of Two Cities, and Moby Dick are over. But for books, I remain cautiously optimistic. 

Television and film are doing better than ever. To their credit, movies are just as good they've always been. And even better because of special effects and technology in general. TV is in the same boat. My current favorite shows are Archer, The Walking Dead, and House of Lies.

Sterling Archer...I don't know what to say.

Previous favorite shows include 24, LOST, and Scrubs. Like photography, I think TV and flim have the benefit of being highly correlated with what's happening in the now. The same can be said of music, art, and books. However, TV and movies dominate our culture because nothing is as attention-grabbing to humans as visuals of our reality.

Finally, politics. In my view, politics are just as much a part of and a reflection of culture as music or cinema. I'm not going to beat around the bush. Our politics suck. Yes, there are some good people trying to do good things. And yes, I think a lot of them happen to be Democrats. But it's not just the 'Publicans who are in the wrong. Both sides seem to believe that if someone holds a different view than you, they are inherently BAD. I mean holy hell in a handmaiden's handbasket. We have some nasty politicians. No longer can intellectual and ideological disagreements exist without personal attacks. If you don't agree with me about the death penalty, you are WRONG. Morally. Now that's a scary place to live in. And remember that we, the American people, elected this bunch. As I said, they are a reflection of us.

I always feel like I need to write a powerful paragraph that sums up the ideas of the previous paragraphs and brings them together in a meaningful, unifying idea. But I don't want to. So ponder what I said, and definitely comment with your thoughts.

Adventures

Second semester. Theoretically I have a lot more time on my hands. So here are a few of the things, let's call them projects, that I would like to accomplish before summer rolls around and college starts (AHHH).

1. Take a picture at every CTA "El" stop

2. Go up to people downtown who are wearing headphones and find out what they're listening to (record it on a video).

3. Build a giant Lego.

4. Draw an elaborate picture of my house

5. Learn how to draw.

6. Learn how to make coffee (I know the words "beans" and "grind" are important).

7. Get a driver's license.

8. Make a speech

9. Be featured in some sort of newspaper/online periodical (love the Paw Print doe).

10. Bike the Drive (again)

11. Balance my damn checking account.

12. Learn how to properly make a fire.

13. Learn how to use my camera the right way.

14. Study a martial art.

Politicians vs Scientists

Romney claims to be strongly against congressional "earmarks", provisions in Congressional legislation that allocates a specified amount of money for a specific project, program, or organization (Merriam Webster). Meanwhile it was recently announced that he in fact supported earmarks in his job as Governor of Massachusetts. President Obama laid out his Comprehensive Tax Plan earlier in his term, which included ending income tax for seniors making less than $50,000. This promise has been both broken and ignored (Politi Fact).


Some people might say, "Whatever. Politicians lie all the time". And they'd be partially right. Inherent in the job of a politician is using the emotions and morals of their constituents to either support a cause, or unite against a cause. Look at our recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. President Bush didn't go on TV and give the American people data about our military spending, the projected casualties, and number of Iraqi soldiers and weapons. He appealed to the American ideals of freedom, democracy, and being a moral leader in the world.



When President Obama was giving the State of the Union a few weeks ago, did he focus on giving us detailed analysis of the unemployment data and how it is either sustainable or unsustainable based on the market and past trends? Of course not. He spoke about uniting as a country, and regaining our stature globally. He used our emotions and values to motivate us and get us behind an issue.


People ask, why is it that so many politicians are caught lying, are caught in scandals, and are caught withholding information from the public? Why are politicians never honest, and why do honest people never run for political office? The reason is because scientists and politicians are in essence two radically different types of people.

Scientists base their entirely livelihood on making assumptions, arguments, and analysis off of data. Cold, hard, unbiased data. That's probably one of the reasons that there are very few, if any,  physicists in political office today. If I spent several hours a day procuring data and making analyses of it, I'd be disgusted to see our politicians casually disregard the truth the way they do so adoringly. And so regularly.

Why do you think so many Senators, Representatives, and even Presidents were and are lawyers? Lawyers use facts given to them not for calm, emotionless argument, but for bending, reexamining, and reinterpreting. Sometimes they may even blatantly deny claims they know to be true. The same idea holds for actors. Ronald Reagan and Arnold Schwarzenegger come to mind.


I can't think of two disciplines whose core philosophies differ more than those of scientists and politicians. Scientists conduct experiments, observations, and surveys. Then (ideally) they draw conclusions from the data, regardless of their views. Politicians do the opposite. They have their views and they use data to strengthen those views, often in an effort to further a cause or legislation.


Are you a scientist? Or a politician?


Some interesting sites to check out about the topic are politifact.com, factcheck.org, politico.com, and livescience.com

How to Personalize Your Room

The trick to being a unique individual is to pretend to be interesting at parties, and to fill your bedroom with stuff. Stuff that reflects who you are.

The first step is your posters. If you've ever been in my room, you know what I'm talkin' 'bout. I've wasted more money then I'd like to think about on crappy posters. James Bond, Einstein, Yao Ming, random forests, Einstein, the Beatles, MLK, a boat... How else are you going to show people that you have interests?!

Next step is the pictures. Hang those bad boys all over the frickin' place. Yes, they are different than posters. Pictures should be of you with at least one other person. They shouldn't be just of you. Don't be so cocky. It's your own room, you don't need to see yourself smiling.

BOOKS. I know a lot of people don't like to read, but sweet lordy, get yourself some literature. It can be the Magic School Bus for all I care (fantastic novel btw). Books show culture and if there's a zombie apocalypse (and no internet) you'll have something to do.

The clothes are important too. None of this matters if you're walking around naked. Unless you're a nudist. Which is totally fine with me, nothing against nudists. Get some shirts, pants, undergarments, even some socks. Whatever you need to protect your body from the weather and the one guy outside the 7-11 giving you the stink-eye.

Most importantly, the bed. And not just the mattress. You need to get some tricked out covers, a squishy but firm pillow, and a nightstand. Get yourself a nightstand. Also make sure you put the bed in the right place. It'll make the room seem much bigger than it would otherwise. Corners and edges of the room are advisable.

I hope this helps. In terms of things like clothes all over the damn place because you're too lazy to fold them (yeah me too) you just gotta do it. Make sure to get some sort of fragrance, like a scented spray or something for the room, because you smell awful. And in the name of all that is holy, don't do work on your bed. Your work needs to be done separately from the area that you rest in. Otherwise you'll be stressed whenever you get in bed. And then things will really suck.

When In Israel...

It's Hanukkah in Tel Aviv. It's also Christmas, but I mean, c'mon. We're in the "Jewish State". Who cares about that, right?

Anyway. Tel Aviv is a coastal city in Israel. It's unique because it blends beaches, clubs, fashion, shopping, and liberalism with well, Jews. Tell someone who's been to Israel that you're going to Tel Aviv and they'll say, "Oh, you just HAVE to check out this club!" or "You simply MUST stop by this jewelry store!" or "Stop telling me your travel plans."

That goes for all of Israel. There are always those place you just HAVE to see or that you CAN'T miss. Well, I don't buy it. So here is my official list of Things to Do in Israel.

1. Buy a McDonald's Hamburger (and/or go to "Burger Ranch")
Good. Kosher. Two words never spoken inside of an American McDonald's. But in Israel, you might actually find that their McDonald's is both. Look, it's not frickin' Filet Mignon, but their meat is interestingly better than that of our Mickey D's. Also, their own version of McD's/Burger King is Burger Ranch, which features a bull(?) doing its thing.

2. Celebrate Christmas in Bethlehem
Christmas in Israel is like a rich spoiled kid who is sent to a crappy boarding school. He's kind of put aside and isn't used to the lack of attention. But if you look in the right places, he has some major potential. The same goes for Christmas in Bethlehem. Or so I've heard, I've never actually been.

3. Go to the abandoned Syrian bunker in the Golan Heights and play "War"
The bunker used to be a Syrian position in the Six-Day War of 1967. It's really cool, inside of a mountain, and surrounded by trenches, which are great for games of "War", "Spy", and of course, "Nerf Gun War". There's also a quaint cafe. AND you can see Lebanon and Syria. AND, if you're lucky, you'll get to talk to some people from the U.N. who are in charge of overseeing peace in the area.

4. Drive in Jerusalem
A holy city for Jews, Christians, and Muslims. It's also a city originally made for horse and buggies which is why the traffic is so God-awful (no pun intended). Plus Israeli drivers are kinda crazy.

5. Eat your body weight in pita and hummus

Self-explanatory.

Facial Hair

Stop it. Just cut the crap. I know you like it. That beard. Dumbledore's white beard. That Stats teacher's goatee/mustache thing. You like facial hair. Curly mustaches make you happy. You'd kill to be able to see some solid mutton chops. But you're afraid to admit it.

It's okay. There is certainly a trend in society that says that facial hair shows that a person is unkempt or unclean. And I suppose that argument can work in some situations. Take our friend Jim from the Office here:



Clean-shaven Jim has a smoother, more sleek look to him. But look at beared, rugged Jim. He has the wisdom of centuries on his face. He could kill a tiger with his bare hands.

See, beards have existed since before we were born. In ancient times, shaving was much, much harder. I'm taking blood everywhere. On top of that, your beard was a mark of your age and maturity in society. Men would be ostracized and exiled for not having a beard (which is totally true and is what should happen to Zach Galifanakis in this picture).



Now, it is harder for people with beards to get jobs, unless they are hair dressers or generally otherwise charming. The truth is that beards lie. They don't show the amount of effort put into their creation. Their sculpted edges and mustache/chin beard synergy are routinely ignored. Thus, people shouldn't be shunning bearded men. They should be hiring them by the thousands!

As winter approaches and money remains tight, both men and women need to think of ways to keep themselves warm. Luckily, Mother Nature has your back. Men, grow that beard out proudly. Women, keep your face close to your man's face. Problem solved. Say goodbye to wasting money and electricity. How you like dem apples, CLIMATE CHANGE?!