School and Stuff

Okay, school is getting to be relatively normal again after a slew of tests and papers. My sleeping habits are still a bit out of whack, but not terribly so. My Math Modelling class is getting weirder and weirder. We're trying to develop an algorithm, based on probability, for the show Deal or No Deal. I plan on basing my algorithm solely on the probability of Howie Mandel going on a murderous rampage. Scarily enough, the odds are one in five.

My Biology class is amazing. I love my teacher, he teaches so passionately and knows so much random information. We go out on these great tangents, and he's got so many good anecdotes and he has done so much great stuff, e.g. he helped write my ninth grade biology textbook. But what I love about his class is that it does so much more than just teach biology- I had to go back to the original works of Millikan and Rutherford. That stuff was difficult to understand but then I had to quote them appropriately in my paper.

My Book of Mormon class is crazy- my teacher is insanely intelligent, knows so much about languages and the Book of Mormon, and has truly taught me how to study the scriptures. There are little things that I'm figuring out and it's cool because when I read them and notice them on my own, it just adds so much for me to everything that I do. After all, the only reason I do it is because I believe the scriptures and I try and do all that believing the scriptures requires of me.

My Arabic class is really difficult. We speak no english, in 101. All the other 101 sections get grammar in english, but we have to get everything in Arabic. Admittedly, this is my hardest class, but it'salso my favorite class- it just seems so right to learn how to speak it. It's a beautiful language and, I'm learning more and more, a beautiful culture and religion. I've got my own copy of The Holy Qur'an with english translation and footnotes. Reading it sheds a lot of light on stuff I thought was weird but now I kinda get- not just about Islam, but about a lot of stuff. There are deep truths to be learned in many places, I have no doubt of this.

So that's my school update. I will soon (read:in a couple weeks) put up the entry about Classical Art and its Objectification of Women: How Hip-Hop doesn't really Objectify Women and Paula Zahn Needs to Stick to Reporting News and Not Making Issues About her Personal Tastes in Music.

I might need a catchier title.

What Happened to Jamestown?

I occasionally see links to marriedtothesea.com and i enjoy the less-odd site toothpastefordinner.com, but these two are worth looking at. I nearly died laughing from the "technologically superior but morally corrupt" bit. True laughter.




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Posts soon to come:
-Why classic art objectifies women
-School stuff updating
-Part one of my seven part series on this book of poetry by Jack kerouac that i really want.
-I need to go to target

BYU Confusion

Okay, so I was in my Math Modelling class early yesterday, and it was myself and two other guys talking about Valentine's day. It came into conversation some confusion that we had all experienced, and there were two specific situations that we discussed.

First situation- You see an extremely pretty girl and you're just checking her out, enjoying the view, and, in a few cases maybe approaching her and talking her up seeing what's going on. But, after a few seconds, you realize- she's pushing a stroller. With two kids. This is possibly the biggest dissapointment ever, however it can be matched and exceeded by the second case which was discussed.

Second situation- You see a very pretty girl- just her head, perhaps legs, but you miss the torso. She turns a corner and you get the full view- she's pregnant. How does this happen? I really don't get it. Like, you'd think pregnant women would look a little bit pregnant. I mean, my oldest sister doesn't look very pregnant when you just see her head. It really is confusing- I would guess it's a children of Mormons things, I dunno.

We discussed both of these at some length, and then pointed out that it was something like an optical illusion. I think that was the best way to describe it at least. But the point is- girls get married early. And then they confuse younger guys.

Right now I'm in the commons room on our floor. For some reason my room's internet jack is messed up. So I came in here. there's a conversation going on about early morning seminary- it's quite fun. I miss High school a little bit but not terribly so, but I've gotten over it for the most part. I'm excited about next semester- when all my the guys from Houston get here and it's gonna be kickin.

Okay, time for sleep.

Urgent Announcement

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is going to blow. This book is going to be the biggest letdown in all of publishing history. It will leave us more questions than it answers, and it will be a terrible end to the series. But you know what? J.K. Rowling knows this. I know this, and now you, by reading this know this. Don't understand? As Stephven Colbert would say, "Don't worry baby birds. I'll feed you."

Reasons why it will be terrible

1. It ends what has been a great series. Just ending the series is going to take it down ten notches. No one wants to see this end, especially the people who make the movies and print the books. But, it will end, and we will all hate it. Maybe not out loud, but inside we will wish Harry had gone to Wizarding Graduate School. And brought Hermoine. But left Ron.

2. There's so much anticipation for this book, there's no way it can live up to the hype. It's got too much to answer (spoiler alert)- What's up with Snape? What's Harry gonna do now? Is he finally going to find love/ be a man/figure out everything? Will Ron please die? What is the seventh thingy for Voldemort? More stuff about Harry's Scar, more stuff about everybody and everything- literally every answer we have has to be answered in this book, or someone will complain, guaranteed.

3. She's running out of things to do. She's richer than the Queen. Do you think her money feeds some kind of innovation oven in her head? Nope. She had a great last book, doing the best thing no one thought would happen, but now she's got no where to go. I'll give you a hint though: Harry doesn't die. Everybody is expecting it, which means, they're trying to predict her so they say, "Well then she won't kill him if we're expecting it, but if we're expecting that then..." and so on. But here's the news: he's not going to die. Why do I say this? Simply because that would be the worst way to end this series, and this isn't one of those eastern European films where the main guy dies and it's cool. She's writing for Americans and Americanized UK kids. They're not used to the important people dying, and killing Harry would put out any possibility for a movie version.

4. Even if it's not terrible, it won't be progressively better. Look at the difference between Order of the Phoenix and Half-blood Prince. There's no way we can get another great leap like that. No way in the world.

Now, I'd love for J.K. to prove me wrong. And if I am, I'll gladly eat my words. You can print them out and I'll eat the paper they're on. But, with my low standards, it'll be even better for me if it is good, or less terrible if it is (as it will most likely be) terrible.