YEAAAAAAAAAAA LES IS FAMOUS!!!! He even looks normal in the picture! Congrats Les!

EXTRA, EXTRA, READ ALL ABOUT IT!

Les, congratulations on becoming published before me; I will forever hold it against you!

Go here, if you have not read the essay published in Sunday's Herald.

Autism vs. Mannerisms

This week I was reading an article in Time magazine about autism. I found this article to be very intriguing because there have been many times when I have heard about autism and have not really had a clear understanding of what it is and the effect autism has. What I found to be the most interesting was the classic symptoms of autism "spinning, head banging, and endlessly repeating phrases.” I found this very interesting because head banging and spinning are also commonly found with blind or visually impaired children; only they are called mannerisms. I researched mannerisms for my argumentative paper; only I argued that mannerisms have a negative effect on deaf-blind children and therefore should be diminished as much as possible. I thought that it was great to be able to connect something I had done in the past and apply my knowledge of mannerisms when I was reading this article.

Cry, The Beloved Country

I don't know how many of you are taking the time so stay caught up on the reading, but I am actually finding it quite interesting. It is books such as this that remind me how much I have yet to learn about the world. I realize that I am too wrapped up in my own world, and I sometimes forget just how big the world really is. I spend too much time worrying about the little things, rather than things that really matter. It is very interesting to hear about the struggles in South Africa, because although I know they exist, I admit I do not know the details. I never realized that they faced many of the same struggles as America has faced over the years. I have learned, many times, about the famous bus boycott during the martin Luther King era, but I had no idea that the same boycott took place in South Africa. As I read through the chapters, I sometime completely forget that I am reading about Africa, for the same struggles took place here as well. Sophomore year in world history, I remember learning about things such as the Romans and Egyptians. Now, I am wishing that we had spent more time studying times closer to the present. At times, this novel can be a bit hard to decipher, but the knowledge that I am gaining is far worth it. If you have yet to take the time to do your reading, I suggest you start now. The information that Paton portrays is really quite interesting.

Time magazine

This week Time magazine had a special issue about 100 of the world's most influential people. A majority of the people are household names; George Bush, Oprah Winfrey, Hillary Clinton, and Condoleezza Rice, etc. However there were several people I had never heard about before; Mugtada Al-Sadr, Pervez Musharraf, Geoffrey West and Mukhtaran Bibi to name a few. All of these people have extraordinary stories behind their name. These stories are about how they are making a difference in the world and how they are influencing the world we live in. I read all of these stories with amazement wondering how one person could make such a large impact.
One story I found extremely intriguing was an article about Bill and Melinda Gates and the Gates foundation. This article talks about how the Gates Foundation is funding several projects and how they are making an impact on the world we live in. “The Gates foundation now funds more then a third of the worlds entire malaria research funding" There belief is that the each life has equal value. Jim Carter says “This is the must important foundation in the world."

Senior year

This past week, and especially today at the senior meeting, everything has become a lot more real to me in terms of the year ending. Now that prom is over, the halls are buzzing with talk of senior ball. Who will ask who? Where's the best place to eat? What are the groups? And so much more. Also, today we got the first details of graduation, jubilation, senior breakfast and all the other "senior" events. Until now, it honestly hasn't felt like high school is ending. Yea, I know I am going to UW in the fall, and I have made a lot of plans for next year. However, college has always seemed so far off in the distance. Now, it is just right around the corner. Not only are the number of school days left getting smaller and smaller, other things are ending too. Next Thursday is our last softball game if we don't move on to districts. This season has gone by so fast, it truly feels like tryouts were just a couple weeks ago, not a couple months ago. I always wondered why the seniors were always sad at the end of the season, and now I understand. I have been playing on this team for four years now, and it means a lot to me. It seems strange to think that next year I won't be out playing again. I believe i am ready for high school to end, I am ready to escape at least some of the drama, and to be in an environment where people are there because they want to learn. However, I am not ready to give up on the relationships that I have formed over the years. I hope I can stay close with people, especially those who mean the most to me.

Frank Lloyd Wright

I know the price of Success: dedication, hard work, and an unremitting devotion to the things you want to see happen.
Frank Lloyd Wright

Today I was looking at random quotes when I came across this one by Frank Lloyd Wright. I started to think about the meaning and I realized that this one quote sums up my senior year. Not only my senior year but who I am and what I have worked so hard to accomplish. This is a quote that represents everything I have done to become a senior; all the standards, requirements, every single late night I have spent studying for a test. This quote is about success and being the best you can possibly be, and never giving up. This quote is about reaching the impossible.

I think I will use this quote in my CE presentation.

Gas prices

Every day as I sit down to watch the news, I feel as if I am experiencing déjà vu when I hear the same story day after day: Gas prices have gone up again. We are breaking new records for gas prices every day and it is absolutely ridiculous. Every time I fill up, I am thankful that my car gets good gas mileage and i can literally go for a month without getting gas. However, I can't help but wish that there will be another fuel solution. Will we soon turn to bio-deisle? Will more and more hybrid cars be coming out that are affordable to the public. Will hydrogen be the fuel of the future? There has to be some alternative to the prices that are being thrown at us.

Although prices in the United states are high, i did a little research and found that European countries are actually paying a lot more than us.

"The Dutch have the dubious distinction of paying the most to fill 'er up, according to the U.S. Deptatment of Energy. As of April 10, drivers in the Netherlands were paying the equivalent of about $6.73 a gallon at the pump. The gas itself cost $2.61; the rest — $4.12 — represented tax. That’s a 158 percent tax. By comparison, the U.S. has the lowest tax on gasoline of any industrialized country: about 15 percent at current prices. Elsewhere in the industrialized world, the actual cost of gasoline ranges from $2.15 a gallon (France) to $2.61 in the Netherlands. But the after-tax price is $5.80 in France and over $6 a gallon in most other major European countries. Japanese drivers get off relatively easy: taxes there only push pump prices to about $4.50 a gallon."

This makes me feel a little better about our prices, but as I read on I see that some countries pay between 12 and 40 CENTS per gallon.
"The cheapest places to top off, not surprisingly, are in countries that produce the most oil. In Iraq, until recently, pump prices were capped at 10 cents a gallon. Prices have recently risen to nearly 40 cents a gallon — still a bargain compared to the U.S. Iran also keeps pump prices low — less than 35 cents a gallon, according to a recent Reuters survey.

I don't know what will come to us in the future, but I can only hope that we don't end up paying drastically more than we are now. It would be a miracle to go back to paying less than a dollar for a gallon of gas.

Here's the whole story:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12452503/

CE

Last semester I read everyone’s blogs that discussed CE. I want to know what the class all about and why everyone one always complained about the class and the requirements. The majority of these blogs discussed that feeling and views of the class. I really can’t remember any that were really positive. So I entered CE with a fear, that it was going to be terrible and I was going to hate every day until the end of the semester. I truly believed that it would be a huge burden that I would have to carry around for the last few months of school. The truth is I have actually enjoyed CE. I really don’t mind the paperwork and all the small steps required to journal the progress of my project. I choose to make a quilt; I have enjoyed every step of the process and have learned more then I ever hoped to learn.

Handful of Dust

Right now I am reading the book Handful of Dust. I have to be honest, this wasn't my first choice of books and, after hereing its description I thought it would be rather boring and dry. However, so far I have been pleasantly surprised by the plot and the characters. The book is a satire on the England's upperclass and I often find myself thinking "does this really happen?" and "Are there really people who act this way?" Believe me, usually I am NOT one to often enjoy books that I read for a class. Normally, in an occasion such as this, I would find my eyelids drooping after the first paragraph and have to seriously fight to stay awake. This time, however, the reading is going rather fast. I have been easily reading 50-70 pages a night. Just to give you an idea of the plot (without ruining anything of course) I will tell you that there has so far been a new love interest, a death, and many other interesting twists. I will definately be sure to let everyone know how the rest of the book is, but right now, I strongly recommend this book for people to read if we do another round of book groups. I hope everyone else is enjoying their books as well!

True Joy

For as much as I like all of you, nothing compares to experiencing my daughter. Tate Rose arrived early on Monday morning, 1:33. For the girls who are into all of this, she weighed 7 lbs. and 8 oz. and was 20 3/4 inches long.
I will see you in all in a few days. Remember to do your post for this week and keep up on your reading.

Congratulations!!!!

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. McNamar! I hope all is well with Baby Tate.

Einstein

I have always loved reading books about various people and their life stories. I find that I would rather read these books then the best selling fiction novel. I think its because I like to read about real life experiences and the impact people have made on the world we live in. A few weeks ago I finished a book about the creation of Google, now I have moved on to The New Quotable Einstein. This is a book with a collection of Einstein’s thoughts and ideas ranging from himself, his family, religion, war, science and mathematics to miscellaneous subjects. I have found the book to be extremely fascinating, even though this is not the first book I have read about Einstein. The book was collected and edited by Alice Calaprice with a forward by Freeman Dyson.

Clinton for president?

No, Bill isn't up for another term, and this is nothing like we've ever seen before. Hillary Clinton, our former first lady and current New York Senator might just be in the race for the 2008 presidential election.

WASHINGTON - Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is raising money like a presidential candidate even though she’s only running against poorly funded Senate opponents.

“It’s mind-blowing. She is raising money at a presidential level,” said Doug Muzzio, a professor at Baruch College in New York.

Considering that 2008 will be the first presidential election that we can vote in, I am quite interested in the idea of Hillary running for president. Think about it, the first time we vote could ultimately be the first year that our country has a female president. I have no idea who she will be running against, if she does indeed run, but in many ways, I already feel that I have a strong idea of her belief system. Actually, I probably know more about her viewpoints than I have known about other presidential candidates...and her campaign is still a whole two years away. One concern that I have, however, is that the voters will have a biased opinion of Hillary that was formed during Bill's years in office. She is not Bill, and she is bound to make her own decisions. According to the amount of money that she has already raised, I think Hillary might just have a chance of winning, and of becoming the first female president in America.

“I didn’t give her money for the Senate, I want her to run for the White House,”

If anyone wants to read the whole article, you can see it online at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12307755/

Google

A few weeks ago Time magazine featured a story about the creators of Google, Larry Page and Sergey Brin. I found the article to be fascinating so I decided to read a book that has been published about them. This book is tilted Google, it by David A. Vise and Mark Malseed. The first few chapters talk about the childhood’s of both Larry and Sergey and how they met at Stanford University. Were they later dropped out of graduate school to in their words, " change the word". These two men wanted to create a search engine that would organize information down to the smallest detail and put it on the internet. I was surprised to learn about the way they conduct business and the way they organize their offices. These two men rarely where suits, but can be found wearing black shirts paired with jeans and a lava lamp sitting a their desk daily. I like the way they approached their business, ideas, dreams and goals. I have yet to finish this book, but I have found every chapter to be extremely intriguing.

Varsity Softball

Today’s softball game was definitely the most exciting one we've played so far this season. In the first inning, we scored first and started strong with two runs in the first inning. After that, however, the other team started hitting and we made some crucial mental errors. Before we knew it, the score was 7-3 and we were down. However, despite the score and the early mistakes that were made, we still held our heads high for a great comeback. We ended up winning 9-8 and I am very proud of our team for never giving up. When we have gotten in situations like this in past years, we'd get behind and then give up. From the second that the other team's score exceeded ours, the game was over. However, this year we have a different team with a different outlook. We got into many sticky situations and there were multiple times when Snohomish had the bases loaded when the score was 9-8. We got through it though, everyone came together in the clutch moments and we did what needed to be done. I think every one of us who played tonight was reminded of the lesson that even when times are difficult, you should never give up. We didn't give up and it certainly paid off. Now, we have to get ready to face Monroe on Monday. With them, there will be no time for the early mental errors that we had tonight. After tonight's comeback though, I know that we can do just about anything.

Our coach recently found out that she has breast cancer, and she has had to miss a few days already. She had to miss today as well, for a funeral, but we said before the game that this game, this season was for her. I can't wait to see her tomorrow because I know she will be so proud of our efforts tonight. And for her sake, I hope we can keep winning, and finally make it to districts.

Gender Selection

"The good doctor was promising that with just a little sperm trafficking, he could conjure up an “easy” and “afford­able” future baseball player or blushing bride."

Every time I come in contact with expecting parents, I notice that they almost always say something like "Well, all I want is for the baby to be healthy, but I'd love to have a boy/girl." Of course there will be love for the child, no matter what its gender, but I can't deny the fact that I’ve seen a flash of disappointment cross the faces of new parents when they realize that the baby isn't the gender that they were "hoping" for. The question is, are parents willing to take the destiny of their child's gender out of Mother Nature's hands and into their own? Is it even ethical to scientifically change the sex of your baby?

"Through my ethical vertigo, I discovered what was bothering me: the doctor was using his medical degree to perpetuate the myth that happy families have an equal number of boys and girls."

The mother that wrote this lost her son when he was a baby, and she knows that it is indeed nice to have balance in the household between the genders, however, she didn't feel that it was up to her to make that ultimate decision.

This article really got me thinking, and I have decided that I would never scientifically change my baby’s gender, I think that we have to be happy with the person that our child becomes, because although we may be able to control this, we can't control everything. We simply have to let them become their own person.

What do you guys think? Should parents be able to choose the gender of their baby? Would you do it?

Child Bride

"Married at the age of four, an Afghan girl was subjected to years of beatings and torture, finally escaping to discover that within all the world's cruelty, there is also some kindness. "

This was a headline of a news story covered by Yahoo yesterday, March 22, 2006.
As I read these lines my heart sank. This was a story of a small girl subjected to horrible suffering and pain. Day after day she was treated like a servant, tending to an entire house hold of 12 children and a few adults. As I continued reading this story I was shocked time and again by tales of how this small child was treated. These are just a few lines form her story.

"They beat me with electric wires," she says, "mostly on the legs. My father-in-law told his other children to do it that way so the injuries would be hidden. He said to them, 'break her bones, but don't hit her on the face.'"

"When he came to the shed he kept asking me, 'Why don't you die? I imprisoned you, I give you less food, but still you don't die.'"
But it wasn't for lack of trying. Gulsoma said when her father-in-law finally let her out of the shed, he bound her hands behind her back and beat her unconscious. She says he revived her by pouring a tea thermos filling with scalding water over her head and her back.

This little girl now 12 is now living in an orphanage, where she is recovering from a life time of trauma and pain. I can’t believe that anyone would treat another person that way. I am so thankful that I have never been subjected to anything close to what this small child has been through in the first 12 years of her life.

If you would like to read the entire story for your self; go to Yahoo, news and type in Child bride.

Time Magazine

I work in an office, where we receive magazines on a daily basis. These magazines come free every month; it’s a way of advertisement for companies. They want patients who are waiting to see a doctor to pick them up and get hooked. Generally I just put the new magazines out, without much care to what they are. But recently I can’t wait until Wednesday when Time Magazine comes out. Although I do not personally agree with everything they talk about, I enjoy the magazine. Time covers a variety of different topics ranging from politics, what’s going on in the world, opinions, technology and what new, to health and science and the new coach bag coming out this fall. Each issue is full with information and news about the world we live in.

Sorry my post is late.

Monotony is BORING!!! We need something new on here.

After writing many scholarship essays, the Childhood and Media essays, and the blog week after week, I am sick of open ended writing. This bog especially drives me crazy because everyone writes about the same thing, even when we are supposed to choose something of our own. One person will post, then every post after the first is about the same topic. Nobody is original anymore. I try my best to come up with something original, but even then someone will come after me and write about the exact same thing. I don't know how you can stand to read these, Mr. McNamar, they are all the same. I get bored just looking at the titles, people can't even come up with their own title anymore. I am running out of things to write about because frankly, my life just isn't that interesting. I don't know if an assigned topic would help, because then everyone will still be writing about the same thing, and that is boring, but we definitely need something to liven up this blog. Thanks.