Is That 14 Guns In Your Pants, or Are You Just Happy To See Me Love him or hate him, Micheal Moore is an in your face type of guy. He gives you the facts, but also never forgets to keep the humor in there. When I got home from school on Wednesday, my brother popped in "Bowling for Columbine" which I had not had the pleasure of watching before. So I sat down and watched all 2 hours of it and was extremely pleased. At the same time, I ws extremely horrified. It allowed me to see the many horrible deeds our society can commit all in one sitting. That does not leave you with a pleasent aftertaste.

We could debate for hours what rights the 2nd Ammendment acctualy gives the people of the US. I will not budge from my postion, but nor will the "gun nuts" of our nation. All I can hope is that I can say my peice and something will actually click in their brains that guns ARE a huge problem. For a while, I have been wondering why the documnetary was called "Bowling for Columbine". Moore explains this thorughout the movie. First, it was the last thing the two physchos in Columbine did before there rampage. Second, Moore attempts to prove that bowling is just as plausible for the rampage as other things are. In essence, he is retorting the bogus claims "gun nuts" use to explain their "right" to own a gun by making a bogus claim himself. Bowling doesn't cause people to kill nor does any other single thing. There are always gonna be crazy people out there who want to kill. It is much less likely to occur if we get the guns out of our country.

Instead of writing the reasons I believe my view that guns should be outlawed is correct, I will tell you the most frightening things I saw in the film. We all know America has the most murders throught the use of guns of any developed country. But are you aware of how large our "lead" is? Take a look at these numbers. In 2003, America had 11,375 murders. You read that correctly, over 11,000 deaths due to gun murders. So, who is in second you ask? Germany follows with a meer 365 murders a year. I'm not even going to do that math for you. I'll jsut let you know its an insanely large gap. And to think I am actually proud to live in this country. In the film, Moore goes across the border of one of the deadlest cities in the US to a Canadian town of 400,000. Just across the river from Detroit, this town has had one murder in the past three years. Guess what? It was commited by a Detroit citizen. Great, now we are taking our problems across the border. Lets not forget about the gun Micheal gets at the beginning of the film as a gift for opening a bank account. I knew they gave away toasters and such, but guns? That is ridiculous. The lady said they always had 47 different types of guns in there vaults. I want to know if there is any money in the vault.

It is amazing how fearful is our society is. It seems as if everyone thiks everyone is out to get them. We dwell on the bad in everything. It seeps into every part of our beings. If our car doesn't ending up killing us, it will be some terrorist from Iraq. Take the Terror Alert Scale. I never pay attention to it, but I could bet many Americans base there lives off of it. Look honey, the alert is RED, get the gas masks out. What a load of bullshit. Is Mr. Bush trying to keep us from living our daily lives. I don't live in fear, but many do. Why waster your life wondering if your going to die? I'd rather die unexpectedly while enjoying life, then living fearing that I was going to die. Stop dwelling on the bad. I want to hear the good in our world.

Our nation is not going to change overnight. The reasons people kill are not going to disappear. No one can put a finger on the reasons we kill each other. They vary way too much. So what is a quicker solution to the problem? Gun control is the answer. I belive they should be outlawed. Yes, this alone will not end the problem. It starts in the home. Parental guidance is key to safer world. For me, the fact that murder is wrong seems to have been embedded ion my brain long before I could even think for myself. I contribute this to the fact that I grew up in a stable home with a loving family. This is where the solution must begin. For now, we can only make the people around us aware. Keep guns out of your home, teach your kids the severity of murder and gun use, and most of all, use common sense. The whole dilemma doesn't seem to hard to me.

  ¶ 7:15:00 PM

  You Belong Among The Wildflowers 'Tis a glorious day. I survived my midterms and my reward is 2 weeks off of school. It's just the fact that knowing I get to sleep in while some of you have to go to school that is making me happy. Sorry for those who have to go. Be strong, it will be over before you know it. Physics was do-able, and math was not as difficult as I thoguht it would be. But points disappear fast in math, so the grade won't be great. Oh well, school can s it. The school front did some bring some good news today, though. I got a 205 on the PSAT. I'd say that is pretty darn good. Not amazing, but I'll take it. Mike's score is just insane- a 233.

Some sad news too. The TI-82 has solved its last physics problem. Man, that was a great calcualtor. You can't just find those things lying around these days.

By the way, I'm looking for some good reading suggestions. I'm gonna do some extra credit for Yochum next quarter so I need a good book to read. Leave 'em in the comments. For now I'm gonna go enjoy my day off. Then its a very long weekend for all of us to enjoy. Get yourself ready.


  ¶ 2:55:00 PM

  The End is near. The end of school that is. And it truly is a glorious sight to behold. Two days and four exams from now I will be free from obligations for two weeks. And those two weeks are going to be glorious too. There should be plenty of exciting events with friend. Christmas and time with the family units falls in there too. Last but certainly not least, I get my license in those two weeks. I am a parallel parking God and I now have the license in the bag. O' glorious day.

I'm wearing a Santa hat right now. It keeps my head nice and warm and it is very festive. Try it out, you'll love it. Exams were okay today. There is light at the end of the english tunnel too. I got a 95 on an English test. It is a miracle. As for the final, I absolutely nailed the big essay. It was flawless, or alteast I hope. The grammer was bogus, but I hate grammer. I chose LOTF as my favorite book from the semester and Beowulf as my least favortie. Sounded good to me. German in another story. I studied quit a lot but I forgot to study the actual meains of adjectives, I jsut studied to endings. Oh well. It should still be an alright grade. Shoudln't have to study much tonight cause I have Beck and Morality tomorrow. Both should be cake. They are each 100 multiple choice tests. That should leave plenty of time for me catch the Amazing Race tonight. I hope they go somewhere really exciting tonight. I guess I'll (and you should too) watch and find out.

I'm not sure why I wrote this, I guess its just that I'm really bored. Hope you enjoy it anyway. But you better prepared for my New Year's Eve Post, its gonna be huge. Like a whole page long huge. Thats all for now.
  ¶ 2:11:00 PM

  Galileo, Galileo, Figaroe Assumption junior prom was an amazing time. It totally exceded all expectiations and provived us goofballs with more than enough excitment for one night. For the third straight dance my awesome dancing moves came back to me and I showed everyone what I got. We had a huge group of people representing at the dance. It was sorta ridiculous how many people I knew there and had a blast with the enitire night. So, want to know about the dance? Well, read on for a full review of night.

The night started at 6 o'clock with pictures at Teresa's house. It was three couples: Phil and Teresa, Laura and Andrew, and me and Kathryn. We put on one good photoshoot. Phil and Teresa's piano shoot was a classic. I may have to blow that one up and frame it. Like usual, there were probably way too many pictures taken. When us models were through, we went to Katie's house for dinner. I'm not sure how it was done, but we got 50 people at her house to eat dinner. What a crowd though. Dinner was good, especially since Katie gave me permission to cut in line. The food was delicious and the candy canes were a nice touch, but they can create dangerous swords and are easily catapulted using spoons. hah.

The time had arrived. Everbody had caught the dance fever over the week, and we were ready to get our groove on. We listened to some holiday music on the way to the dance to get us in the mood. We arrived at the dance at 8:45 and probably doubled the amount of people already at the dance. Overall, the DJ was pretty crappy. The girls say he sucks every dance and he never listens to their requests. The first couple of songs included such groups as N*Sync and 98 Degrees. Honestly, who listens to that crap? It got a little better as the night went on but it was pretty shitty throughout. They did play perrenial favorties such as "Shout", "Cotton Eye Joe" and "Wonderful Tonight", though. I guess we traded too much rap from St. X Dances, to to much crap at AHS dances. We overcame and conquered though.

The Grinch tie was a big hit at the dance. So many people told me they thought it was cool. What can I say, I'm just that cool. I'm gonna start wearing that thing year round, everyday of school. My dancing was also a hit. It's undeniable the most beutiful horrible thing in the world. If you saw it, you could only stand there in shock and amazement. I was also pretty popular in the picture department. When you have an awesome tie on coupled with a knack for dancing, I guess everyone wants a picture of you. Kristen and Lisa also made sure to get the "St. X Homecoming" picture again.

Among all the Bodeco performances, group circle dances, and obnoxious loud singing, the best was definently saved for last. What occured next could be one of the most awesome and hilarious things I've ever seen or experienced in my life. The DJ said he was playing the last song, but then he made the mistake of starting a new song. The lights came on but he began to play "Bohemian Raphsody" by Queen and everyone knows the words for that. So picture this. The lights are on, the music is fading out, but we are still singing. So then we get the brilliant idea of getting in a big circle. By this time our group of 60 or so is all that is left in the gym, plus a few others who felt inclined to join us. We are singing the song in a big circle when a teacher tells us we need to leave. So the circle stops and we all run to the middle and finish singing the end of the song. It was a truly amazing site to see. Just what I picturing a group like us doing. The perfect ending to fantastic night.

Wow, just an overall great time. Not one thing to complain about, not even the crappy music. Lots and lots of good friends and jsut as much good dancing. Next dance is Jan 17 guys, better start preparing now.

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Friday was an adventure in itself. I witnessed quality basketball at its finest. And cheering for fine basketball was at an even higher level. Phil's team may not be very good, but atleast they have diehard fans who will cheer no matter what the score is. They may have won the game, but we won the more important part: the cheering section. Then we headed to the TB for some an after game shindig. There we had a heated debate cause some people tried to tell me and Kiernan that Abe Lincold was gay. Haha. They couldn't convince us and they are wrong. So there.

That's all. Comment away.



  ¶ 1:25:00 AM

  Goose. I'm a Goose. Honk. I felt like typing. You ever get that feeling? Plus, Phil complained that I hadn't wrote in a while. This may have no visible purpose, but go with the flow. I have a few topics I will probably get to somewhere in this blog so enjoy the ride. Better clear my brain of as many things as possible considering finals are next week. God help us all. Not to mention I have to study for a physics, math, and religion(haha) test tomorrow.

First, I will give you some useful advice-watch The Amazing Race. It's fun to watch, but it also opens your mind to the world around you. On yesterdays episode, the racers went to the country of Sengal. A place a world a way from us both in distance and culture. Most people who watched it probably thought how horrible the place seemed. But not I. After experiencing something like that myself this summer I know looks can be deceiving. As they say, never judge a book by its cover. Yes, the Cairo airport at 4 am is an unusual place and overwhelming at first, it really isn't that bad. It is just different from what we know. And until you experience it yourself you will not be able to grasp it. I still have no clue why there were hundreds od just sitting in the entrance to the airport, but I guess I never will. But the attention we drew for the taxi cab drivers isn't strange, its normal. If I saw a 'rich' (hah) American coming out of the airpost I would try to get ever penny out of them I could. I learned from my whole trip to take every chance you getting even if it doesn't seem like you'll like it, it may turn out to be an awesome experience.

But taxi cab drivers brings me to my next topic. In english class, I am supposed to write an open letter to anyone I choose and use satire to offer suggestions of improvement. Though what i am writing about was highly entertaining and interesting, I am going to take a different perspective for the project. Here I want to tell you about the real experience. While traveling in Egypt and Greece, I rode in taxis everyday. Each ride or attempt to ride a cab offered yet a new adventure. Who would believe taxis would offer so many memorable experiences. My first run in with taxis came the night I arrived in Athens. At the time, I had been up for almost 24 hours straight and jsut wanted to sleep. My brother, sister, and I went to eat at a deserted Applebee's at 7 o'clock (my sister said they didn't eat that early!?) and we needed a cab to get home. This is when my sister tells us that taxi drivers ask where your going first and often refuse to take you. So there we stood for what seemed like and enterinty to get a cab. I cannot honsetly rememebr if we ever got a cab, or just took the bus.

Our next encounter came when we returend from Acrocorinth. We got into a taxi and it seemed like any normal event. I guess if I take in to count our other experiences, this one was par for the course also. First, the guy could not understand where we wanted to go and took us to the wrong place. But on the way, me siblings and I seriously thought our dirver was going to keel over right in front of us. First it started with a few coughs and then he starting haucking shit out of his throat. Then. he leaned over in his seat, made one of the most disturbing noises I've ever heard and stayed there for a minute or so. We all looked at eahc other and held back our laughs as we wondered if he was still living. Slowly, he got up and spit something out of the window. Amazingly, the next thing he did was pulled out a cigarette and started to smoke. And I be he wonders why he has these problems.

The adventures in Egypt were just as interesting and extreme. Well, they were all interesting here but I'll tell about the two that stick in my mind the most. The first coming as we made our way to the Pyramids at Giza I believe. I honestly feared for my life during this trip. But looking back I realize the driver knew what he was doing. We sped down crowded streets, failing to follow road rules, not staying in our lane, and honking at anyway who did something wrong to us. If I remember correctly, we were almost involved in 3 accidents. One which almost T-boned us. The next was the most memorable and fun taxi ride of them all. When we got in the cab, the driver asked if it was aliright if he turned on some music. Was it ever some good music. And when it is played like rap music is played here, you can't help but get into the music. Then the guy started clapping and singing along wiht the music. But best of all was his dacning. I'd pay anything to see it again. Mr brother even began to dance to the music. Come to think of it, he was probably jsut delirious from the long day in Cairo. Delirious or not, it was a once in a lifetime experience.

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On a completely unrelated note, the christmas lights and decorations are up at my house and I am officially in the Christmas mood. I spent Monday putting up the lights and they look magnificent. Lots and lots of extension cords.

Remember, "Christmas day is in our grasps, as long as we have hands to clasp."




  ¶ 7:20:00 PM

  Lets Hope It's "A Long December" Somehow it is already the fifth of December. The year has almost come and gone. Christmas is only 20 days away, I can get my license in exactly three weeks, and their are only 6 days of classes left plus 4 days of exams. If it does like the rest of the year has, we'll be in the year 2005 in the blink of an eye. But, that is not gonna stop me from savoring all the exciting events that are still to happen in the last month of this year. As for the first weekend of the new month, it rocked. The whole weekend fit with the designated theme of the pre-game tailgating extravaganza-"Friends, Food, Fun, Football." The four F's always lead to an exciting time.

Friday night was Maggie's Birthday party. Her actual birthday was Dec 1, but she wanted to have a big party. She decided she wanted to go to Iceland, so thats what we did. I couldn't tell you the last time I've been ice skating twice in one year, but they were both a lot of fun. We once again found a way to make fools out of ourselves all in good fun. Even though Lisa and Kristen kept trying to make me fall. Didn't work, huh? For some odd reason Iceland decideds to close at 10 on a Friday night, so we had to find something else to do. We couldn't think of anything to do, so we settled on Starbucks again. I won the sprint to Kristen's car for shotgun though. No one can handle me. So then we hung out there while we colored Shirnky-dinks. I have no clue what they are but your supposed to stick them in an oven and they supposedly shrink. I didn't attempt it though. It sounds like an accident waiting to happen. But that was Friday, I had to get home so I could get enough sleep for the excitement awaiting me the next day.

STATE GAME SATURDAY! What an awesome time, yet it was a boring game. We won though-49-9! That is awesome. But the rest of the day was even more exciting! Lots of fun with friends before, during, and after the game. Andy came and picked me up at 1:15 and Mary followed us to the stadium. We got there jsut as the Grill Team began to set up and the party was jsut beginning. Hillary was already there and then we threw some football with Danny. Then people startesd to flow in from all directions. Justin showed up, then Matt and Nick, and then more people than I could keep track of. Then I saw Lisa drive by in her car as I tried to get her attention but she just kept driving. I was confused. We chilled in the parking lot for a while longer and decided to head up to the stadium and meet Phil on the way, and we did. Amazingly for the people without tickets, the line was not long at all. So we headed in and the student section was awesome. All my friends were in one area so that was really good. I watched the game closely for a while until we were up by a lot, then decided to just chill with people. So we won, but then the difficult part of the day happened. What to do after the game? There were so many different options and no one could come to a decision. It only took about an hour to decide. I wanted to go to Bardstown Road with Teresa and Co. but I didn't know much of the plans and none of those folks were anywhere in sight. So then I jsut went with the people who were left to Brian's house. It was good we decided to do this because I was cold and tired of being outside and I was pretty tired. Overall, it was a really awesome day. Friends and Fun ruled supreme.

Unfortunately, today was a complete and udder waste of a Sunday. On Friday I got a letter in the mail that said I had to go to recert my soccer referee license and there was only one dat left. Those people are such idiots. So thats what I did from 10-4 today. I learned nothing new, i was bored out of my mind, and those people are still stuck up jackasses. Luckily, no one from Okolona had gone yet either so we took our usual place in the back of the room together and didn't pay attention. We still passed our tests, which just proves that the class is a joke. Now, i think I should get down to homework so I can finsih the quarter up strong. Over and out.

Christmas Song of the Week: Carol of the Bells





  ¶ 7:00:00 PM

  Damn blogger. I have attempted to place a few pictures within my blog lately, but Blogger is retarded. I actually have learned the skills to do this in HTML class and Blogger seems to have set up its own damn rules. There is a code for a reason Blogger! Yet another thing attempting to make my life difficult. But instead of searching for the reason it won't let me do it, I'm going to use a different method and Blogger can go to hell.

The picture is todays Garfield comic strip. I am not a fan of Garfield, but todays comic was great. It sums up my last blog amazingly well. So take a look.

http://images.ucomics.com/comics/ga/2004/ga041129.gif

There is no better way to descirbe the holiday season.
  ¶ 4:26:00 PM