Barack you!

Check out this article and see if it's true in your area. Are teens really "baracking" each other?

Spread the Word to End the Word

Spread the word to end the word in the campaign set up by the Special Olympics. Visit http://www.r-word.org/ to see what the deal is about. The only way we can put an end to hatred is through tolerance and acceptance. Stop the ignorance!

On another note, check out Jamendo.com for some free music downloads of up-and-coming artists - they're great!

If you haven't yet seen the Hugs, Not Drugs video on this blog, check it! It's really powerful, coming from a 14 year old!

News. About my life.

Today we "celebrated" Earth Hour, a global cause that was started a few years ago. The main goal was to conserve some energy by turning out lights worldwide for 60 minutes. So tonight, from 8:30 to 9:30, my family participated. We basically spent the time talking with each other on our deck in the backyard, enjoying the fairly warm night. It was great to bond with my family, as most of the time, our schedules are too packed to do anything like this. It also got me thinking - people that were around before electricity/light bulbs must have been much closer to their families, and they must have also been more efficient during the daylight hours. Definitely an awesome opportunity to bond and get thinking. :)

Also, last night, we saw Monsters vs. Aliens. This is a children's movie, but in the theater that we were in, several couples were there, and in the almost empty theater, almost all of the people there were adults. The movie boasts an all-star cast, including Hugh Laurie, Seth Rogen, Rainn Wilson, and Reese Witherspoon. This cast really holds up the cute plot of the movie. I loved watching it. It's a great movie for kids and adults!

It's nice to have a chance to talk about what's been going on in my life for a change. Thanks! See ya!

PS:

Check out FastWeb.com for some really good college resources!

Drugs???

While viewing the Voices page, I noticed an article on drugs in high schools. Consider these facts from the government:

Marijuana use across the three grades surveyed has shown a consistent decline since the mid-1990s, but appears it to have leveled off. Past-year use was reported by 10.9 percent of 8th-graders, 23.9 percent of 10th-graders, and 32.4 percent of 12th-graders.

In 2008, 15.4 percent of 12th-graders reported using a prescription drug nonmedically within the past year. This category includes amphetamines, sedatives/barbiturates, tranquilizers, and opiates other than heroin. Vicodin continues to be abused at unacceptably high levels. Many of the drugs used by 12th-graders are prescription drugs or, in the case of cough medicine, are available over the counter.

Attitudes toward substance abuse, often seen as harbingers of change in rates of use, were mostly stable. However, among 12th-graders, perceived risk of harm associated with LSD continues to decrease. Additionally, perceived harmfulness and disapproval of marijuana and inhalant use softened among 8th-graders this year.

I wonder if illicit drug use/sales/abuse in high schools are really as bad as they seem from this? One of the local schools is dealing with a drug problem that the police are involved in at this point. At our school, it doesn't seem to be as bad as the facts make it out to be. But what about other schools?

This video is absolutely amazing - made by a 14 year old!

World Water Day

And one other interesting vid. Maybe this will make you think twice about eating that burger:

A new look....

Hope you like it!

Quite an amusing video...

They're sorry.

Fun links!

So, did anyone catch Obama's slip up on Jay Leno's late night show? He said he was awful at bowling, and compared his skills to "the Special Olympics or something". He later apologized to the Special Olympics, before the show was aired. He also invited some Special Olympics athletes to come bowl or play basketball in the White House with him. Here's an article about it.

Speaking of the Special Olympics, they have a new campaign against the R-word. Unfortunately, too many people believe that it's alright to describe something that they dislike as "retarded". The Special Olympics has started a movement to put an end to the ignorance. Here's their website.

Tomorrow is World Water Day! Help me campaign for Water for Life! Check out their site.

On a much different note, here's an interesting case of what appears to be extreme bullying. In my opinion, the school should have stepped in before things got to this point. See the article here.

Check out a new artist who's absolutely great: seanfournier.blogspot.com. He also has several free songs that you can download. :) Enjoy!

Have a great night! See ya!

No news

No news from me yet, but keep checkin back! I'll be updating...

PS: Have you checked out What Would You Do? on ABC? Tuesdays at 10. Check it out! It's a cool social experiment type thing...

Vegetarianism?

Apparently, several studies show that being vegetarian has its benefits. Check out this one about how vegetarians have higher IQs, or see this - being a vegetarian cuts your heart risk. What about this: vegetarianism leads to a lower risk of most cancers.

Pretty interesting... I've been a vegetarian for the past 5-6 years, and I've had barely any health problems - no high cholesterol/blood pressure/pulse, no other complications. And, my grades are pretty good. Are these studies just coincidence, or are they really true? Is vegetarianism really this beneficial?

More links about Daniel Tammet

Daniel's Blog
http://www.optimnem.co.uk/blog/index.php

60 Minutes Story on Daniel
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/26/60minutes/main2401846.shtml

Pi Day, Autistic Savants, and Acceptance....

3.14159265358979323846264338327950288.... and on, and on, and on. What's this? Pi, of course!

Today, 3/14, is Pi Day! Celebrate the irrational number that helps us calculate many facts about circles. Here are some links for fun Pi Day activities:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/bryantpark/2008/03/a_challenge_for_pi_day_write_y.html
http://www.piday.org
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pi_Day

Also, while learning about Pi Day, I discovered some very interesting information about a man who memorized Pi to 22,514 digits. Daniel Tammet is an autistic savant who has amazing abilities. Watch him in action below. Autistic savants are known to have amazing memories, trouble in social situations, and extreme abilities in certain areas. Daniel excells in math and reading.



Here is Daniel's website.

That sort of thing amazes me.

On a much different note, here is a very interesting/disturbing bit of news:

Here is an ABC story on the revival of the Ku Klux Klan. Watch the video on the case here (scroll down on the Recently on Nightline until you see Nightline Exclisives. Under there, click on "The KKK Reborn").

http://abcnews.go.com/nightline

I apologize for the huge gap between posts - things got pretty busy! I'm trying to post more often now though. TTYL!

Wow, has it really been almost a month?

I apologize for such a wait in writing another blog post! Things have been fairly packed...

There's a cold going around our school. Surprisingly, I haven't gotten sick - yet. *Knock on wood*. Check out this article on it.