[Free] A Dream Deferred

A Dream Deferred

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore--
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over--
like a syrupy sweet? Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

 

     Instead of a free post this week, we are to write about what happens to a dream that is deferred, or put to the side.  I believe that a dream deferred stinks like rotten meat that you can't get rid of.  Let's say that this stink is in your house and it stays there forever. You can still go throughout your life without any problems, but the smell will never go away.  It will always constantly be there and remind you of that dream,and how you never achieved it.

     For example, one of the most sought after dreams in the entire world is to become a sports star.  However, this is one of the hardest goals to accomplish.  Let's take Bob as an example.  Bob grew up around football, and he loved to play.  Bob got really good and even got a partial scholarship to play at college.  Unfortunately, Bob never got drafted to the NFL.  His dream has failed.  Bob becomes a banker and it pays well so he decides to stay with it for a while. Bob is happy, but he still remembers how he could not achieve his true dream.  Every time he watches football on tv or talks about it with his friends, it reminds him of how he couldn't make it to the big time.  Bob's dream of becoming a professional football star will never be forgotten.  A dream deferred never goes away.  It will stay with you forever, deep down in your heart.

[RE] Boring?

I found this quote from Peter's Blog.

Everyone always says that Alameda is hella boring.

    I agree to this quote to a full extent. I like Alameda. I think it's a nice small city, but has all the essential things like grocery stores, and restaurants and things like that.  I agree with Peter when he says that Alameda is very relaxing and it's good that everyone knows each other here.  Also, Peter states "I for sure would consider coming back here when I have a family. I think Alameda is a really nice place to live with a family."  When I grow up, I want to travel around the country and experience the lifestyles of other states.  However, when I settle down with someone and want to start a family, Alameda seems like a great place to do so.  It is a great little community.
     Towards the end of his posts, Peter says the one bad thing about all of this, "Alameda is hella expensive."  This is so true.  I feel that there is not much that you can do in Alameda if you don't have money.  There are some public places like parks and beaches, but that is not enough.  Every major attraction in Alameda requires spending money.  One of the places that make the most money is the Alameda Theatre.  It is very expensive.  It is like eight dollars for matinee, eleven dollars for a normal ticket, and thirteen dollars if you want to see a movie in 3-D.  The restaurants around Park Street also make a lot.  Some of them have student lunch discounts, but their prices are normally unaffordable for the average high school student.  Alameda is great, but not easily affordable.

[CE] Quake

I just found this interesting news story.

Hundreds more feared dead after quake strikes the eastern Van province, causing buildings to collapse.

     An earthquake with a 7.2 magnitude hit Eastern Turkey.  It is estimated that around two hundred people died or were injured because of it.  Almost fifty buildings collapsed in the cities of Van and Ercis.  Helicopters were dispatched to scout out the remote villages in the area. The epicenter of the earthquake was in the village of Tabanli.  Rescuers worked hard to rescue everyone who was trapped.  Some families even tried to dig out their loved ones with their bare hands.  In Van, it is said that at least fifty people had to be taken to the hospital.  In Ercis, an entire dormitory fell because it was standing on a geological fault line.  There were also a few aftershocks after the initial earthquake.
     This story is very relevant to me. Living in California, there is always the danger of an earthquake going off at anytime.  Alameda is pretty close to the San Andreas Fault, where a lot of earthquakes occur.  Just last Friday, two earthquakes happened in one day.  They went off only about six hours apart.  My dad said that many small earthquakes is a sign that a very big one is on its way soon.  I really feel bad for the people in that area of Turkey.  I can't imagine what I would do if an earthquake that strong went of near me.  Knowing that an entire dormitory could be taken down from an earthquake really scares me.  Most of the day, I am in school, so if an earthquake did go off, I would most likely be in school, so I hope it's sturdy enough.

[Free] TBBT

     I just started watching The Big Bang Theory.  In my opinion, it is a great show.  The Big Bang Theory is a comedy series which showcases the lives of four physicist, and a girl who live across the hall from two of them.  The main focus of the show is Sheldon Cooper and Leonard Hofstadter.  Sheldon is one of the most briliant minds of the 21st century.  He knows everything there is to know about science.  He constantly corrects everyone and goes into way too much depth whenever anyone asks him a question.  Sheldon has super OCD or something like that.  He always gets super angry and starts twitching whenever he doesn't get his way. 
But the most significant thing is the love for his spot.  Sheldon never lets anyone sit in his spot.  It is his one unchanging aspect in a universe that is constantly changing.  In the show, Sheldon states, "  In the winter that seat is close enough to the radiator to remain warm, and yet not so close as to cause perspiration. In the summer, it's directly in the path of a cross-breeze created by opening windows there and there. It faces the television at an angle that is neither direct, thus discouraging conversation, nor so far wide as to create a parallax distortion."  Also, Sheldon pretty much has to emotions. Although curious, Sheldon has no intentions of having sexual relations with anyone, or what he calls, coitus.  Sheldon is my favorite character because he is so funny.
Well that was a lot about Sheldon...stay tuned for more on tbbt.

[RE] NDSSG

This is a nice post from David's Blog.

One show that was really amazing, but stop airing was a show called: Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide.

     This was one of my favorite shows as a kid and I'm really sad that they canceled it.  I think I have seen every episode they made for this show.  Ned Bigby, the main character, gives all of us kids helpful tips on how to survive school.  His two best friends are Jennifer "Moze" Mosely and Simon Nelson Cook "Cookie".  They go to James K. Polk Middle School.  It is kind of a fantasy school where crazy antics occur every day.  I one hundred percent agree with David when he states, "This show is very weird."  One of their friends is the Janitor, Gordy.  He spends all day streaming videos or trying to catch a pesky weasel.  This show also incorporates all of the middle school/ high school stereotypes. There are two main bullies.  Loomer and his two buddies, who harass Ned and Cookie every day, and the Huge Crew, who terrorize everyone.  Then there is Suzie Crabgrass, the sports star, most popular girl who Ned is desperately in love with.
     I can't believe they canceled this show.  From what I know, it was pretty succesful in its three seasons.  I guess the most logical reason is that the actors were getting too old.  The show's last season was when they were in eighth grade,so it would probably be hard to transition into high school.  This show was different from most other shows during the time.  I could really connect to it because it was all about school.  I loved all the tips that Ned gave us.  He had some very useful ones such as lockers and procrastination, but also some goofy ones like April Fool's Day and dodgeball.  Maybe there will be another show like this in the future.

[CE] Crash

This is an interesting news story.

     Former champion from UK dies from his injuries during a massive 15-car pile-up during Las Vegas Indy 300 race.

     A fifteen car pile up?  I have never heard of anything like that.  Dan Wheldon's car was sent up another car and hit the catch fence that protects the crowd.  Wheldon was only thirty three, and he previously was a series champion and won the Indy 500 in 2005.  Three other drivers were also injured during the crash.  Wheldon did not immediately die from the accident.  He was quickly airlifted to University Medical Centre, but his injuries were two severe.  He died about two hours later.  After hearing of Wheldon's death,  all the other drivers took a commemorable five laps around the track in his honor.  People say that this crash was like a scene out of a movie.  Parts of cars were found nearly halfway down the straightway of the track.  Danica Patrick, a famous driver, said, "It was like a movie scene which they try to make as gnarly as possible.''  Another said that it looked like a scene from a Terminator movie.
      Dan Wheldon was a legend.  It was a horrendous loss for IndyCar racing.  Driving is a very dangerous sport.  The cars are always so close together and one false move or slip, can easily cause an accident like the one that killed Dan Wheldon.  I'm very sad that Wheldon died, but im glad they did the five laps in honor of him.  But, it says in the article that the driviers had to manuver through the debris on the next lap.  So did they continue the race?  Because that would be pretty messed up.  I dont know the rules of racing, but when something like this happens, everyone should stop immediately.  I hope nothing like this ever happens again.

[CE] Hero or Villain?

This is an interesting news story.

At least eight people killed in hair salon near Los Angeles by man described as a former member of the armed forces.

     A man walks in a Seal Beach hair salon and opens fire on everyone in the salon.  Eight people were killed and others were injured.  This man is said to formally be part of the US armed forces.  Fortunately, the suspect, a forty two year old man, was apprehended by the authorities a few miles from the salon.  The local media reports say that the man was carrying multiple weapons and wearing full body armour when he attacked.  A witness said the man told the police he had rifles in his car and a knife in each of his pockets.  People believe that the reason for the murders is that the killer was in the middle of a custody battle with his former wife.  According to colleagues, the wife was an emplyee in the salon.  Sergeant Bteve Bowles from the Seal Beach Police Department states "We do feel confident at this point that we do have the single and only suspect in custody."
     I am always so sad to hear stories like these.  I don't see why so many innocent people always have to die.  What was wrong with this guy?  I mean, he was in the armed forces.  These people are supposed to be the heroes of our country.  The most respectable people there are.  But not this man.  He is a straight up villain.  Furthermore, this shooting was completely illogical.  The report does not say if he actually killed his ex wife or not, but what would that even accomplish?  He is going to go to jail so he won't get custody of his child.  All this man did was guarantee the custody to the ex wife.

[RE] Out of this World

I found this quote from Nick's blog.

All I want to do is hurt and kill people, but I'm not even mad at the moment. I don't like this feeling.

     I have been really interested in Nick's series of free posts lately.  I always look foward to the story he is going to write next.  Nick's free posts have been about different characters who stronlgy feel the need to kill.  However, they are kind of confusing.  For example, in your most recent post, Bellintelia, what is the main character? I just feel that you need better charcter development, even though it is just a short post.
     In Bellintalia, the main character is Bellamy.  Oh, by the way, what's up with your choice of names?  Bellamy, Iteria, Caterina.  They are so out there and weird.  Well anyways, back to the story.  I am assuming that Bellamy is not a human, but if he is, it is in a futuristic environment.  In the start of the second paragraph, Nick says that Bellamy is able to teleport right outside of Iteria's house, then directly inside it.  This portrays that either Bellamy is an alien with teleportation powers,  or that he is a futuristic human who had technology that allows him to teleport.  However, later in the story, Nick states that Bellamy's weaposin if choice is a knife, and that he is using an ipod.  These seem really old fashioned compared to the fact that Bellamy can teleport.
     Nick's stories are interesting, but they are pretty gory and graphic.  He describes how Bellamy teleports behind Iteria's dad, stabs him several times in the skull, then finishes with a stab to the throat.  A little overkill in my opinion.  Next, Bellamy grabs a lighter and burnd Iteria's mom's face in various places, stomps on her ankles, then beats her in the skull with a lamp.  Then, he goes to Iteria, picks her up by only the neck, then throws her back on her bed.  This next part I dont get.  Bellamy teleports to the kitchen, gets another knife, then kills himself.  Why did this happen? I dont know, but these scenes kinda creep me out.  Though I am looking foward to Nick's next free post.

[Free] SC2

     I have been watching a lot of Starcraft 2 videos on Youtube, and one of my favorite commentators, HuskyStarcraft posted a cople videos about new unit that will be added on to the game.  The object of Starcraft is to build the right units in order to defeat your opponent.  There are three playable races in the game,Protoss, Terran, and Zerg each with their unique advantages and disadvantages.  Protoss is my favorite race.  Bizzard, the creaters of the game, released sillouettes of new units that will come with Heart of the Swarm.  Heart of the Swarm is an extension pack to Starcraft 2, similar to Brood War for Starcraft 1. Below are the two sillouettes that Blizzard has currently released.  Unfortunately, so far, there has only been news of a new unit for Terran and Zerg.  Hopefully, Blizzard will also make a new unit for Protoss.

     This is the new Terran unit.  Terran is a human race, with both biological and mechanical units.  This new unit seems to be mechanical.  HuskyStarcraft believes that it is some kind of transformer.  There is a possible outline of wheels on the unit's back legs and shoulders.  Also, below its mouth appears to be a flamethrower, similar to another Terran unit, the Helion, which is a car with a flamethrower in the front.

    This is the new Zerg unit.  Zerg  is an alien race, which has only biological units.  HuskyStarcraft thinks that this could be a changed form of a Lurker.  The Lurker was a very powerful Zerg unit in Starcraft Brood War, and all the Zerg players out there would be very happy if they brought  the lurker back.  However, people who play other races think that Zerg is already too powerful and should not get a new unit.

     I am excited for the Heart of the Swarm extension pack, and I really hope they add in a new Protoss unit.

[BC] The Words of Jobs

     I agree with this quote to a great extent.  I get what he is saying when he states "help me make the big choices in life."  People should live their life to the fullest and make good choices so that when their time comes, they have no regrets.  Steve Jobs had cancer so he knew that he would die soon.  I feel that Steve Jobs made decisions that made him happy and made the rest of his life worth while.  Recently, Steve Jobs knew that he could no longer handle the job of being CEO for Apple, so he quit and passed the job to someone more capable.  "Because almost everything- all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure- these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important."  I completely agree with this quote.  People may live their entire life just trying to live up to expectations and never fail, or always maintain their pride and never be embarrassed, but what does i all account to?  Are people like this really happy?  People can not ever find true happiness if they are always trying to be what other people want them to be.  "There is no reason not to follow your heart."  This quote is exactly what I am trying to say.  People should just live their life doing what they love and what makes them happy.  If people think about how they are eventually going to die and let go of all their worldly concerns, they can truly be happy.
     If I started to follow this advice tomorrow, I would learn a lot about myself.  First of all, I am way too stressed out all the time. I spend too much time worrying about school, doing homework and getting good grades.  Also, I should stop thinking so much about how other people think of me.  I try to act perfect in front of people, but that's not possible.  Everyone has flaws and they are bound to show.  The people i hang out with should accept me for who who I am, and if they don't, then I should not be hanging out with them.  I would learn to accept myself and let go of all my worries.
     Advice that I would give to people about how to "make the big choices in life" is to just live your life.  Do whatever makes you happy and don't worry about what everyone else thinks about you.  When you are faced with a big decision, just go with your gut and follow your heart.  If you follow this, there is no way that you will make the wrong decision.  Steve Jobs quotes " Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose."  Don't just always think about the consequences of your decisions.  In the end, nothing even matters when you die.  Live life in the present and do not worry about the future.

[Free] Breakfast

     What do you guys eat for breakfast and how oftem?  I only eat breakfast on weekends.  I know i should be eating breakfast every day, but I just don't have time.  Lately, I have been going to bed really late because I have had so much homework.  Because of this, I wake up late and don't have time to eat breakfast before school.  Some of my favorite things to eat for breakfast are bacon, eggs, and cereal.
     Bacon.  Who doesn;t like bacon.  A crispy, meaty, stick of tastiness thats perfect in the morning.  It is an iconic item in breakfast places everywhere.  Bacon is eaten in many countries all around the world.  In a diner, or at home, bacon is the perfect breakfast food.  My mom makes eggs all the time.  Here favorite kind it scrambled eggs with chinese sausage.  While my mom's eggs are sweet and a little spicy, my dad's eggs are a little spicy and hard.  I greatly perfer my mom's eggs.  Another thing she likes to make are runny fried eggs that go great with toast. 
     Ahh...cereal.  Possibly the most eaten food ever for breakfast.  There is such a wide variety of cereal.  I just love it.  Some of my favorites are Frosted Flakes, Apple Jacks, and Cap't Crunch.  Although these are super sugary, sweet cereal, i also like the plain Corn Flakes.  I used to eat Corn Flakes all the time whenever I went over to my grandparents house.  On a regular basis, i would never drink milk.  However, I drink a ton of it when im eating cereal.  Breakfast is a great meal and I can see why people say its the most important meal of the day.

[RE] 85

I found this quote from Nick Collin's blog.

Are the New England Patriots treating Chad Ochocinco fairly? I don't think so. The Patriots are barley letting Ocho have playing time.

     I have to disagree with your opinion.  I feel like the Patriots are giving Ochocinco as much playing time as he deserves.  He has not yet earned his spot as a starting receiver for the Patriots.   He is just not the same wide receiver as he was on the Bengals.  Just two weeks ago, the Patriots played the Bills.  Chad was playing in the fourth quarter with about eight minutes left to go.  Tom Brady threw a perfect TD pass to Chad, but he dropped it.  The Patriots were able to later score a touchdown, but it took up five more minutes.  The Bills had just enough time to kick the game wining field goal as time expired.  If Chad Ochocinco were to catch that ball, the Patriots could have gotten the ball back and won the game. This strengthened the doubts on if Ochocinco could still be a top notch wide receiver.
     He was on the Bengals his entire career and now has to learn an entirely new play book.  New plays and a new play book is hard to adjust to in a short period of time.  Also, Chad is getting old.  As Nick said, he has been in the NFL for 11 years, and he is now 33.  Last season with the Bengals was one of the worst seasons of his career, even though he started in almost every game.  Nick said that in 2006, he lead the league in receiving, but that was five years ago.  He is not the same player now.  Hopefully, Chad Ochocinco will soon learn the team better and earn his starting spot.

[CE] Obama bin Laden

I just found this interesting news post.

     Obama administration contends release would harm national security in response to freedom of information request.

      Obama thinks that releasing the pictures of bin Laden after he was killed would damage national security and lead to attacks on the US.  It is said that the CIA found 52 photographs and videos of what happened the day he was killed.  Some argue that now revealing the pictures is a "political decision" and goes against the laws of freedom of information.  The Navy SEAL team that carried out the assault on bin Laden said that if the photos were released, it could put them in danger because they would be more easily recognized by enemy troops.  One man from the CIA said the photos might be too "graphic".
     I strongly feel that the photos and videos should be released.  So far, there has been no hard evidence that bin Laden was even killed.  The only people that were there was the Navy SEAL team that killed him.  They held a burial at sea for bin Laden instead of taking hid body back to the US.  The photos are the only real proof that he was actually killed.  Furthermore, I don't think that releasing the pictures would endanger anyone.  If terrorists know bin Laden is dead, then I don't think knowing the US showed pictures of his death would make them any more angry.  As for the Navy SEAL team, Obama could at least just release pictures of only bin Laden, and not the troops to ensure their safety and hide their identity.  Obama should just give the people what they want and show everyone the photos of bin Laden.