Words

I remember the first time I read Looking For Alaska by John Green in middle school, a poignant story with sprinkles of romance and teen shenanigans. I definitely recommend it to those of you who like young adult fiction (I do recommend a lot of these, don’t I? ). This isn’t really about the book, though. It’s mostly about books in general.

Well, words, to be more specific.

So, I’m a bit of a crier. You know, when there’s a sad scene in a book or a movie (I haven’t quite reacted that much to a song), I get tears in my eyes.

This gets me thinking, though, about the power that words have over us, and not just prose. Everything that we say to others elicits some kind of emotion. Wenlan recently made a post about hate, and how it affects people. And what is that? Hate is just a word. H-a-t-e. One syllable. Four letters. Yet it’s so powerful.

This is especially true in novels. You know, on some level, that what you’re looking at are just flat, two-dimensional symbols on a flat, not-quite-two-dimensional piece of paper. It shouldn’t mean anything, but it does. Somehow, we’ve made them mean something. We’ve given them emotional value.  We’ve given them the ability to paint pictures, to create people, and to put words in their mouths.

That’s why I think the craft of writing is amazing.

It seems so simple, when you look at it, but somehow it makes people feel.

--Ji

P.S. A bigger version of the picture at the top can be found here.
You can make your own here.

What Pop Music is Doing to Become More Iratating

Pop music. Isn't this stuff supposed to be easy on the ears? Usually I don't mind the pop station on the radio  but lately I've been cringing at the majority of the songs that they've been overplaying.

1. All of the songs are about the same thing it seems like- getting drunk. 

 Under this category falls the songs Like a G6 by the Far East Movement, Raise Your Glass by Pink and Bottoms up by Trey Songz. All of them glamorize how fun it is to go and get drunk. That's not nessecarily a bad thing, but having every. single. song. (or so it seems) about it is not. In fact, it's annoying. And it's just sad that artists can't come up with anything else besides "sipping sizzurp"

2. Lots of songs have the artist's name somewhere in them. Really? How much more arrogant can you get? Tons of artists just take a new song as permission to scream their names all over the airway. Songs are not advertisement oppurtunities! Songs are for the listeners and fans! We already know who you are, if you're good enough to be known. So don't force your names down are throats, please!

I'm looking at you Jason DeRulo, Ludacris, Usher B.O.B.and Nicki Minaj. 

3. Instead of putting out new songs, artists are simply putting out continuations of other songs that did well. Instead of putting out new fresh songs, they put out copies basically with the same chorus, same everything. Namely these are Airplanes by BOB and Hayleigh Williams and Love the Way You Lie by Eminen and Rihanna.

HUMAN.

Hey guys...

I know this is for ezine, and no one actually seems to read these blogs, or care... but if I'm gonna have to post something on the internet, it might as well be something I care about... maybe?

So, there's this little thing called hate, and it's everywhere.

Here's the thing about it, when you hate someone, it may not effect you all that much, but it effects them.

Think about it--does it make you happy to know someone hates you, to hear mean comments about you?

And not even behind your back, sometimes it's right in front of your face.

Part of our culture has become this obsession with online social networking websites and such. Many people seem to spend their whole life on places like MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, Formspring, Yahoo, GMail, Tumblr, and there are so many others. One thing that most people seem to notice is that 5 of these are blocked on AISD internet... but people still use them all the time. I'm not saying it's a good thing or a bad things, it's just a thing. But it tends to end up badly when people get on places like this and comment very hateful things to people they may not even know--because these websites can allow anonymous commenting/posting on other people's stuff, so if you say something mean, no one can actually trace it back to you.

So why not?

Well, because those people have to see all those things when they log onto their account on whatever, and they have to be reminded everyday that you don't like them for whatever reason. No, not everyone does this, and I'm not trying to say that everyone does.

I'm just saying that going to strangers pages on whatever and telling them how much you don't like them isn't gonna make them feel better about them self. I mean, does that make you feel better about yourself? Not make you feel better in general, but make you feel like a good person or whatever.

It's okay to hate people, sure. And it's okay to tell people. But do you have to?

Because in the end, no matter what we look like or what we act like or who we like or anything... we're all human. We are all different, but we are also all the same...

But in the end, it doesn't matter that I'm writing this because people are gonna hate. So that's not why. I'm not writing this to necessarily tell people not to hate--because I know that I cannot change them, and I shouldn't waste my time trying.

People should just love. "The opposite of love is not hate, it's indiffernece" (Elie Wiesel). Both hate and love tend to be very strong emotions, and I think that in general, the world might just be a better place if people who channel all that emotion, all that hate, to love. Not that you have to go and love the people you hate, but maybe just love the people you love more and hate those other people less.

And this is already over 500 words, so I'm gonna stop typing right about now.

But... there's probably a whole lot more I could rant about, and I really could relate this more to culture and stuff... but...

So, you can read another whole part of this whole idea here. It is more about the effects of what you say on the people you say whatever to, and how it just pushes them.


Everything I have said so far is about you hating, but the truth is, with all those other people in the word, you've probably been hated before as well. And maybe that's why you hate someone, maybe it's not related. But the truth is, sometimes, there's nothing you can do and you have to just ignore it. Don't let it become a part of you. Don't hate yourself because of what other people say. Love yourself for who you are. Dislike what they say. And in the end, it makes you stronger.

Now that this is almost 700 words now... So maybe I really will stop typing now. (698 words...)

- Wenlan (701)

HEY LOOK. IT'S A POLL.

And you should take it.

click here.

- Wenlan

Take my survey please

a super short survey about the upcoming Harry Potter movie. click here. Thank you !

Language Survey

Speak more than one language (fluently)? Tell us all about it in this poll here.
(Humor us, okay?)

--Ji

13 Sides To Every Story

"There are thirteen sides to every story."

At least there are according to Hannah Baker, the dead girl.

Hannah baker is in high school... no, Hannah was in high school, she committed suicide... two weeks before you (as the reader) get to meet Clay Jensen, who was her classmate--he was kind of her friend, and apparently he had a crush on her... oh, and he supposedly was one of the reasons Hannah choose to end her own life.

What happens is that everyone who is in the tapes needs to end up listening them, and if the tapes stop circulating though these people before all 13 get them, then Hannah gave someone a second set of identical tapes, and if everyone who's on the tapes doesn't listen to them, then the person with the second set is supposed to let out the tapes for everyone to hear, which is the 13 people's motivation to keep passing the tapes on.

And Clay wants to listen to them because he is dying to know why his name is on the list of people somehow related to Hannah's suicide.

To see "Hannah's Reasons", a blog made by "hannahsfriend13", that has blog posts that follow the plot of the book, and audio-video recordings of "Hannah's tapes", click here. And to go to Jay Asher's website about the book (the website includes some of the same videos and attachments as the blog), click here.

OH yeah, and hey, I may or may not be doing NaNoWriMo... if I ever start writing something, let alone finish it...

- Wenlan

Insane Endeavor

Two weeks ago, I wrote a blog post about the sweat, tears, and caffeine involved in NaNoWriMo. But here’s a little tidbit I didn’t include: I myself am participating this year, and I’m not the only LASA student. Now that November’s arrived, you can hear the word “NaNoWriMo” sprinkled through various conversation in the halls.

I can, anyway. If you can’t, perhaps you’re not listening hard enough (which, in retrospect, is probably a good thing).

Some of the best motivation for this event, I’ve heard, is the knowledge that other people know that you’re trying this insane endeavor and the potential that those people will deem you a failure if you don’t reach the goal (50,000 words in thirty days). This is the reason that I’m announcing this in this post and why I recommend other participators do this, as well. (If you think this’ll motivate you, that is.)

So, if you’re reading this and you’re participating in NaNoWriMo this year, shout it out to the world (or the maybe three people that actually read this blog) and post it in the comments. Or, if you like, you can vote on the poll just to the right of this post.

--Ji

Quirky Useless Websites To Waste Time On!

    1. Do you ever get incredibly annoying songs stuck in your head? I know I sure do. What sucks even worse than that is when you have a song stuck in your head and you don't know the words. Thankfully , there is hope! If this sounds familiar, unhearit is for you!It gets the song you had in your head by playing an equally catchy song, so that song will replace the old song. Only problem is now you have another song stuck in your head! AHHH!

2.http://www.peopleofwalmart.com/ This is a sampling of crazy walmart goers. You can avoid getting on this website if you shop elsewhere. Really, shop elsewhere!

3. I had never really wondered what kind of interesting things are kept in eighteen wheelers. But, thanks to  truckspills.com I'll be up half the night.

4. listverse.com is like my new favorite website. Fascinating information in written in lists! And lots of them! 

5.  This is more pointless than a broken pencil:http://www.sometimesredsometimesblue.com/ Confused? Hit refresh a few times.

6 Wow. Funny. Sad. Different. kind of like FML but not necessarily bad http://www.onesentence.org/ 

7. I couldn't resist:) YOU JUST LOST THE GAME!

Caitlin