The Seven Seas.

Showing posts with label debate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label debate. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Summer: Life's What You Make It.

I was kicked out of summer school.
Super rad, I know. Summer really has been rough. I can't seem to get it right. But that right there is quitter talk. I have too many people relying on my success to indulge in quitter talk.

So what am I going to do about it?
  1. Look into BYU summer school courses
  2. Call my counselor and let her know the awesome news
  3. maybe contact Edwards and tell her (? this option actually scares me)
What am I not going to do?
  1. Mope
  2. Get stuck on it
I am an immovable force of nature and honestly my summer school was really bad. My teacher wasn't there half the time and I'm pretty sure they had me help falsify documents. Also Major DB was exactly that, a major DB. I know that what's happened isn't good, I have three classes to fix and a limited amount of time to do so. I also have to find a mentor and figure out how I'm going to pass next year.

I really am better than this. I'm kinda super disappointed in myself because I F'ed up this badly.
This certainly isn't the end. But a good general knows when to make a tactical retreat.
So folks, this is your general, sounding the alarm.


\\.Jukebox.//
SHUT UP AND DANCE By Alexsipie

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"Wishing only gets you halfway, the other half is hard work." - The Princess And The Frog

Monday, June 15, 2015

Day Sixty-Three: Of Mind Melds and Fruit.





"Day (-------): Summertime Blues.
Hello and welcome to the ghost town that has become of this blog.
I promise I've not been dead, I've just been extraordinarily busy for the beginning of summer. I've been watching two kids, who are absolutely lovely. While also attempting to circumnavigate the awfulness that is summer school. (Pay attention in class kids, lest you become the seventeen year old with three classes to re mediate.) I've also been attempting to find a mentor for senior project.
I did, however, manage to write a blog post at the end of the year.
"Day Fifty-Three: Holy F*#k.
Today is an amazing day.
I'm more than a little proud that I am passing all my classes and my google history was not displayed for the entirety of Ipoly to see. It's been a beautiful, chaotic last week. Everything seems to be happening at a million miles a minute. That's okay though because we're figuring it out one day at a time.
A look back on the week includes
  • Another bout of habitual lateness
  • Two lovely migraines
  • The urge to commit homicide at least twice
  • Actually doing my homework ahead of time
  • And the feeling of hazy nostalgia of a year better spent trying
Yes, this year has been a wild ride (like I've written in every yearbook) and I didn't think that I could be any more content. Despite that, I am. I'm so pleased and I feel so damn elated that I was able to do better. I was able to make a huge improvement in my mental, physical, and emotional health this year. As well as my grades!

I'm incredibly proud of all my friends who did amazing things this year, I'm proud of the friends that I had and lost this year. Most of all, I'm proud of my survival. My Slytherin spirit and determination not to lose. Tooth and nail, blood and tears, thick and thin. It's been a magnificent year and I can't wait for my next big adventure.

(which you can conveniently follow over at Senior Year by Hunter Baugus)



Have fun and Enjoy Summer!"
See, wasn't that lovely? 
We'll return to regularly scheduled blogging soon enough. Once I get my head on straight for sure.

Have Fun and Enjoy Life."

Y'know it's pretty funny when I write several drafts and forget to post them because I've been so busy doing other things. Hi, blog that I've let fall into ruin, how are you?

I'm doing okay, been having pretty awful migraines as of late and I haven't really had the funds to have any adventures. I have, however, been able to work on my other blogs and social media. Fun stuff I know. I've also dedicated a small chunk of my life to Critical Role, a Geek and Sundry show about Dungeons and Dragons. The show features an array of voice actors and actresses and is just awesome.

I also had an adventure in child watching, which was fun. I got to take them on random travels and give them ice cream and not tell their mom. I felt like the super cool kid watcher for awhile and was able to get some summer school done in the mean time. I've also been in my constant struggle with Major Douche Bag, my evil summer school "advisor."
Over all it's been a pretty grand adventure for the start of the summer. I hope to get back to some semblance of a schedule with this blog, but I make no promises.
That's all from me folks, I'll see you in the next round.

Have fun and Be lazy.

\\.Soapbox.//
“I love to sail forbidden seas, and land on barbarous coasts.” 
―  Herman Melville

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Day Forty-Nine: Fitness and a Long Week.





It's my last week as a Junior.
Oh my what a year it's been! Plenty of ups and downs. Changes coming in from left and right. My first prediction of 2015 as a 'weird' year has been pretty accurate up to this point. I know at some point I was ready to call it quits, now I'm here.

What does this have to do with knitting? Nothing, knitting still hasn't happened. I'm scrapping the kitty hat until a better day arises. That does however lead us to to more changes. I'm switching up the tides.

First things first, Anime Tuesday is now Watch It Tuesday. Also It's been moved to Wednesday, therefore I dub it Watch It Wednesday [;)] Fashion posts are now being moved to Tuesday, and come summer I'll be doing more writing Wednesdays.
Yes, this horrendous year is coming to a close. From crazy groups to unexpected friends, this year has given me the full "Grown Up" treatment.

Rad. 

A little update on the whole workout/squat challenge thing. I feel better because I'm getting deeper, more restful sleep. Working out has become a huge steam burner, so if I'm angry or anxious, I just workout and feel a lot better. It feels good to be active and actually doing something. I never thought that exercise could be fun, but hey, I'm wrong a lot.
My mom has put a rule on me for the summer, I'm required to leave the house four times a week this summer. Where and who I'm going to be going with is up in the air. If you have suggestions for an outing, let me know.  I'm also not allowed to sleep until noon, so basically I'm not supposed to enjoy my summer downtime. 

I think that explains most of what's been going on recently. Hopefully you'll understand my absence. 

Have Fun and get wild.
\\.Jukebox.//
An Awfully Big Adventure.. By Me!

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“Never fear quarrels, but seek hazardous adventures.” 
― Alexandre Dumas, The Three Musketeers


Monday, May 25, 2015

Day Thirty-Eight: Mr. School Systems, Tear Down Those Tests.



Standardized testing has become the bane of every student's existence. Come testing time, you'll hear a cacophonous mixture of groans and heads thumping against desks. Both student and teachers hate testing with a passion. Thanks to John Oliver's segment on testing I have more reason to hate the damn things beyond the fact that they're stupid. Edwards (My chic English teacher) assigned us a "Build a Better School" project. One of the facets of this project was to talk about testing. I may have gone a little bit overboard. Below is the small essay I wrote for that bullet point, that got rejected.
"The reasons behind our dis involvement with standardized testing are as follows.
The standardized testing industry is exactly that, an industry. Pearson Education is the largest distributor of standardized tests. They control over 40% of the testing market. They have had a spectacular business as of late, even though they have had countless complaints filed against them. Giving students a test that doesn't benefit them, while wasting time teaching for that test in class, seems like a pretty bad idea. All for a business to maintain its projected growth? At what cost does this business operate. To my knowledge it’s at the cost of teachers and students. Both who could better spend that time learning. Whose time is better spent preparing themselves for higher education and a successful life.
The standardized tests such as smarter balance testing have been the subject of walkouts all across the nation. Nathan Hale high school in Seattle saw an entire class of juniors refuse to take the smarter balance test. Meaning, any resources put forth to administer said test would be wasted. Once again standardized tests waste time and resources for schools who may not have money to waste.

These tests also have extremely negative impact on students. Causing major anxiety and in some case actual physical harm. On standardized test in Ohio actually has instructions on what to do if a student vomits on their test. The test also reflects negatively on students who may be passing their classes, but don’t test well. One such incident happened in Florida with an eighth grader who was taking an AP English class. She was asked to leave this class that she had outstanding grades in all because of her score on the FCAT."
I had no conclusion because it was already to long and I'm pretty sure at that point I was ranting. Go to Business Insider to see where I got parts of my information. As well as watch John Oliver talk about the subject much better than I do.

Have Fun and Testing is dumb.
😎

\\.Jukebox.//
Little bit of something.

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"Failure is always an option."
-Adam Savage

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Day Thirty-Six: Long Days.

Guess who still hasn't watched any anime?
I've read tons of BL manga though. (Curse you BL provider!) 

I might be opening an age old can of worms by delving into this topic. I'm running out of anime topics to cover that don't directly relate to shows. 




The first thing you have to know is what's the difference? Any long suffering anime fan will tell you that "Subs are so much better and they are the only way to watch 

anime.*flippy eye roll hair thing*" Any overzealous newb will tell you "It doesn't matter because anime is so freaking awesome!!!"  (look for them in the age range from 12-14.)  The actual facts are something you'll get to decide soon enough.
Back to the topic at hand, what do these strange words mean Hunter? I'm glad you asked.

Sub is an abbreviated word for subtitled. Commonly subtitles appear on foreign films (if you live in a primarily English speaking country, like America.) and they'll often show up on anime. Subtitles allow the original words to be translated into another language and transcribed, so those with hearing disabilities can still enjoy the media. Subtitles are often seen as scary by people who are not familiar with them, and depending on the show, they can run a little fast. ( I attribute my ability to read 200 words a minute to watching anime and foreign films as a child.) Subs also allow quirks in language to be displayed for the audience. 
I mention the 90's Sailor Moon a lot.
Sailor Uranus was dating Sailor
Neptune. When they re-dubbed it
they totally erased they're relationship.
Because two girls being in a relationship
was totally impossible, right??! (Sarcasm)
Dubs are actually misnamed. The process of adding voice to a type of media in post is called dubbing. When people are talking about an anime that's been "dubbed" in English, they're actually talking about an anime that has been re-dubbed in English. At it's core a dub is a type of media that has been taken from it's original language into a new language with new voice actors. My favorite instance of a re-dub is Snape from the Spanish Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Dubbing has many perks such as getting to hear a new performance of your favorite characters, not having to read while trying to focus on the action, and funny mistranslations. 
More often than not you get a bad dub. (Looking at you 90's Sailor Moon, The original Full Metal Alchemist, and you Naruto.) When the dub is so awful it actually changes the storyline or causes a lot more confusion than needed.
What's my opinion? I tend to watch more subs than I watch dubs. I like being able to appreciate the actors performance with the original creators intent. You never really know how involved the original creators are in the making of a dub. I also find it distracting when the animation doesn't sync up with the English dialog. That's just my personal preference. While I'll watch most of my anime subbed, I love the Host Club dub. 

Hopefully I haven't polarized my audience that hard and you're still with me by the end of this. Special thanks to Tv Tropes for having an amazing, detailed article on the age old argument. (Link to said article here) 
I've gotten the okay from Brian on Log Horizon. I will definitely be watching the show soon, but I want to get through some of the other anime on my list before I tackle it. Edwards has highly recommended Toradora for anyone looking for something to watch this weekend. The twenty-five or so episodes are a quick watch, so said she. It's on my list.

Have fun and get watching.
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Cute things make me feel better when I'm sick.

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“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” 
― Ralph Waldo Emerson