Crazy Christmas Lights

I guess I'm envious of people who go all out and decorate their yard like a crazy person, but that may be because the only decoration we have in our yard is some of those weird moving deer.  I just love it when you realize there's a traffic jam on a residential street because everyone stops in front of the house that looks like a Christmas light factory exploded in front of it.  So classy.  But I'm optimistic that Christmas lights can create a beautiful, and quite tacky, art show in anyone's front yard.

Person of the Year

When I think of Mark Zuckerberg the first thing that comes to mind is obviously Facebook, but now he has a new claim to fame as well.  TIME magazine chose him as the 2010 Person of the Year for his involvement in the popular social networking website.  I personally can thank Zuckerberg for hours of time procrastinating my homework while browsing the website, but he's made a bigger impact than that.  One in twelve people in the world have a Facebook account, and 70% of those people DON'T live in the United States.  Almost half of all Americans have a Facebook account and there are 550 million members total, which looks like this, 550000000.  According to TIME magazine, if Facebook users made up a country it would be the third largest in the world, only behind China and India.  Zuckerberg has undoubtedly connected the world in a way no one ever has before.

But why did Zuckerberg receive this award THIS year, and not say, last year.  Well I think it has quite a lot to do with the fact that the popular movie, The Social Network came out in October and opened the countries eyes to the founder of the internet phenomenon.  But Jesse Eisenberg didn't exactly portray Zuckerberg in a positive light.  He made him look like a cheating, morally uncentered, greedy man who cheats his own friends out of good fortune.  But obviously the movie did Zuckerberg some good as it was him, not Eisenberg, who came out with the title "Person of the Year".  Even if Zuckerberg does seem unlovable, I can't deny he's revolutionary and definitely affects my life.  So thank you Mark Zuckerberg, for your Facebook contribution to the world.

Mark Zuckerberg, you make me optimistic that I can connect with almost anyone I would ever want to as easily as I can type their name, and that's pretty cool.

Christmas Classics

So lately I've been watching a lot of Christmas movies, seeing as the holiday is coming up real soon.  And it has got me thinking about the classic movies.  People always think of The Miracle on 34th Street, White Christmas, and It's a Wonderful Life as the classic movies, and my family even has a tradition of watching some of these movies every year.  But what will our generation have to offer to the list of classic holiday entertainment?  Well there have definitely been a lot of Christmas movies over the past few years, but I don't really think that Christmas with the Kranks really deserves classic status.  So what does? Well I think I've come up with a list of Christmas movies I know I for one will be watching for years to come.

1) Elf.  Undoubtedly one of the cutest and best Christmas movies ever, Elf features Buddy the elf's struggle to fit in it New York City after spending his entire childhood in the North Pole believing he was an oversized elf.  Buddy has more Christmas spirit than anyone I've ever seen before, and his cheer makes me light up.  He makes me wish I could call a major corporation and I would be greeted with, "Buddy the elf, what's your favorite color?"  Throughout the movie Buddy attempts to make his father from whom he was separated at birth (who is on the naughty list) love him and embrace the Christmas season as a magical time, while also convincing everyone else that Christmas cheer is one of the most powerful things in the world.  It can even make Santa's sleigh fly.  My go-to holiday movie, and favorite comedy pick for the winter season is, without a doubt, Elf.

2) The Polar Express.  I grew up reading the originial picture book every year around Christmas time, and when a feature-length film came out I was excited beyond words.  Tom Hanks is the voice of six characters in the movie, including Santa Claus himself, making this movie a shoo in for classic status.  Although it deviates from the plot of the book (how could it not, it's based on a picture book), the movie is still fantastic.  It's filled with adventure from the moment the little boy decides to board the Polar Express.  The musical numbers throughout the movie highlight the characters overall cuteness and good qualities, and the movie is filled with an underlying suspense.  Whether I'm concerned about the poor little girl getting her ticket back, the train making it safely to its final destination of the North Pole, or the lonely boy finally getting a Christmas gift, I'm always at the edge of my seat waiting to see what will happen next. I love when the staff of the train sings about hot chocolate or the sweetest little girl and lonely boy singing "When Christmas Comes to Town".  The Polar Express makes Christmas feel like the most exciting time of the year, and all I really want is to find a train in front of my house on Christmas Eve.  To finish off the most enchanting Christmas movie I've ever seen, there is a sentimental bit at the end about the true believers of Christmas taken directly from the picture book.  I love the sincerity.  The Polar Express is a definite classic in my eyes.

3) How the Grinch Stole Christmas.  Another movie based on a children's book (by Dr. Suess also titled How the Grinch Stole Christmas) and embellished with details, How the Grinch Stole Christmas is a classic holiday movie about the true meaning of Christmas.  Most of the movie takes place from Cindy Lou Who's point of view, following the life of the notorious Christmas hater, the Grinch.  From the beginning of the movie it's implied that we are to hate the Grinch, but little Cindy Lou Who learns about the Grinch's past and comes to pity him.  The Grinch hates Christmas so much that he dresses up as Santa and attempts to steal Christmas from Whoville at the bottom of the mountain, but even after stealing all the gifts he finds he cannot steal the joy from the little town.  Everyone gathers around in the square, happy to be together, and sings even though there are no gifts to enjoy.  The Grinch learns that Christmas isn't about material things, but about the spirit and love involved with the holiday.  In the end his heart grew three sizes, and the Grinch returns all thet presents to the Whos.  It's quite heartfelt.  Also a musical, How the Grinch Stole Christmas grabs your heart and makes you think about the real meaning of Christmas and really makes you thankful for everything, and will probably leave you singing "Fah who for-aze".  So How the Grinch Stole Christmas is a classic holiday movie I'll continue to watch every December. 

All of these classic movies make me optimistic that people will continue to produce quality Christmas movies I'll want to watch over and over again.  People still know how to make the Christmas spirit come to life on film, and I'll always have proof.

Amir's video letter to Santa

Around this time of year a lot of people are getting really excited for Christmas, and a big part of Christmas is Santa Claus.  Now I know most people are too old to believe in Santa, so that usually means there's a lot humor in a grown who still believes that Chris Cringle still comes sliding down their chimney on Christmas Eve to bring them gifts.  And perhaps the people who grasped that humor best are Jake Hurwitz and Amir Blumenfeld, stars of CollegeHumor's shorts entitled Jake and Amir.  Together they write, film, act in, and produce shorts made specifically for the internet viewers.  Amir Blumenfeld won the People's Voice Webby Award for Best Individual Performance and Jake and Amir won the People's Voice award for Comedy Series this year.  Some of Jake and Amir's best videos are featured here.

But back to holiday spirit and comedy.  Jake and Amir created a short last year around Christmas that takes the best of a twenty-some year old who still has faith in Santa, a misunderstanding of Jewish principles, a complete lack of understanding of various expressions of speech, a hostile video letter to Father Christmas himself, and open threats to the Big Man if he doesn't give the bad boy all the toys and leave his reindeer behind.

You can watch this fantastic holiday video here, but just a quick warning, it doesn't contain the cleanest language even if some is bleeped out or the word "fooey" is substituted.  But it will most likely get a laugh out of you and make you just a little bit more excited for Christmas to roll around.  Jake and Amir make me optimistic that I'll always have a constant source of laughter, even if their videos only come out on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

P.S. If you were wondering what my favorited Jake and Amir video is, it's Nutrition.  Thank you Amir for making even poor health choices funny.

Shell's are all the rage

Case in point, Marcel the Shell.  If you haven't seen this viral video yet, well I don't know where you've been.  Marcel is probably the cutest creature that's "partially a shell" ever been exposed to humans.  I don't know anyone else who can make pulling around a piece of hair tied to a piece of lint so unforgettably adorable.  I even pity poor Marcel at some points, so weak she can't even lift a crayon and can't fulfill her life dream of owning a dog.

But Marcel's best quality isn't her shoes, her face, or her unbelievably adorable voice.  I think it's her ability to create extremely quotable phrases out of hardly anything, and stream them together into the best video I've ever seen.  Out of nowhere, I feel as if I can just say, "Guess what I do for adventure?" and someone will surely respond, "Hang-glide on a Dorito."  This quality might only be topped by the fact that in a crowded room, if someone yells "Now this is a story all about how...", the whole room can finish The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song with no troubles.  But I think Marcel is getting there.

Voice performed unedited by SNL star, Jenny Slate, she has the background to create hilarity out of anything.  USA Today interviewed her, and she claimed there is over a half-hour of unused audio.  Apparently Marcel feels like she has a real talent for musical performance.  Jenny Slate says they want to leave Marcel the way she is, but personally I'm hoping for a sequel.  I want to hear Marcel's beautiful voice again.  And just for my own entertainment I've come up with a top five list of Marcel's quotes.

1) "My brother once got in a fight with someone else and guess how he killed him.  He impaled him on the brush.  (Sounds very violent.)  We won't fight unless we're provoked."
2) "Sometimes people say that my head is too big for my body, and then I say 'compared to what?'"
3) "My name is Marshell and, uh.  Oh no, that's not the first time I've done that.  My name is Marcel, and I'm partially a shell as you can see on my body, but I also have shoes and, um, a face, so, I like that about myself, I like myself and I have a lot of other great qualities as well."
4) "His name [the piece of lint] is Alan.  Guess where I found him?  Under a tooth.  Well you know what they say?  Lint is a shell's best friend."
5) "Guess what I use to tie my skis to my car?  A hair.  Guess what my skis are?  Toenails from a man."

I'm optimistic that Marcel will continue to make me laugh as long as I can perfectly quote her, and hopefully Marcel will make everyone else laugh as well.

I'm LOST

As I was browsing for possible Christmas gifts, I remembered a quality show from the past six years of my life.  Lost.  Although the show wrapped up last spring, I still find myself asking questions about what really happened.  Why did that giant statue of a leg only have four toes?  What makes the others feel like they need to converse in Latin?  Why was Ben transported to the middle of the Sahara Desert after turning a wheel completely surrounded by ice? Plus about a thousand more.  All these questions got me thinking, I really need to rewatch that show.

Now don't get me wrong.  I don't want to be a crazy Lost encyclopedia that can tell you about a framed British 20 Pound on the wall in a season episode with a picture of the famous physicist Michael Faraday, somehow signaling Daniel Faraday will later become a character.  That would just be creepy.  But if I need any of that information, I may as well just look here.

But I do want the DVD collection, seeing as I'm not quite advanced enough yet to have a Blu-Ray.  So I googled "Lost the complete collection", which led me to this Amazon result.  And for the low price of $139.99 you can buy the entire series.  AND the creators also feel like they need to get a little carried away with the extras.  Does it really need to come in a giant case with a island replica on top that clearly isn't going to fit in my DVD cabinet?  Although the Senet game seen in season six is cool, how will I even know how to play?  And yeah, having Jacob's ankh is great and all, but why?  And oh yeah, there's a black light torch to uncover secret clues hidden within the box set.  The set also comes with 37 discs.  37!  And one hidden disc.

This new level of DVD experience isn't just happening with Lost.  Now you can buy Harry Potter Ultimate Edition's that come with some pretty sweet bonus item's of their own.  I, for one, would really like a Minerva McGonagall trading card.

So even though this Lost collection sounds a little absurd, I think I'm going to go for it.  I could use these collectibles, I guess...  Maybe someday I'll be so good at that weird board game that I could even beat Jacob.  And I'm optimistic that even these bonus features won't be able to cloud the real excellence the Lost series had to begin with.

Tomorrow will be a better day

Josh Rittenberg, a sixteen year old in Manhattan, wrote a short essay for National Public Radio's book "This I Believe", based off the 1950 radio show and the current revival.  His entry was entitled, "Tomorrow Will Be a Better Day"  Rittenberg wrote,

"I'm sixteen.  The other night, while I was busy thinking about important social issues, like what to do over the weekend and who to do it with, I overheard my parents talking about my future.  My dad was upset - not the usual stuff that he and Mom and, I guess, a lot of parents worry about, like which college I'm going to, how far away it is from home, and how much it's going to cost.  Instead, he was upset about the world his generation is turning over to mine, a world he fears has a dark and difficult future - if it has a future at all.

He sounded like this: 'there will be a pandemic that kills millions, a devastating energy crisis, a horrible world-wide depression, and a nuclear explosion set off in anger.'

As I lay on the living room couch, eavesdropping  on their conversation, starting to worry about the future my father was describing, I found myself looking at some old family photos.  There was a picture of my grandfather in his Citadel uniform.  He was a member of the class of 1942; the war class.  Next to his picture were photos of my great-grandparents, Ellis Island immigrants.  Seeing those pictures made me feel a lot better.  I believe tomorrow will be better than today - that the world my generation grows into is going to get better, not worse.  Those pictures helped me understand why.

I considered some of the awful things my grandparents and great-grandparents had seen in their lifetimes: two world wars, killer flu, segregation, a nuclear bomb.  But they saw other things, too, better things: the end of two world wars, the polio vaccine, passage of the civil rights laws.  They even saw the Red Sox win the World Series - twice.

I believe that my generation will see better things, too - that we will witness the time when AIDS is cured and cancer is defeated; when the Middle East will find peace and African grain, and the Cubs win the World Series - probably, only once.  I will see things as inconceivable to me as a moon shot was to my grandfather when he was sixteen, or the Internet to my father when he was sixteen.

Ever since I was a little kid, whenever I've had a lousy day, my dad would put his arm around me and promise me that "tomorrow will be a better day."  I challenged my father once: "How do you know that?"  He said, "I just do."  I believed him.  My great-grandparents believed that , and my grandparents, and so do I.

As I listened to my dad talking that night, so worried about what the future holds for me and my generation, I wanted to put my arm around him and tell him what he always told me, "Don't worry, Dad.  Tomorrow will be a better day."  This, I believe."

Josh Rittenberg's essay shines with the optimism few can find in themselves to envision for the future.  Most believe, "Things seem bad now, they'll probably only get worse."  But Rittenberg makes a good point.  Things have been bad in the past, and good has always come out of it.  In the midst of whatever is going to happen, there will be good right along with it.

Rittenberg's optimism was not unlike that of Nicholas Humphrey in one of my earlier blog posts.  He wrote an article in What Are You Optimistic About? entitled "The Best Is Yet to Come", which focused on the unimaginable great things that are undoubtedly in store for the human race in the future.

Perhaps one of the most powerful aspects of Rittenberg's essay was how relatable he was.  He wrote this essay when he was sixteen in the times we are living in now, and I'm sixteen.  We share the same future ahead of us so any good he sees is in the future for me, too.  He raised my spirits, as I'm sure he did to many others as well.

Now, looking into the future I need to see some good.  First, I have to assume I have a future and the popular 2012 apocalypse doesn't actually happen.  So, assuming I live past my freshmen year in college I would like to be able to think some brightness is out there.  Any of the ideas Rittenberg mentioned would be fabulous, a world-changing invention or a cure to disease.  As long as there is some significant change to look forward to, making our future worth getting to.

I'm optimistic that the future holds some good, as Rittenberg claims, that tomorrow will be a better day.  I'm optimistic that even though the future looks bleak at times, things are looking up.

Magician with a cause

Scott Hammell, an escape artist in Toronto, Canada took his tricks to a new level.  He's known for holding three Guinness World Records for particularly dangerous escape tricks.  CBC Canada reported, he entered a clear plexiglass box on October 27 and encouraged people to surround the box with canned goods until he was completely hidden from view, "making him disappear".  The box was 3.5 meters long, 2 meters wide and 2.5 meters tall.  All of the cans went to Free the Children's "Halloween for Hunger" campaign.

I'm optimistic that people are becoming more creative and generous as a whole.  Hammell is an example of taking something he's passionate about, escape skills, and getting the public to produce for the good of the less fortunate.  He made his act interesting enough that people walking by this plexiglass box on the street would wonder, "Hey, what's that box surrounded by cans of food?" and when they figure out what it's all about they want to contribute as well.  Hammell wanted to help people, and he thought of a creative way to do it.  This reflects the change in fundraisers of all type.  They're no longer tele-a-thons, but more creative ways to give back to the community and encourage people to get involved.

Scott Hammell in his plexiglass box outside of Toronto's Union Station on October 27 (Kimberly Gale/CBC)

It's Always Sunny has got it right

It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia is a show on FX not exactly known for being politically correct.  Episodes typically include "The Gang's" attempt to win "Flipadelphia" ending with the eventual destruction of private property or attempts to write a musical with underlying rape themes.  But the vulgar humor is the whole attraction of the show.  The cast is led by Danny DeVito and the show is all around hilarious.  However, I wouldn't recommend watching if you're easily offended.

The owners of Paddy's Pub usually display conservative, often racist and ignorant beliefs.  The writer's depict the characters as so foolish that the humor ends up being aimed at a liberal audience, not unlike The Colbert Report on Comedy Central.   Offensive terms such as "tranny" are periodically mentioned, but past all of the rudeness, the show usually backs liberal views.

The season six premiere, originally aired on September 16 and entitled "Mac Fights Gay Marriage" is no exception.  Mac had previously been dating a soon-to-be transvestite, and seeing her at the gym becomes upset to find she has already had the surgery and is now married.  Seeking revenge at her new husband he tries to fight their marriage, claiming it's homosexual and unethical.  Of course he ends up looking the fool in their Bible battle read off.  Mac quotes Romans 1:27, with his own little edition, "'Men with men, committing indecent acts,' sex in the butt, 'will receive the due penalty for their perversion."  To any literal follower of the Bible this excerpt sound reasonable, but when his African-American opponent responds with the out-dated excerpt from Exodus 21:20-21, "'When a man strikes his slave with a rod so hard that the slave dies, he shall be punished.  If however, the slave survives for a day or two, he is not to be punished for the slave is his property.'"  Mac is, of course, unsure of how to respond, thus depicted as a fool for his literal interpretation of the Bible.

I for one, am glad It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia featured this episode.  I doubt whether I could approach any literal follower of the Bible with the second verse from Exodus and they would claim it's just, thus supporting slavery and the use of humans as property.  However, the literal interpreters often use Romans 1:27 to back their views.  In fact, ChristianAnswers.net uses this same verse under the header, "God's Plan for Sexuality," claiming it's against God's will for people to be homosexual.  I believe the Bible has some useful lessons and sections in it, but to interpret it literally will make you close-minded to change.

Churches within the United States have noticed the Bible doesn't need to be taken word-for-word.  The Evangelical Lutheran Church of America repealed the ban on gay clergy unless the choose to remain celibate in late August of 2009, as reported in the Minneapolis Star Tribune on August 21, 2009.  Of course some members of the ELCA opposed the motion, but it still represent change within the Christian community.  Some churches obviously don't support the decision, including St. Mark's Lutheran Church in Marion, one of the largest ELCA congregations in Eastern Iowa.  In October of this year they voted to leave the ELCA with a 67% majority, as reported by the Cedar Rapids Gazette.  

I don't think this setback is an indication of what it to come.  Churches around the nation are realizing excluding gay members is unjust, and if churches are recognizing others are too.  Episodes like that of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia exploiting the wrongs of interpreting the Bible to exclude homosexuals also involve a younger generation in the debate.  I'm optimistic that Christians and Americans as a whole will change their mind and support gays and gay marriage.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is on FX on Thursdays at 9:00.

Sometimes the sky smiles back

When thinking of my last bad day, I know there are few things that could have cheered me up.  But I have to say that if I would have looked up to the sky and seen a smile, I think I might have had to join in.  Sometimes it just takes a little coincidence to make me feel like maybe it's all good even if my day was not the best.

... in two weeks I'll be good

Pretty recently my swimming has been a little bit discouraging.  I have had a lot of troubles getting back down to the times I was going last year, and I was beginning to feel like it was never going to happen.  My 100 butterfly time was about two seconds behind and my 100 backstroke was pretty consistently about a second and a half slower than that of last year.

On top of the disappointing times, I was also having some medical issues.  It seemed like every week I had a new issue that was prohibiting me from swimming at practice.  First, I pulled my diaphragm (no idea how) so breathing was difficult and swimming at any speed above snail was out of the question.  Next I got swimmer's ear.  About five weeks in a row.  Every Thursday I would be feeling fine in the morning, and sure enough, by afternoon practice my ear would be throbbing.  I did a lot of kicking in order to keep my sore ear out of the water.  After it seemed my ear had healed by hip began acting up.  We went on a run one morning and by the afternoon I could hardly walk without my hip feeling like a nerve was being pinched.  I spent a practice simply trying to figure out which stretch would be effective.

But the worst of all began two weeks ago.  I woke up one Tuesday morning at about three to a throbbing pain in my right ear.  I spent the next two hour trying to go back to sleep after taking too much Advil and while trying to balance a heating pad on the side of my head.  Needless to say it was pretty unsuccessful.  We scheduled an emergency doctor's appointment.  She determined that I had both an inner and outer ear infection.  Painful.  I did not get in the water until Thursday when I attempted to swim in a meet.  That did not go over well.  I ended up scratching both of my individual events and suffering through the relays.  When it seemed like the pain had passed my luck reminded me I had not gotten off that easily.  Apparently after the infection is gone it can still be excruciating.  After another visit to the doctor it was determined I just have to wait it out.

Yesterday at my meet I was feeling pretty bad.  The whole side of my head was throbbing during the warm-up and my coach and I had a serious talk about scratching that meet as well.  But it was the conference championship meet and the last meet before regionals.  Also, my team was in serious contention to beat our rival team who had already beaten us once this season.  So I decided to swim, for the team.  After struggling through my first event things were not looking promising.  The pain was pretty bad.

Going into my second event, the 100 butterfly, I was seated sixth.  After watching the heat before me I decided my goal was to beat the top time, 1:05.60, so I could make the podium.  As I was swimming I tried to concentrate on my stroke so the pain would be less noticeable.  As I came to the end of fifty yards I was surprised.  I was ahead of the people in my heat, all of whom were supposed to be beating me.  I just kept on swimming, and when I touched the wall my time had not shown up on the board yet.  My coach yelled "TWO" really loud, and as I looked up not only had I gotten second place in the event, but I had gotten 1:02.43, a lifetime best.  My luck carried on through the rest of the meet.  I did well in the 100 back and the 400 free relay.  And yes, we did beat our rivals.

This best time makes me optimistic.  If I can get great times when I feel like crap, then two weeks from now when it comes time to qualify for state I can surely do it again.   I will hopefully have recovered from my most recent sickness by then, so I can swim fast with no interruptions.  I am optimistic that in two weeks, I will be good to go.

... some things never change

This weekend, my sister came home from college for her fall break.  Although I saw her only two weeks ago, it still seems like it has been quite a while since we have spoken.  Last time I saw my sister it was only for one night, so you would think that this longer break would give us more time together.  But it does not.  Our quality bonding time has been limited.

My sister arrived at home on Friday around seven.  We had a family dinner and hung out until around eleven, so that is four hours.  On Saturday I had a swim meet about an hour away.  I left the house at eight without seeing her and got back around five-thirty.  She came to watch the swim meet, but I was with the team most of the time so I did not get to spend time with my sister.  A friend of mine was having a birthday party on Saturday so I left around six and did not get home until around eleven-thirty.  Finally, at eleven-thirty my sister and I hung out.  We got a movie and some snacks from the grocery store, but I was fast asleep by one.  So that brings our total to five and one-half hours.

Today, my mom, sister and I went on a walk for about an hour.  But as soon as I got home I had to begin working on my pile of homework due the next day.  We will probably get another hour or two in tonight, but that is maxing out.  And tomorrow I have school and swimming.  So my sister and I might see each other for two hours total where I am not trying to multitask by studying and talking.  Even though our time together is limited I have still noticed some similarities.

Now that we are back at home in our familiar setting rather than in her dorm room we are acting more like ourselves.  We even got in an arguement about her watching TV while I was trying to type up a Spanish oral.  When we were together last night it felt just like hanging out during the summer before she moved out.  We just kind of chilled for a while.  So even though we see a lot less of each other, our relationship is pretty similar to before (minus most arguements).  Now I know this might change over time but I feel like there will always be an underlying bond.

That bond makes me optimistic.  My sister and I can spend weeks and months apart but still be able to just hang out.  It makes me optimistic that some things never change.

... people can change for the better

In the UK, Talk Talk is launching something new.  Instead of pick pocketing it is called put pocketing.  A former pick pocket uses his discreet skills to give back to people in the community.  At optimal times for pick pocketing, he instead inserts money into their pockets and bags.  Everyone he put pockets is pleasantly surprised, and when interviewed make the comment that they never noticed him behind them. 

This new put pocketing makes me optimistic that people can change for the better.  If the former criminal decided to change his ways and instead give money, can't everyone change?  People can turn away from the negative things they have done, and even if they can not be reversed, they can at least give back.  There is no way the former pick pocket could return money to everyone he stole from, but he was committed to give some money back.  He had a great change in himself.

Here is the complete video of the Talk Talk story.

... the end will be sweet

It is official.  Birthday season is over.  This not only means a decrease in the amount of cake and various desserts around my house but also a change in festivities.

From August 26th to October 5th we have three birthdays in my house.  The first is my mother's, the second (and most important) is mine on September 28th and the last is my dad's, falling exactly one week later.  This time of year marks exceptional desserts and cheerfulness.  With my mom's birthday there is always a fantastic cake and dinner (she makes them extra good considering she is honoring herself).  This year it was a chocolate cake with vanilla frosting.  Delicious.  For my birthday it was a strawberry cake, and my dad had an angel food cake with lemon frosting (not all that delicious).  But now, as the happy birthday balloons are deflating and the leftovers are dwindling, the mood is changing.

No, not for Halloween, but for championship season.  Maybe one of the most stressful times of the year.  The big swim meets are coming up.  Three weeks from yesterday is the regional meet, and perhaps the most nerve-wracking meet of them all.  This is the meet where the state qualifiers are decided.  Everyone in the top 24 people in each event gets a spot at the meet.  You would think "That's not that hard, it's a lot of people," but you are wrong.  Qualifying for state is real tough. 

My freshmen year I was fortunate to have qualified in one race, the 100 yard backstroke.  I was the twentieth qualifier, and had I gone three tenths of a second slower I would not have made the cut at all.  Last year was more successful.  I qualified in the 100 yard backstroke and the 100 yard butterfly along with two relays, the 200 yard medley and the 400 yard freestyle.  However, this year things are different.  There are a lot of fast backstrokers, which makes the qualifying time much faster and the competition fiercer.  The race I have always seemed to pull out for state is in question. 

The stress is not overwhelming me though.  I have an almost sure spot on the state team.  Our medley relay is super fast and basically as long as we do not get disqualified at the regional meet we will get to go to state.  The only thing is, it is kind of a disappointment.  I realize people would kill for one spot at state, but since I went in four events last year it would be kind of upsetting to do less.  Not that some great swimmers have not missed qualifying times before.  One swimmer at our rival high school qualified in the 100 back as a freshmen and sophomore but not again until she was a senior. 

But there is still hope.  I always drop a lot of time at regionals, and sometimes other people do not.  This means the time slows down a little bit.  So I can qualify, it just might be difficult.

No matter how you look at it, swim season is almost over.  This, after all the grueling practices, makes me happy.  There is only one more week of our regular two-a-days until we start the fantastic taper.  One practice a day, and an easy one at that.  We are resting so we can be flying for the meets at the end of the season.  And I am okay with that.  Frankly, I could use some rest.  And after taper, swimming is over!  I am sure everyone on the team is looking forward to their first day of freedom as much as they look forward to Christmas.  So I am optimistic that after all the hard work, when the end comes it is going to pay off.  And then I will have some well deserved rest. 

... smiles are worth something

Recently SapientNitro and Unilever have created a new kind of vending machine, a smile-activated ice cream vending machine.  Optimist World reports "The technology behind it is sophisticated, but the concept is simple: consumers walk up to the machine, smile and are rewarded with a frozen treat... Using facial recognition technology, it can recognize a person's age, gender and emotion, a measure their smile using a 'smile-o-meter'.  If their grin is wide enough they get free ice cream.  Users can also opt to have a picture of their happy self uploaded to Facebook, which ties in perfectly with Unilever's brand message: 'share happy'."

What does this ice cream machine mean for people?  Smiling and being happy are finally getting rewarded.  I think this idea is not only revolutionary but spectacular.  The machine gets groups of strangers to stand around and smile together in busy places where this is usually unheard of.  New York City has a reputation for having some of the coldest residents, but when smile-activated ice cream is in the mix, the people are all friendly smiles.  SapientNitro and Unilever are increasing smiles.

Smiling has benefits of its own.  Psychological studies show that simply by smiling and activating the facial muscles used in a smile will make you feel happier.  If you put a pen between your teeth and do not let your lips touch you are activating the same muscles. Try it.  This will also lead to a better mood.  The free ice cream only adds to these benefits.  Anyone offered a free frozen treat (unless they are lactose intolerant) will feel an automatic sense of happiness.  So these machines are making the world happier one smile-filled ice cream treat at a time.

But, perhaps what sticks out to me most about these machines is the obvious lack of profit they are producing.  SapientNitro and Unilever are not getting paid for these smiles.  In fact, they must be loosing money.  The machines have quite a bit of revolutionary technology behind them that certainly was not free to develop, and the scientists' labor had to have cost something.  Not to mention the ice cream that is inside the machines.  But wherever the funds are coming from, the idea is fantastic.

These smile-activated ice cream machines make me optimistic.  In a world where everything seems to be about money and profit and stepping on the other corporations something is different.  SapientNitro and Unilever are changing the game.  Instead of demanding money and profit, they are demanding smiles and happiness.  SapientNitro and Unilever's policies make me optimistic that smiles are worth something.  And what is better than a currency of happiness?

Read the full article from Optimist World here.

... questions will do the most good

In John Brockman's book What Are You Optimistic About? the entries range from a single sentence to three or four pages.  When reading I usually skip the longer ones looking for a shorter, better passage.  And I think I've found one.  Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, psychologist and director of the Quality of Life Research Center, answered the question simply.  He says "I am optimistic for the simple reason that given the incredible odds against the existence of entities that can ask such questions, of laptops on which to answer them, and so on - here we are, asking and answering!"

I guess one thing I like about his response is that it ends in an exclamation point, which always seems to add optimism to a statement.  Also, it's only one sentence long.  Obviously it's easier for me to interpret and make sense of his response.  But the main appeal is that Mihaly's response, similar to that of Nicholas Humphrey's, is simple, yet still incredibly optimistic. 

Csikszentmihalyi is optimistic simply because people can ask questions and through communication such as the internet, they can be answered.  So as people continue to ask questions and learn the answers we continue to learn.  He is optimistic because people even exist with the capability to want to learn and know.

And I am too.  What if people couldn't ask and find answers?  Where would we be?  Probably no where.  The cavemen would have seen fire and never thought to ask "What is that and how do I make it?".  And the progression of humans would have stopped.  Language wouldn't exist and technology would be unheard of.  So I'm optimistic that questions will continue to further our knowledge.  I'm optimistic that questions will do the most good.

... pain can be all for the best

I'm in the middle of high school swim season right now.  And it's rough. We have two-a-day practices which basically make me want to die and two meets a week.  Since it is the night after two particularly hard practices I'm in a pretty negative mood.  But I know it will get better.

Today we ran two miles in the morning after weight lifting.  And that may not sound like very much, but I'm a swimmer and not a runner for a reason.  Running is hard for me, and this run imparticular was difficult.  I usually go into things like this with thoughts such as "This is stupid!" or "I'm never going to finish this," which clearly doesn't make the run any easier.  But shutting off negative thoughts is harder than you would think.  It's easy to think the night before, "Hey, tommorrow I'm going to work really hard at practice," but following through in the morning is a completely different situation.  But back to the run, I finished it despite my negative attitude.  Then this afternoon we did a difficult set in the pool.  And being the strong person I am, I developed a hip injury.  This is pretty common for me after I run, and I have no idea why.

With my pained hip I didn't get out of the set, I got to do it on the same time as everyone else, but only using my arms.  So now as I'm sitting here writing for my blog I'm in some serious pain.  My arms and legs and killing, and I know practice tomorrow is going to be rough too.  So my mental state is pretty weak too.  But sitting here with aching muscles feels kind of good, too.  I know  I worked hard today at practice, so when the end of the season comes I'll just be that much faster.  And practicing tomorrow with sore muscles is going to make swimming at State and Districts seem like a piece of cake.  It makes me feel like, if I can do this now when I feel horrible, what am I going to be able to do when I feel fantastic and well rested?  I'll be conquering the world.

So even though the pain is real rough, especially in the middle of a set or jog, I think it might all be worth it.  If it makes me swim faster and drop time, my hard work will be justified.  But what if I don't drop time?  Even then I think it'll still be worth it.  Through swimming I've made a lot of great friends, and the recognition I get is great too.  So even if I end up not getting stellar times, I won't regret it.  For some crazy reason I love swimming, don't ask me why.  The possiblity of improving and knowing that swimming makes me better even if I'm not dropping time makes me feell good.  It makes me optimistic that the pain can be all for the best.

... college will do us both good

This weekend I'm going to visit my sister at college.  And I'm excited.  I don't miss her around the house everyday to be honest, but that's probably because I never really saw her when she did live here.  Over the summer she was gone a lot of the time, and I was gone a lot of the time.  So on the rare occasions when we were home, it wasn't likely that we would run into each other.  And that's kind of sad.

But now that it's been almost a full month since I've seen her in person (I'm not counting our various Skype conversations) I'm getting pumped.  I get to see her college life and her new friends, but most importantly, I think we're going to get along.  My sister and I have a pretty average sibling relationship.  We argue quite a bit and haven't really had too many sister bonding moments.  But after I've talked to quite a few people who also have sisters who have gone off the college, I'm optimistic.  They've all said that since their sibling moved out their relationships have improved a lot.  And my sister and I could use that.

Even right before my sister was officially left at college we had an arguement.  I was helping her set up her dorm room, and apparantly I had made a mess.  (I don't see how this is possible.  Her stuff was strewn all over the room.)  We got in our usual fight where voices were raised and it ended up in everyone being a little upset.  It wasn't until after the disagreement that we realized it was pretty stupid.  This was the last day we were going to see each other for a full month and we were arguing.  However, that didn't stop a few other arguements popping up throughout the rest of the day.

But this weekend when I visit her I think things will be different.  We have been seperated so we will have plenty of things to talk about.  Also, I know she misses me.  She is really homesick even if she won't admit it to me.  My parents have noticed a drop in her spirits, so a visit from her favorite sister should help.  While I'm up there I'm determined to have a good time with her, with as few disagreements as possible.

It will probably take a little effort, but things will be easier.  We will be able to get along and have a great time.  I'm sure of it.  And that's why I'm optimistic that college will be good for both of us.

I'm optimistic that laughter is contagious

And how could I not be.  Have you ever seen four quadruplets laugh hysterically for minutes on end?  Well check it out and then try and tell me you can't spread happiness through laughter.

I'm optimistic that the best is yet to come

In John Brockman's book, What Are You Optimistic About? most contributors wrote pages about scientific evidence on why the world is getting better.  But my favorite entry was very different.  Nicholas Humphrey, a philosopher, wrote about why the world as a whole is getting better.  He says "If I had lived in the year 1007 and had been asked what I looked forward to for my decendents in the next millennium, I might have imagined many wonderful possibilities.  But I would not - because I could not - have imagined the music of Mozart, the painting of Rothko, the sonnets of Shakespeare, the novels of Dostoyevsky.  I would have failed to see one of the vest reasons of all for being optimistic, which is the power of human artistic genius to astonish us again and again.  I will not make the same mistake twice.  So let me say straight out: In 2007, I hope and expect that the best is yet to come, that greater works of art than any the world has ever seen will be created by human beings not far ahead of us - works of currently unimaginable aesthetic and moral force.  And, mind you, it will not require genetic modification, computer hynridization, high-tect brain enhancement or whatever - it will simply require that we continue to be the kind of people we are."

When quoting Humphrey's short writing, I could not find anything to cut out.  I felt his response was perfect and optimistic beyond any of the others I have read in the book so far.  What makes me optimistic is the way he simply believes things will get better just because they always do.  We do not need tons of new science to achieve a better world either.  All we need is to keep trying to improve and to keep being extraordinary human beings.  And I do not believe there is a statement out there that can top the optimism found in Humphrey's last phrase of his response.  "It will simply require that we continue to be the kind of people we are."

I'm optimistic that the universe sends signals

Recently, I watched a new independent horror film called Meadowoods.  Now, I understand that independent films have a lower budget than those made in Hollywood, but there was no excuse for this movie.  It was maybe one of the worst I have ever seen.  Two weeks ago a couple of friends and I rented Meadowoods from a Redbox location and attempted to watch it. We failed.  After getting forty minutes in, we decided we would have a much better time simply going to sleep.  Last night I was hanging out with a similar group of people and we were discussing the experience.  We decided that we did not give Meadowoods a real chance.  So, at eleven o'clock we decided to figure out where we could rent this movie in order to watch it again.  We searched the internet for a Redbox that carried the movie, and the closest one was across town.

We had already made up our minds.  This movie was not bad.  We just had a bad impression of it.  So we left the house to look for the movie.  After getting lost multiple times on the simple route and making one of the largest loops around town we finally arrived at our destination.  My friend jumped out of the car and quickly paid for the movie.  When we got back to the house we looked at a few reviews of the movie before playing it.  None of them were positive.  I believe the movie recieved one star.  But there werer hardly any reviews, so maybe only the people who did not like the movie wrote something.  That is reasonable, right?  No.  I believe the reason there were only a few reviews is because no one else wasted their time watching the full movie.

As soon as we put the movie in we ran into trouble.  It was severly scratched and began skipping after only a few minutes.  We took the movie out.  We thought the movie still had potential, so we looked up ways to fix a scratched DVD on google, and after sorting out the more unrealistic ones we settled on using furniture polish to clean it.  Not that that made any sense...  However the Pledge did seem to help a little, and after fast-forwarding through the initial scratch we did not run into any more severe problems for a while.

The plot of the movie was boring and unrealistic.  Three teenagers wanted to kill someone and get the whole process on video.  I do not understand what they were planning on doing with the video considering the fact that if it was found they would be arrested, but whatever, it was strange.  When asked why they wanted to kill someone the first guy responded that he was bored of his town and wanted to shake up the residents.  Boredom seems like a pretty stupid reason to commit murder, but it at least made a small bit on sense.  The next girl questioned said she wanted to kill someone because, well why not kill someone, people just hurt eachother so there is not really a point to life anyways.  That seemed stupid.  I suspected she was either a sociopath or the writers were simply to uncreative to come up with a better line.  The actress also spoke in a monotone, which really helped the delivery.  When the third person was asked why he was going to kill someone, the disc scratched, and that was probably for the best.

The movie continued on in this boring matter while they choose their random victim.  They liked to speak about the murder in public places without lowering their voices, and no one ever seemed to get suspicious of them.  There was a good twenty minutes of film when they were interviewing their intended victim, trying to find out what scared her most.  She also sang a song she had written herself during the interview, which was not all bad, possibly the high-light of the film.  The teenagers then went to the movie store's horror section for inspiration for how to kill their victim.  They decided on a tactic used in Kill Bill Volume Two.  I believe the climax was supposed to be when they kidnapped their victim, Kayla, but I am not really sure seeing as the DVD skipped that section too.

Next thing we know, two of the characters are pushing Kayla into a wooden box at gunpoint.  I guess they were planning on burying her alive.  There was at least ten minutes of footage where the screen was black and Kayla was screaming, supposedly taken while they were burying her.  They tormented her for a short while, then the third teenager showed up.  Apparantly he had changed his mind about the murder and was going to stop them.  The ending of the movie was very unclear.  One teenager was trying to shoot the teen who was disrupting their plan while the monotone girl shouted for them to stop killing eachother.  All of a sudden the teen with the gun shot himself for no apparant reason.  The disrupter then dug up the box in under a minute (I do not think it was buried very deep), and drug out Kayla, who was already dead.  Perhaps the box collapsed on her?  It was all unclear.  The high-point of the film was definitely the credits.  Under the title "Cast" there were only four characters listed.  Clearly this film had high budget.  And I believe one of the cast members may have been filming the video at all times.

Here is what I learned.  I should listen to the universe.  Clearly it was trying to tell us from the beginning not to watch this movie.  We fell asleep the first time, got lost trying to rent it, and were distracted by multiple scratches.  I am convinced someone watched the movie and intentionally scratched it so no one else would have to suffer the same way they did.  So, I have learned to trust my first instincts, seeing as it would have saved me a dollar and an hour and twenty minutes of my life I would much rather have spent on something more useful then watching Meadowoods.

I'm optimistic that people are good

In John Brockman's book What Are You Optimistic About, David Bodanis came up with an inspiring answer.  The author of Passionate Minds said "I'm optimistic because there's a core decency in people that even the worst machinations of governments can't entirely hold down."  Bodanis explains how the Evelina hospital in London, built around a giant atrium, requires all window cleaners to wear superhero costumes while cleaning.  "The children [at Evelina] in bed - many with grave illnesses - delight in seeing Superman and Spiderman dangling just inches away from them, on the outside of the glass."  Bodanis continues by mentioning the obvious failures of the English health care system, and despite all issues, he reasons for optimism.  "The government has wasted a fortune on consultants, bureaucracy, and reorganizations of the national Health Service.  It's always defended in cold management-speak.  This simple arrangement with the window cleaners cuts through all that.  Everyone I've mentioned it to recognizes that - and in that recognition lies our hope."

To me, it seems comical that when corporate officials were designing contracts for cleaning companies they thought to require costumes.  It softens their impression on me, and leads me to believe that although they can sometimes be sly, even corporate officials have the capacity to be good and truly care for the children.

I'm optimistic that corporations are evolving

According to Optimist World's article "California company Netflix lets staff take as much as they want when they want" by Simon Meadows, the way companies are being run is beginning to change.  Netflix's new holiday system relies on self-discipline.  As long as managers are aware of employees whereabout and their work is being done, then they can take as much vacation time as they want.  Netflix's vice president for corporate communication, Steve Swasey told Optimist World "Rules and policies and regulations and stipulations are innovation killers.  People do their best work when they're unencumbered.  If you're spending a lot of time accounting for the time you're spending, that's time you're not innovating."

I believe Netflix is taking a needed innovative approach to vacation.  The number of people working from home is on the increase, so why can't certain amounts corporate work also be completed while on vacation?  Perhaps unrestricted forms of vacation aren't appropriate for all business models, but not much harm can be done by loosening restrictions on vacation days and letting employees use their self-discipline to complete their work.


Read the Optimist World article here.

I'm optimistic that religion will prevail despite scientific advancements

It's no secret that science and religion have been at "war" for quite some time.  However, not all scientists deny the existence of religion.  In fact, some are quite devout followers.  This is not the case for biologist and author of The God Delusion, Richard Dawkins.  When writing about the final scientific enlightenment in John Brockman's book What Are You Optimistic About?, he states "I am optimistic that the physicists of our species will complete Einstein's dream and discover the final theory of everything before superior creatures, evolved on another world, make contact and tell us the answer... And I am optimistic that this final scientific enlightenment will deal an overdue deathblow to religion and other juvenile superstitions."  It's clear Dawkins is a strict believer in science and just that.  No supernatural force comes into play.

Frank Wilczek, on the other hand, is a physicist at MIT, and is against a theory of everything.  When asked What Are You Optimistic About? he said "I'm optimistic that physics will not achieve a Theory of Everything...  My advice, dear colleagues: Be careful what you wish for.  If you reflect for a moment on what the words actually mean, a Theory of Everything may not appear so attractive.  It would imply that the world could no longer surprise us, had no more to teach us."  Wilczek goes on to credit Einstein and his quest for the Theory of Everything, although he doesn't strive to discover it.  "I take inspiration from the early Einstein, the creative opportunist who consulted nature, rather than the later 'all-or-nothing' romantic who tried (and failed) to dictate to it.  I'm optimistic that it will continue to surprise me and my succesors for a long time."  It seems as though Wilczek is not opposed to religion, but is willing to keep an open mind and embrace the fact that we won't ever understand the laws of the world, which makes religion possible.

Marcelo Gleiser, professor of physics and astronomy at Dartmoth College, sees value in religion.  Although he is an atheist, he opposes scientists regarding religion as pointless.  Gleiser responded to Brockman's question, What Are You Optimistic About? with the following statement.  "I'm optimistic that the debate or, should I say, war between science and religion will see new light...  Although I'm an atheist, I do not forget what is behind the power of religious thought: quite simply, hope... Yes, it's crazy to believe in supernatural influences in the world and to devote your life to a God that seems to have vanished from the world for, by conservative estimate, at least 2,000 years.  But scientists ought not to forget that most people need some sort of spiritual guidance, a kind of guidance that science (at least as it is taught today) cannot offer... I am optimistic that scientists will teach people these lessons [humility and respect for life], instead of simply trying to rob them of their faith and offering nothing in return."  Gleiser doesn't fail to see humanity's need for hope, he just believes science should change so religion doesn't need to fill the void.

It may seem as though all people educated in science don't see a need or place for religion in the modern world, but Anton Zeilinger is optimistic about the future of science, religion, and technology.  In his response to What Are You Optimistic About? he states "I'm optimistic about the future of religion.  We will learn to shed the unessential dogmas, rules, definitions, and prejudices that religions have built up over centuries and millennia... I am convinced that in all major religions we will discover the essentials of what it means to be human...  Science will never be able to prove that God does not exist, and religion will learn that its essence is far deeper than ephemeral questions like whether we were created by evolution or not.  I believe that someday we will arrive at a coherent view of the world that will transcend both what today we call science and what today we call religion."  Zeilinger understands religion won't be disproved and people will continue to follow it.  However, in the future he hopes science and religion will merge to create a world view with the strongest aspects from both.  He sees some aspects of religion continuing to play an important role in everyday life for a long time to come.

As for me, I believe science and religion are both necessary in life.  Many scientists claim that religion is out of place and serves no role, but I disagree.  When people are dying, they don't spend their energy saying words to Aristotle, they pray to God.  God gives them hope they can endure more than they ever thought possible.  Even if God doesn't exist, just simply praying and wishing to get better can sometimes leads to extraordinary results.  Either by God's will or shear determination people have survived unimaginable feats.  These people have religion to thank, whether it is legitimate or not.  Simply the idea of religion serves an important role in society, and any scientist who believes it is unnecessary should speak with a person who has experienced a miracle thanks to their devout religion.  Disbelievers would no longer be able to claim that religion and belief serves no purpose.

Religion also adds a bit of morality to society.  Some people behave and follow laws with the end result of heaven in mind.  I'm sure if religion was discredited society would fall into chaos.  Premarital sex would skyrocket and morals once held true to the religious, such as treating neighbors with respect, would be disregarded.  Science doesn't enforce the same type of morals religion demands.

Of course, life without science would be ridiculous also.  Science adds reason to life, but without the balance of shear hope society and humanity would crash and burn.  If asked what are you optimistic about? I would respond, I'm optimistic that religion will continue to serve a purpose for humanity despite scientific advancements attempting to disprove it.

Hello:)

It's been decided.  My blog is going to be focused on current events or changes over time that have an optimistic outlook.  I was inspired by John Brockman's book "What Are You Optimistic About?: Today's Leading Thinkers on Why Things Are Good and Getting Better", which I will likely get quite a few ideas from.  I hope to contribute a positive outlook on events, while lately there has been so much news concerning economic troubles and war.  I also would like to contribute a young person's voice into recent events and hopefully add a new perspective on the way the world is heading.