Grades

     Why is so much in your life determined by a couple of letters and numbers. These two markings are the two biggest factors and influences in where you will go to college, what societies and groups you may get in, and probably your career. This is were I think colleges and schools have the wrong idea in that it is not the number at the top of your paper but the knowledge you have gained during the time building up before that actually matters. This may be easier then having long period conversations and talk with each applicant but may be the only way you get to truly know the person. Schools all over America inflate their grades also to gain more money, attention, and a false reputation but that is another issue for another time. Even the student has adopted this mindset of focusing on the number and not the knowledge being attained. People now have gotten into the routine of memorization and not gaining understanding of a new concept or idea. This may earn you an A for the time being but does nothing for you in the long run.

Way of Living

     I just whated to talk a little more about the human's approach to everyday life. This is an interesting concept that brings all sorts of thoughts like why am

I even sitting in a place with a bunch of homo-homosapiens writing about this on this technological device that you are probably looking at too. Every decision we make shows our character and is a reflection of our personality. Everyone develops a guiding means that they live by because they think it is either right, moral, or just what everyone else does. Humans have adapted a way of living and have created this " daily schedule" that you are supposed to live by in order to be considered a normal person. You mainly develop your character and way of living based on your surroundings. Since most are only exposed to humans their whole life then they just follow their action and the process continues for the next generations. "The Way of Living" is a human way to identify how one approaches their everyday lives. This human created lifestyle may or may not be the true way to live, but it is just what has become accustomed to us. Usually people grow up in a household, go to a school, then another school, have some fun here and there, get a job, work for a while, retire, then there physical body departs. Now I am not saying this is nessacarily a bad way of living but is just interesting to think about how this approach of daily life came into swing.

Reality or Illusion?

       Has the question ever striked you of: " What am I actually seeing and is what I'm seeing really true?" This question has brought great thought upon me and here are some of my thounghts on this.

       Vision. What is Vision? "Visual perception is the ability to interpret information and surroundings from the effects of visible light reaching the eye." This raises hundreds of questions regarding the visual world. When you look at the world around you, are you ever actually seeing it? This brings the point that you are only seeing the perceived light reflecting off the objects. This suggests that you never see the true world, only the light it reflects into your eyes and your brain. This also introduces a new question of: "Is my brain producing the true and correct image?" This also brings the question of: "What is true?" Sense you only get one perspective of the world your whole life, then you have no chance to see what the other man may see. All of these questions have been asked for centuries, and the truth is that they may never be answered.

Music

           Music is in some way an essential part to one's livelihood and happiness, along with having a big effect on a person's overall character and way of action. Music is certainly a big part of my life. It is a tool that sooths my mind and soul, far greater than any other pleasure. It is also a device that can be used to promote and increase one's thought and creativity. It captures you in a whole new world that is full of comfort and joy with no earthly problems or sufferings. This may connect with music being used as a way of worship to the Gods and in spiritual rituals. The amazing thing about music is that there will always be new sounds, songs, and new ways of playing it. Music is a never ending and lifelong enjoyment that will accompany the world for the rest of its existence. Any sound in a sense can be considered music, which is why sound and music are like another world, with never ending possibility and life. Music also may intrigue the human being so much because it is intangible and unseen. This aspect of music gives it a characteristic that most do not have. These are a few of the countless reasons why the gift of music may be the greatest gift given to the universe.

I-Pads

As you know, Hammond has decided to go electronic next year with the  I-Pads. As great and appealing this may sound, it will not be good in the long run. Kids now will be growing up attached and concentrated at looking at a screen instead of their narural surroundings. They will have a loss in social skills with humans and will develop a dependence on technology to do all the thinking for them(think for yourself don't let technology think for you). The reason there were so many great philosophers hundreds and thousands of years ago is because they sat around and thought in depth about issues and wrote out their thoughts. This art has been lost due to everything being so instant and in touch with us. Children need to learn skills with their hands and natural resources that were put on this earth, not a machine. You can always lose, break, or not have an I-Pad, but you will always have your most valuable tool in life, your brain. Our society may be advancing technological but not really anyway else. We are still having the same problems that people had thousands of years ago, such as ways of government and religous dispute. This "Great Idea" is going to slowly decrease the art of human thought and create a society of technological dependence.

Saving Private Ryan

        Saving Private Ryan, an American WWII film, is based during the invasion of Normandy Beach. It is about the search of a soldier named Private Ryan, whose three brothers have died in combat. Captain Miller(Tom Hanks) is sent with 6 men from his division to find him.

       This movie unveils what it really was like to be part of WWII and all its' destruction it brought. It is truly sad to see how many men sufferred and died, and the things that were done to these young men. It showed me how great it is to live in a country where we have men that will and have fought to the death to protect our freedom, liberty, and our country, and I honor them for that. This movie also inluenced me to learn more about our country and what makes it so great and different than any other.

Martin Luther King Jr.

         Martin Luther King Jr. (January 15, 1929- April 4, 1968) was a significant leader in the civil rights movement in the mid 1900's, in the United States and around the world. His methods were based off the teachings of Gandhi, using peace and non-viollence as a base for his teachings. King would become on as one of the most influential icons in American history.
        King has inspired me to have a heart of peace, equality, civil liberties, and freedom. He has had much influence on me that all men and women are born with God given rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of hapiness. No power or person should be able to take away those freedoms, and you are bound to revolt if they are attempted to do so. This is why I am also a fan of Rosa Parks, as she fought for these unalieable rights and freedoms. This why I admire these civil rights leaders for sticking up for what they beleive. No matter what race, religion, or origin you come from, you are embedded with the rights of life, libery and the pursuit of hapiness, and you should pursue what makes you happy and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

Gandhi

     Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born in Porbandar, India(British India then) on October 2nd, 1869. He is best known  throughout the world for his ideologies of peace and freedom. He was the political and ideological leader in the India Independence Movement. He is often referred to as Mahatma, or the "Great Soul". In India he is called Bapu, or the "Father", and is honored in India as, "The Father of the Nation".  His birthday, October 2nd, is also honored as International Day of Non-Violence, and a National Holiday in India. Oddly enough, he was imprisoned on many occasions for his protests against  the British government intervention and the movement of peace and freedom in India. On January 30, 1948, Gandhi was shot as approaching a platform to have prayer, and died soon after.
     Aside from his movements towards freedom, Gandhi was also very dedicated to his religious and philosophical beliefs. He was always in search of finding truth or Satya. Gandhi did indeed proclaim himself a Hindu, but also is very fond and admirable of all religions and their philosophy in guidance through life. He was also considered a philosophical anarchist, believing every human has self-rule, and no power should enforce law upon the people.

Optical Illusions

Move your head back and forth while staring at the center black dot,
you will notice the outside rings moving, but are they?

        

       Optical illusions have always caught my curiosity. The way they capture you in an out of mind experience is quite interesting. Optical illusions are visually perceived images that differ from objective reality. In other words, the image may question what you may or may not be seeing.

       The three types pf illusions are literal, psychological, and cognitive. These all affect the eyes, brain, and conscious. These illusions all can be delt with things such as movement, color, tilt, position, brightness, and many other factors. As the one showed below if you stare closely at the yellow dot, you will see the outer blue dots start to disappear and come back at different intervals. This is just one example of how a picture can altar what you think your seeing but actually the blue dots remain always, as the picture above does also.



"Vertigo"- Alfred Hitchcock

     "Vertigo" is yet another one of Hitchcock's great thrillers and movies of suspense. The movie was shot in 1958 and was based on the 1954 book, D'entre les morts, by Boileau-Narcejac. It is now considered by some to be one of the greatest films ever made along as one of Hitchcock's defining works of his career. It was filmed in San Francisco, starring James Stewart, Kim Novak, and Barbara Bel Geddes. This movie shows Hitchcock's talent to capture you into the film. He uses a MacGuffin, making you think the movie is about a suicidal women in help. He also uses mirrors throughout the movie to give and hint information.

     Vertigo is about a man named John "Scottie" Ferguson, who is suffering from the fear of heights or acrophobia, which gives him vertigo. A friend, Gavin Elster, asks Scottie to trail his wife, Madeleine, claiming she has been possesed. Scottie does and goes from place to place following her and after trying to kill herself by jumping into the San Francisco Bay, Scottie concludes that she is suicidal, but he is still in love with her. Finally, towards the end of the movie, they go to a Spanish Church. There Madeleine escapes from Scottie and runs up the bell tower to the very top. Scottie heres a scream and sees a body fall from the top of the bell tower, and he beleives his love Madeleine is dead. He later finds out that "Madeleine" was actually not "Madeleine", and the husband hired a fake so he could throw the real Madeleine off the bell tower, making Scottie believe she committed suicide. He figures this out by seeing  Madeleine's necklace on someone else and figures the husband must have given it to her as a award. He then takes "Madeleine" back to the church ,so he could really see what happened. They get to the top ,and he gets the whole story strait from her.Then she admits of tricking him. She hears footsteps though and falls off the bell tower and dies, leaving Scottie at the top.

Ron Paul

     Ronald Ernest Paul (Ron Paul) is running for President of the United States for 2012. Ron is a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania but represents Texas's 14th Congressional District as Congressman. He graduated from Gettysburg College and Duke University School of Medicine. He also served as a flight surgeon in the United States Air Force from 1963 to 1968, delivering over 4,000 babies.

      Ron is considered the "Intellectual Godfather" of the Tea Party Movement. He is known mostly for his libertarian ideas of limitation of government, less regulations, lower taxes, free market, and is a strict Constitutionalist. He is considered by some a rebel because of his ideas for change in the government, even though all he wants is freedoms and civil leberties back in America. He is also the author of many books such as, Revolution; A Manifesto, End the Fed, Liberty Defined, Challenge to Liberty, and The Case For Gold. He believes very strongly that Americans are independent and do not need Big Brother to interfere with our lives or protect us from ourselves. With all the mess Mr. Obama has gotten us into, I encourage you all to go out and vote for Ron Paul, to get America back in order, so we can have our freedoms back. JOIN THE REVOLUTION NOW!!!!!!

BEWARE-SQUIRELL JEDI'S-

     Yes it is true squirells have mastered the art of the force and have gained control of the outer galaxies. After conquering the Galaxy Offtit, their last mission is to conquer Earth. It is said they have started to reach Earth. Many sightings have been documented as shown in the following pictures, viewer discretion is advised.

     As you can see the invasion is coming, and we are the last hope to save the universe. So everybody get off your x-box's, grab your weapons, and join the fight. It is estimated that about 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 jedi squirells are part of the invasion. We do not know when they will all arrive but please report sightings to your local operator.

Thankyou for your cooperation.

Trey

       Joseph Ernest Anastasio III (Trey), guitarist for Phish, kicks off his fall tour with his own separate band in three days on October 1st. The Trey Anastasio Band starts off their tour in Burlington, Vermont and head up and down the East Coast until they get to Live Oak, Florida on November 12.
         Trey met his future band members at college in Vermont. This started the group Phish in 1983, now considered one of the greatest jam bands of all time, such as the Grateful Dead. Phish, in 2004, broke up, but soon reunited in 2009. Trey is still playing very successfully in both groups to this day.