Second Ever Poetry Special!

Sweet Submission

Sleep lures me with her calm breezes, her inviting touch.

“Come,” she whispers, “rest your weary head.”

A drop of sweet blackness trickles down my tongue.

“Leave me temptress, for I am only closing my eyes.”

She laughs.

“Foolish mortal, you kid me not.  Why resist your desire?”

“Because I must work! I must perform. I must satisfy…”

“Give me your burdens, child,” coos the goddess of relief,

“Retreat to your dreams, collapse into quiet oblivion.”

I cling to consciousness with my remaining strength,

Yet I know it’s in vain.

So I curse the blessing as my world fades away,

But not before I notice

Her sly smile of triumph.

The Big Questions

          I have no idea how the study of science can cause anyone to cease believing in God.  Because when studying science, you discover that simple chemicals and compounds work in simultaneous and automatic harmony to create and maintain everything  that exists.  And to me that's incredible and only leaves me in awe of an awesome Creator, who gave everything a system, everything a purpose and everything a partner so that LIFE beautiful LIFE could occur.  And these aren't just basic logical systems, but are complex formulas consisting of millions of tiny parts all somehow able to coexist and function.  Now no one can doubt that a species uses natural selection and evolves. If that wasn't true than all people would look the same and a species would look the same as it did millions of years ago.  It frustrates me when people automatically mistake the process of evolution for the Evolutionary Theory that states that humans evolved from primates, which evolved from some other creature.  You CAN believe in evolution (the changing of a species through natural selection, which is obviously exists) while at the same time believing that God created everything.  While the Evolutionary Theory is logical, there are some some huge and discrediting holes.  For instance, if everything evolved out of the want and need to survive then what about emotions?  Sure, love can be explained by the need to reproduce and protect the species, envy and ambition by the need to win and get resources to survive.  But emotions like sympathy, sadness, and self evaluating my cause us to sacrifice, an action that, in theory, would hurt the species.  And the complexity of genes, personalities, and desires would never be necessary when the need was to simply sustain life and not enjoy or experience it.  Scientists themselves are now discovering that DNA and other systems are so complex that the likelihood of them evolving to that level in the amount of time the Earth has existed is slim.  So while I sit in biology class and learn that every protein  is extremely diverse and complex, but are constructed of just twenty different acids, I don't think that's an accident or a coincidence of any sort, but the handy work of my Father. 

A Little Venting Never Hurt

          Wow, yet again I'm balancing on the edge of fulfilling another stereotype.  I'm actually blogging because I'm angry, like some angsty teenager hidden away in the basement.  But I'm not angsty, just angry, and I am not in a basement, but in a well lit room, which, I must add, is painted pink, if that can tell you anything.  I'm blogging to say it's hard to be a decent person, especially when emotions like anger cloud your mind.  I'm upset because some things were said about my extremely good friend by someone I didn't know, and who didn't have a clue about the situation being discussed. And worse yet, it was on that abomination we call FaceBook, for people like me to see and get violently pissed.  You have no idea how close I got to writing this witty, disapproving comment that would give her a piece of my mind (causing me to fill another stereotype of having prissy word fights on FaceBook. By the way, those things are hilarious to read if you're not the one invoved).  But I decided to talk the friend in question first, but when she couldn't talk I was left to think more about what I would say.  Then the annoying "Don't stoop to her level" thought burst into my head and I knew it was right. If I had said similarly mean things to her, wouldn't that just make  me the same rude, ignorant person she was ?  Even if I had reasons for what I would say, hurt is hurt, all the same.  BUT IT'S HARD.  I know an eye for an eye makes the world blind but losing an eye hurts. And hurt brings anger and anger brings the desire for vengeance.  It's a cycle.  Breaking the cycle is unnatural, against our instincts even. For once I wish I could flow comfortably in the cycle, without morals and guilt holding me back.  Well I guess I feel better now that I've worked through it here. I think that's why people blog when their angry.  It forces them to look at the situation from the reader's angle, and assume that the reader would want them to do the right thing. Thank goodness I worked that one out, sorry you all had to endure my thought process.  I hope you at least had an anger-free day! :)      

That Four-Letter Word

          Love. *GAG* Eww gosh am I really blogging about love? Have I allowed myself to be reduced to the overemotional, hormonal teenager that stereotypes me from every angle?  Maybe, but I definitely haven't crossed that line just yet.
         See, love doesn't have to be romantic to be powerful.  Maternal love drained The Dark Lord of his powers for Pete's sake! (Yes, I have been dragged into Harry Potter.  Goblet of Fire, you're up!)  But here, by powerful I mean able to influence someone into actions normally unconsidered, or able to provoke emotions that could not exist without love.  Romantic love I know nearly nothing about, but I have loved people, (meaning other than family) and the depths at which they have hurt or affected me can only be explained by the fact that I truly loved them.  I am not "in love" with these people, but simply love them, in the literal sense of the word.  The dictionary basically defines love as "a strong affection" for someone.  But I would define love as a strong affection paired with a kind of obsession with the well being of the person and their feelings towards you.  Love hurts, enlightens. inspires, and captivates you all at the same time.  Only love can keep you up at night with only one thing on your mind.  Only love causes some actions to be preformed.  And without love, the world would be a completely different place, if it existed at all.

A Gold Mine Untapped

          At what age does your opinion stop mattering? What is the age limit for some one to contribute to society? After what birthday are you dismissed as "the elderly? What annoys me is that just because an individual can't function as easily as a younger one, people automatically judge them as having lesser value. Shouldn't people who have lived longer be cherished for their knowledge and experience? It seems that we shove "the elderly" aside and focus only on what's good for ourselves.  What happened to the term "respect your elders?"  When did it become "stash anyone over 70 in various forms of confinement and regard their input as inferior?"  No matter what age you are, we are all humans and all hold the same value.  If we turned away from ourselves and sought advice from a more experienced individual, we might just find that they can help us more than ever imagined.  Lets start to show respect for all people, no matter age, race, sexuality, beliefs or any other individualities.

The Little Things

          I find it fascinating how the smallest things can make us so happy.  A great song, a simple memory, a sweet treat, or the fact that someone is there for you can brighten up any day.  Tomorrow I leave for a trip with my church, similar to one I took last year.  After last year's trip, I made it a point to write everything down.  I read it all last night and remembering the times the group had gave me that wonderful, nostalgic, happy feeling in the bottom of my heart.  Now I'm even more excited for this year, and determined to give the newbies similar great memories.  I'm so young and have so many more great experiences to live, that I bet my memories and the feelings they bring can't hold a candle to the ones to come.  Until they do, I'll just keep enjoying the little things. :D  

Get Your Head in the Clouds!

All my life people have talked about dreams. Not the dreams you get when asleep, but aspirations and goals in life. Everywhere I went it was "Follow your dreams!", "Dream big!", "Let you dreams take you places!" And for a while, I was worried. I didn't have dreams, I didn't know what I was going to do in life. I had a general idea, but nothing to "chase." All I was concerned about was getting through a cruddy fifth grade year, which only shot down the little dream-lettes sprouting in my brain. It felt like having a dream got you in a special club, and being excluded was strange and uncertain. But when I was given oppurtunities to discover and practice my strengths and passions, ideas and goals began to take shape. See if you truly want to chase your dreams, they must be firmly rooted in some type of strength or talent. So if you don't have a dream, start living life to the fullest, find your passion and dream on.

This Made Me Happy

He likes to put the cute little flowers in his cute little mouth!  Thanks http://squee.icanhascheezburger.com/ for this awesome picture!

Beautiful Evening

Have you ever noticed how the clouds seem to shift to one side of the sky when the sun sets? It's like they know the day is ending and need to drag their sleepy-eyed cloud toddlers home to bed. Some clouds are slower than others. Maybe their cloud child had a temper tantrum and refused to leave the bright blue sky for the warm dark night. Some are faster, possibly quickly yanking their nine year old cloud kid by the ear straight home to wash his mouth out. But some mozy along at a steady pace, holding their child's hands and swinging them in the air as they walk, or ,rather, float. Tired mama clouds carry the early sleepers towards the melting sun's warmth, and daddy clouds lovingly listen to their daughters' elaborate decriptions of the events of the day. Across the sky the scene unfolds, painting a spectacular view for the mortals below. With the sun and the sky and the harmony of the earth, how can God be absent?

Remember When...

Remember the days before Facebook, or when you weren't allowed to do anything cool on the Internet? What did we do? We played games. And used email. Back then, email was the coolest thing ever, and we were all introduced to the forward message. I hate forward messages, the irk me. I can think of a hundred better things you could be doing than sending, or creating, a forward message. Anyway, the days when people under 20 communicate through email are over. No one ever asks for you email, now all you need to do in order to connect with them is to remember their name and look them up on Facebook. It seems strange looking back and rmembering the days when no one needed social networking. They simply put themselves around people they wanted to talk to and avoided ones they didn't.b now it's so much more complicated. Social networking and other tools are good, but only until they create more problems than they solve. I would not be surprised if that day ever came.

The Art of the Swear

          Ahh the swear, the cuss, the profanity.  So powerful, yet so often over-used.  The variety of frowned-upon words is astounding, each one with its own special meaning.  Yet these meanings are often overlooked, and most swears are put under the category of "uttered under breath, but sometimes louder, when something undesirable happens".  Those poor cuss words, they must get sad when they ponder their lost individuality.  The also must get tired from being thrown around willy-nilly all day, some speakings not even worth the smallest word's time.  But when used correctly, and sparingly, I find that the swear word can add a lot to a piece of writing.  Depending on the situation, when a character speaks a profanity, and which profanity he proclaims, can reveal some in depth information on the characters thoughts.  If the character Johny curses like a sailor at the drop of a china plate, you can assume he is very short tempered, impulsive, and probably struggling with something other than a broken piece of dinnerware.  See? Insightful.  The well placed cuss word can also add some humor to your writing. The unexpected splash in the middle of a sentence can keep the reader entertained and excited.  This is by no means encouraging course language, but if you're going to do it, do it right.  

An Observation

Has anyone else noticed how many times Spongebob has appeared to have lost his mind? There's the time when he couldn't remember how to make a crabby patty, the time he would only stay indoors, the time he threw the peanut at the giant clam, the time when "Musical Doodle" took over his life, and I'm pretty sure there's a coulple others. This either shows that there's something seriously wrong with the writers of Spongebob, or that I watch too much of the show. I think it's a little of both.

Life Lessons from Tetris

          If you've never heard of Tetris, click here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetris because it's annoying to explain.  If you want to play Tetris, click here http://www.tetrisfriends.com/games/Marathon/game.php?ref=from-homepage-ad because it's fun.
          Okay, so now that you're educated, let me tell you some things about Tetris.  I love to play Tetris, and the iTunes app is definitely worth the money.  Placing the colorful blocks in order to gain the most points is surprisingly addictive.  I've been playing Tetris on car rides since I was like seven, (the blocks were not always colorful) so it's pretty familiar to me.  What I've noticed, especially when playing the app, is that they tell you the pieces you're getting next on the side.   But who the heck uses that!?!?!  It could probably be extremely useful but, you're so concentrated on putting your current piece in the right spot, that you could care less about knowing what's ahead.  And yup, you guessed it, them there's the analogy.  I know that I definitely get caught up in the present and forget to look towards the future.  Then the future pops up on the top of your screen and you're like, "Woah, how the heck do I deal with that?!", and you wish you would have planned for it before.  Planning for, and looking towards, the future can be highly beneficial, so although I'll probably never use it in Tetris, I'll try to look ahead in life.

Video Games: Bitter Sweet

          Video games are great.  I love to play video games, like most people, but I would not call myself a gamer.  Part of that is because I have a Wii, nothing more, and the most violent game we own is Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Which I rock at, Pit owns).  And while I'm sure the video game industry creates jobs and all that, I think that an immense amount of talent, especially in young people, is wasted because of them.  I can almost guarantee you that half the guys in my school could raise their grades if they spent a little less time gaming and a little more time concentrating on homework.  Great, now I just sound like a crabby mother nagging at her brain-washed child.  But imagine the art, science discoveries, real-life friendships, and even exercise that could occur if we put, not just our controllers down, but our laptops, Ipods and phones down too.  Now I have done yet another transformation, now turning into a hypocrite.  Hey, old habits are hard to break, especially when technology makes more and more advances to keep us coming back.  Well, with any luck they'll find some unrealistic reason to keep off technology, like trans fats or something, and we can make the jump back from virtual to actual life.   

Things Remembered (Not the Store) and Dirty Laundry

Have you ever looked back on an event and were surprised at the bizarre part that your mind chose to remember? I know I have. I'm completely blanking on some examples now, but I know I've thought that to myself before. I wonder what process the brain goes through when selecting a memory. And imagine the power we would hold if we mastered it! But one thing about what an entire culture chooses to "remember" by passing it down to the next generation is that it is more often then not positive. I mean really, I am just entering high school and you would think that by now I would have had a proper lesson on the Holocaust, or the Vietnam War. And wasn't there a Korean war too? Now I know we shouldn't go around giving little children nightmares about Hitler, but it seems society is trying to block the memories out, to forget these failures or tradgedies ever occured. All that's left of them are bad airs to the words "communist" and even "Germany" "North Korea", and "Vietnam". I didn't even know what communism was until seventh grade, but some how the negetive vibe of the word had been with me, it seemed, since birth. And communism as a philosophy wasn't even the enemy! Our cultures attemps to cover up history's mistakes are skewing the understood facts. Please, just give everything to me straight up, it's saves you alot of trouble including future chewing outs like this one. Never doubt the cunning of the next generation, dirty laundy can only sit so long before it starts to stink.

A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words

          Everyone has heard that expression, and I think most people agree.  The statement seems the most prevalent when talking about history.  Now, I am most certainly not a history buff, so my opinions expressed on this topic may be pretty skewed.  But, when focusing on a time period, especially one in the 20th century, I identify it by famous photographs of that time and derive my own mental picture and understanding of the culture from there.  But that gets a little more difficult the farther you go back in time.  Then you look for other visual representations of the time.  These could include theatrical works (Shakespeare and the Elizabethan Era come to mind), faces, such as Caesar's, on various forms of money, or works of art made in the time period.  I believe that the clearer the visual representation of the time period, the clearer the general public's understanding of that age is.  Not much art or anything came out of the Dark Ages, so perhaps that is why it is hard for me to picture it.  We have a very clear understanding of times in Egyptian history, and I think the sculpture and painting of the time period are one of it's central contributors.  I wonder what people generations from now will think of our representations.  I think we better start cleaning up our act before we send the wrong message to our grandchildren.  

The Office

          Yes, The Office as in the show on American cable.  I love that show, especially the character Micheal Scott.  He makes me laugh.  I wish I could write his script and storyline.  He's so socially oblivious that making up his various charades would be hilarious.  You would just have to go down the list of "don'ts" in life and make a story about them.  Everything you wish you could do, or say, that you know would be completely unacceptable, you could just have Micheal do it for you.  Feeling angry about the state of the government?  Have Micheal write a letter to his Congressman about his lack of recognition in the work place.  Infuriated at the rude comments that come from peoples' mouths?  Micheal will happily take your anger out on Toby.  Disappointed that an appropriate time for your dirty joke hasn't arisen?  Simply write in a classic "that's what she said" for Micheal to blurt.  Oh yes, the episode when Micheal left was VERY emotional, as many are sad to see him go.  He is truly a character that cannot be matched, but I'm sure the producers will think of something to keep us crawling back for more.
   

Get Real!

By the way, HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY EVERYONE (American)!!!!
         
          You know what really bugs me, and probably allot of others?  Fake people.  You know what I'm talking about, those people who parade around for attention, acting in a completely different way then their true selves, just to get that extra look, even if its an angry glare?  Yeah, that irritates me.  And if you know me, you know it takes allot to get completely on my nerves (unless you're a sibling).  And I don't think its the actual people themselves that annoy me, but the way they chose to act.  I mean really, just because you can afford Ambercrombie and Fitch doesn't mean you need to fit the "rich mean-girl (or boy)" stereotype and start shooting people down left and right.  But the most obnoxious thing that these people do for attention is disrespect authority or an adult.  I know if I did that in front of my parents, my dad would throw a fit, and I'm sure theirs would too.  Would someone please explain to me the benefit of disrespect?  Although getting yelled at is attention, I doubt its the kind most people crave.  Oh well, people will be people.  I'm just glad I don't have to worry about living a double life.

The First Ever Poetry Special!

          Here's a poem I wrote about a year ago that I felt like sharing.  I love to write poems, and although this one's pretty simple, it's one of my favorites.  I like to think of it as a motto for this blog.

Thanks

I wonder who will read this poem.

Who would read my work if I didn't even know em'?

Sometimes I wonder who will care

About my views, the things I share.

But I'm glad you care enough to have read

This collection of words my mind has shed.

So before you let this slip your mind,

Remember my thanks for being so kind

Listen Up!

          Have you ever noticed how incredibly hard it is to listen? Sure, we can hear and remember things, but when was the last time that something you were listening to took your ENTIRE focus?  And especially when you're in a conversation, you're always thinking of your response, never fully engulfed in what the other person is saying.  This habit is particularly noticeable when listening to a friend preform.  No matter what, you always intently listen for a mistake, and don't even try to deny it.  And that's terrible! Why do we look for the bad, but glance over the good?  Why do we care more about what we say instead of what we can learn from others?  Chances are the person you're talking to isn't fully listening either.  Sometimes I can't even fully enjoy an experience, such as a concert or party etc., because I think too much about how I might respond.  FaceBook has made this even worse for everyone, because now all we think about is a clever status to post about the experience instead of living the moment.  But,  I will tell a funny story about a time I was trying to listen really well.  So, I was sitting in math class, you know how that is, listening very intently to the directions for a standardized test we were taking, because I didn't want to screw anything up.  Our teacher finishes by saying, "And then, when you're finished, you may s*** quietly."  Obviously he meant to say sit, so I was the only one to hear his mistake, and I burst out laughing.  This man is one of the most obnoxious people on the planet, so he turns to me with the strangest look and says "Are you okay?", and I stumble on my words trying to answer.  Needless to say I was smiling through most of the test.  Maybe it wasn't that funny, but it goes to show listening can be rewarding.

Some Cool Sites to Keep You Busy While I'm Gone

          Ok guys, so I leave for camp later today, and I'll be away until Friday.  So, if you really need something to do instead of reading my posts, here are some cool web-sites to check out.  I visit most of these often, and a few I found recently.

http://www.teefury.com/
http://cheezburger.com/sites
http://www.onemorelevel.com/
http://www.nitrome.com/
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/04/28/really-stunning-pictures-and-photos/
http://www.lostateminor.com/
http://www.viewshound.com/

Passion

          Passion is an extremely strong feeling that motivates people like no other.  I'm surprised DC Comics didn't include passion in the eight emotions that fuel each super-galactic protector corps' rings.  If someone has a passion for something, they are willing to preform tremendous actions or work their whole lives for that one goal.  Passion has lead to all of the world's greatest accomplishments, including every space mission, technology achievement, art masterpieces, and business.  Curiosity also assists in these conquests, but they all start with that special desire.  Passion is at its best when goals are achieved after genuiene hard work and determination.  My aunt owns a small business, and for years she had saved money, worked multiple jobs, and clocked long hours to get it off the ground.  And when tough times hit, she just kept moving, paid her employees, and took the burdens on herself.  Now, I hear of great big companies wanting to expand and employ her business, and my admiration for her grows with every story of success, and struggle.  Here is a woman who followed her dream, didn't wuss out, and stuck it through.  Everyone should learn from her, or any other hard working individual, and know that with passion, determination, and hard work, dreams really do come true.

Oh no, where's my flow!?

Flow. Noun. The state of a person's, usually a male's, hair when all curls are absent and his hair sweeps across his forehead.
Yup, flow. It's all the rage. It's every guy's goal to have it. The hair flip (noun- the sideways flick of the neck that causes hair to fall to one side)is flow's sidekick, and together they fight the crime of out of date hair styles. Yet most parents are anti-flow and pro-neat-and-tidy. Which introduces flow's arch nemisis- the hair cut. Or maybe even flow's eternal deadly opponent known as the buzz cut. Teenage boys tremble at the mention of either, and will whine with all their heart to avoid the barber's wrath. I think a barber as a super-villain is a pretty amusing mental picture. Can't you just see the utility belt, filled with five differnt kinds of scissors, a buzzer, and that annoying little brush thing that gets the hair of your neck? (If your not like me and are actually talented at art, feel free to post a scketch of this ravenous monster) But in this comic book, it's the villan that usually wins. Do not fear my friends! In about three weeks, our hero will return until he once again faces the inevitable.

Oh the Humble Human

          As much technology as humans have been able to create over the years, we are far from limitless.  Over the winter, one thing that baffled me was snow's ability to stop us in our tracks.  Snow has been occurring for millions of years, and yet humans have not been able to master it.  And this applies to all weather and natural disasters.  Although we might be able to predict these happenings, the same problems from the weather hinder our generation almost the exact same way as each one before.  The need for sleep is another reminder of our species limits.  Sure, you can take drugs to keep you awake, but every living creature needs to sleep, eventually.  And them there's the vulnerability that comes with sleeping.  You can be the toughest person alive, but I guarantee you look the same as everyone else when you sleep.  And you might even need a teddy bear too.  But limits such as these should not be a symbol of weakness, but rather a chance for unity.  No matter your race, social level, successes, failures, popularity, or world views, we all belong to the family of the human race and have the deficiencies that come with it. 

Americans

          Do you ever have that feeling where you think someone doesn't like you, and they haven't even gotten to know you?  I don't know about you, but that annoys me so much.  And I think the whole country has this problem, if you imagine the countries of the world as a group of people.  When people in America think about the poverty, violence and disease around the world, the reality of these problems can never fully register.  This is because we (Americans) live on the other extreme.  The way our society is set up, a world without public education, having enough food, or healthcare doesn't make sense.  So when people struggling around the world think about America, all they can see is a spoiled population, who has most things (sometimes literally) handed to them on a silver platter.  But that is not what this country is, or ever was, about.  And this attidude the rest of the world may have towards Americans makes me even more anxious to travel, not as a snobby annoying tourist, but as simply an individual who wants to learn about different cultures, and build relationships.  It's only when we stop being ignorant and show the good sides of American hearts, that we can change our reputation for the better.

Shopping

I hate shopping. Call me a tom-boy, but I really do. Going with friends is okay, but only until you run out of things to do and have to find a ride home because you're at that stupid age where you can't drive but have so many places to go. What I hate the most about shopping is the lighting. Blinding flourescant lights are fine for about an hour, but after that everthing starts going down-hill. I feel so trapped if I spend too much time in a store. It's especially creepy at night when you look out the window and see darkness, but are surronded by unnatural light. And then you have to go try stuff on. I don't think guys have this problem, but trying clothes on takes so long and puts you in an even smaller LOCKED room when you're already feeling trapped because of the stupid lights. It's just not a fun time for me, I honestly do not see he thrill. There can be some cool things to buy, which then requires spending money. Oh well, I really shouldn't be complaining because I really am thankful that I have clothes to wear and nice things to enjoy. That's why charities are good so you can share your blessings.

Movies

          Another thing that everyone loves, besides music, are movies.  The cinematic arts, if you will.  There are movies for literally every human on the planet (as long as they can access the technology).  And even if kids' movies aren't necessarily aimed at adults, all movies are based on story lines and lessons derived from adult struggles.  As a young adult, I get the chance to watch children's films without needing a child sitting next to me to avoid looking insane.  This privilege has given me the opportunity to make some fascinating observations.  Everyone knows that less than juvenile humor is incorporated into family movies, which is to be expected considering the script is written by adults.  But while recently (like a loser) watching titles including The Princess and the Frog, Tangled, and Megamind, (best kids movie EVER), I noticed that instead of parents, the adult group most likely to see these films, the story lines were perfectly aimed at the teen aged mind.  All of these movies included challenges like finding you identity, falling in love, and rebelling against common rules.  And aren't those the very subjects that dominate an adolescents thoughts? Another thought teens often come across is a longing to return to childhood where no responsibilities weigh you down.  And I know when I watch classics like The Lion King and Finding Nemo, I travel right back to six years old, eyes wide with concentration and amazement.  So although animated kid flicks aren't cinema's shining glory, they're sure to provide some giggles and warm and fuzzy feelings for all ages.

The Written Word Re-Born

          The Kindle, or any other e-reader, is one of the most ingenious pieces of technology we have today.  And the greatest thing about it is that it not only introduces new views and experiences, but reintroduces classics as well.  Would a teenager really go out and buy books like a Tale of Two Cities or Tom Sawyer?  Getting books digitally and at a fraction of their price, if not free, have made classics like these much more available and compatible with today's paperless society.  Digital books also save thousands of trees and manufacturing costs, and bring out-of-print books back to life.  Not to mention the ease of traveling with a device one tenth the width of one book instead of carrying ten or twelve paper ones.  Yes, the e-reader has successfuly brought the art of writing back into today's culture, and I'm sure there is much more to come.

Music

         My fist blog post is on music, a highly universal subject.  Everyone in the world likes music, and there are probably as many kinds of music as there are countries in the world.  Think about it; no one ever starts a war about music, no heated debates about music end in violence or scandal, and no one is ever excluded from enjoying music.  But throughout the years, our methods of playing, and listening to, music has evolved drastically.  Can you imagine a time without guitars?  Can you picture the present music industry without iTunes?  Music used to be something we simply enjoyed, a rarity for some.  But in the age of iPods, Pandora, Facebook, and other modern sharing devices, the music we like has become our identity.  If you ask someone their favorite musician, or grab their iPod and browse through the songs, your mind instantly forms opinions of them based on their music preferences.  Usually, the lesser-known the artists the person likes, the more intellectual, inquisitive, and defiant the person is.  If another individual's iPod is overflowing with the latest trashy pop singles, it shows that they accept what they our given and wish to maintain an image.  There are, of course, exceptions to these statements, and I certainly wouldn't discriminate against anyone because of their choices in music, it's just interesting to see how music has crept into almost every part of our lives.  I love music, and I think everyone can say the same.