Jwman92's Blog

Relay for Life

jwman92 — Tue, 25 May 2010 02:18:08 +0000

Relay for life was an incredible experience for me. I wish I could go minute by minute, and give you every detail of the amazing night, but I think it would be more of a novel than a vignette, and I don’t want to subject you to that torture. Everything at the event went perfectly. All of the committee members were fastidious in their preparations, and everything went off without a hitch. I was extremely glad that I was able to pay homage to my relatives who have both won and lost their battles with cancer. Walking in the dark was very soporific, but I never found myself struggling to stay awake. I knew that I would be able to recoup all of the lost sleep on Sunday, so I made it a point to stay up the entire night. My favorite moment was the Luminaria ceremony, an éclat which brought about intense emotions in me. While many may have felt that the silent lap around the track was a cortege, I felt that it was a celebration of the lives of those who had lost their battles with cancer, and those who had beaten the disease. Every subtle aspect of the event was perfect, and even if I had the opportunity, I wouldn’t change a thing.

Class Elections

jwman92 — Wed, 19 May 2010 02:04:47 +0000

Democracy has long been an august process, that gives everyone a voice i. However, school elections have always been a bunch of bunkum, a popularity contest where its more about who you know, and less about what you stand for. If you aren’t the most popular person, or if you aren’t particularly charismatic or outgoing, winning a school election can be a herculean task. If a person is naturally panache, they already have a leg up on the competition. There are many people who will actually listen to the speeches, and vote for the candidate that they think will do the best, but there are also a plethora of voters who will vote for their friends, even if they think that their friend won’t do a good job. Losing an election is an especially tough thing to go through in high school. You have to be extremely resilient because you have to deal with both losing the election, and responding to all of the voters who thought you should have won. It can be enervating to go through this process, and can take a toll on everyone involved. Many believe that a democracy is the best format for government, but I believe that high school democracy is incongruous with political democracy.

I don’t want to sound like a dissident, but I think that the system needs to be revamped, and we need to reconsider how we hold school elections.

The New York Mets

jwman92 — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 21:30:58 +0000

I am a diehard Mets fan, and have been for a very long time, but it is getting more and more difficult to watch their games, and be a fan. I am often transfixed by the multitude of mistakes that they seem to always make. It almost seems like to baseball gods are being malevolent towards the Mets. They seem to always find a way to lost the game, no matter what the situation. They have a predilection for making a small mistake near the end of the game that always seems to cost them dearly. I have also been blasé with the moves made by the front office, as they see, to add players that the team doesn’t need, while neglecting other areas that desperately need help. The Mets front office tries over and over again to exculpate Omar Minaya and Jerry Manuel, but it is time for them to be fired. The team is bereft of any sense of urgency, and they lack respect for their manager, so a change must be made. No one should be given impunity, and everyone must be held responsible for these recent disappointing seasons. It will take a herculean effort by the Mets just reach .500 this season, and changes must be made.

I will always be a fan of the Mets, but I am tired of seeing them lose.

Othello Blog 2

jwman92 — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 21:14:26 +0000

Well, Othello turned out just the way I thought it would. Except for the suicide part, everything that I thought would happen did Othello’s close relationship with Iago put his relationship with Desdemona in jeopardy. This came back to bite him in the end, as Iago’s transgressions caused Othello’s relationship to deteriorate, and for him to kill himself at the end of the play. Iago was a critic of Othello, but only behind his back.In front of Othello, Iago was reticent, choosing to hide his true intentions so that he could guarantee their success. It is interesting to look at the different interpretations of the end of the play. In the movie’s case, Cassio , but in the play, it is unknown whether Othello has the knife himself, or if someone gives it to him. Just as Othello reached the vertex in the middle of his life, he has now reached the lowest point, as he has lost everything, and the book ends with him losing his life. This lugubrious ending is not the happy ending that most readers like to see, but I feel that it was the perfect ending for the story. Othello’s life has been completely obliterate, and Iago does not even hold a scintilla of guilt, even though he is going to be executed.

Othello Blog Post 1

jwman92 — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 20:51:26 +0000

Othello has been a very interesting play thus far. It is filled with euphony, as Shakespeare combines words and phrases to please the ears of the reader. Developments in the story have reached an impasse, as Othello and Desdemona are currently happy, but issues are brewing as Iago’s plot develops. This all began with the nepotism of Othello, as he gave the Lieutenant job to Cassio and not Iago. This act, which may have seemed subtle in the eyes of Othello, was a grave mistake in the eyes of Iago. He believed that this was not equitable, an wanted to take advantage of his close relationship with Othello to make him pay for his mistake. Othello had complete trust in him, so I believe that he is going to take advantage of this trust to debilitate Othello, and ruin his relationship with Desdemona. Based on this, I believe Iago’s plan will be successful, and he will prove to be the nemesis of Othello. Iago’s plan is helped by the control he has over Roderigo. He can suborn him anytime he wants, and have him do his bidding. This will help to execute the plan, and will keep Iago from getting caught.

The story has been very interesting thus far, and I am interested to see how it turns out!

A Short Story by Joshua Waldman

jwman92 — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 02:04:36 +0000

Here is a short story I have just written.

Once upon a time, a young man was incredibly hungry. He felt as if he had not eaten in days, and was dying to get something into his stomach. He spent countless minutes trying to locate the refrigerator, while also attempting to maintain some semblance of sang-froid throughout the process. He felt like his home was a foreign country, through which he had to carefully navigate through to reach his destination. Upon reaching the fridge, he prayed that he would find some comestibles, which he could consume.

Grabbing the first thing he saw, the young man opened up the plastic container to find leftover hot wings from a previous meal! He quickly licked one, and exclaimed “Too Zesty!”.

The next thing he could see was a container of broccoli. The young man opened up the plastic container, licked a piece, and exclaimed “Too Bland!”.

Filled with desperation and malcontent, he suddenly turned to the leftover cake, which had been promised to his sister. He almost ate the cake just to spite her, but luckily his scruples overpowered his temptation, and he was able to resist the call of the cake.

Finally, he came to the last container in the fridge, a thick, beefy stew. Upon opening the container, he was accosted by the powerful yet delectable odor. He took one spoonful of the stew, and exclaimed “Just Right!”. After consuming three bowls of the stew, he was finally full, and was able to resume his blog writing without interruption.

*Note: Loosely Based on Goldilocks and the Three Bears

http://failblog.org/tag/g-rated/

jwman92 — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 01:08:39 +0000

I have spent many countless, and probably pointless hours browsing the web, and http://failblog.org/tag/g-rated/ is one of the most humorous sites that I have come across. Reading the hilarious posts, and watching the videos always puts me in an ebullient mood, and brightens my day. This is an emotion that I am still trying to fully understand, that is, the nature to take others failure as humor. Many people feel that their days are boring, and their need for humor is satiated by the failure of their peers.

With the invention of the cheap, consumer-grade camera, everything is now overt, and videos of unintelligent people who are cajoled by their friends into doing stupid stuff often end up on the Internet.

The site does contain some content which may be considered innappropriate for a school setting, so I have provided a link to the “G-Rated” section of the site.

http://failblog.org/tag/g-rated/

So if you ever find yourself down, or with nothing to do on a rainy day, I prescribe a trip to this site, so that you may laugh at the plight of others. As you meander through the hilarious links and videos, you can also try to think about why it is we laugh at other’s failure.

YWU ROTFL LOL G2G TTYL

jwman92 — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 21:21:26 +0000

Many adults in the world disparage the value of colloquial speech, such as so-called “AIM” abbreviations, like the ones listed above. They consider the abbreviations maladroit, and refuse to even learn them. On the contrary, after taking time to appraise the value of their uses, I believe that these abbreviations, and ones like them, can be of great value to society. They may not necessarily be of paramount importance, but I believe they can and will have a function in our society.

One area where I can see the use of these abbreviations is in the courtroom. This may seem surprising, but conversation in court tends not to be laconic, and the use of these abbreviations will make the job of the court stenographer much easier. There are many other uses for these abbreviations, and I think they can replace the short hand that has been used in the past, similar to what Laura is trying to learn in the Glass Menagere.

So to all those who are wary of bringing these abbreviations into common speech, take a second and think about the benefits. I hope you will rescind your objections, and cease deprecating their value.

Mark Mcgwire and Steroids

jwman92 — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 04:45:18 +0000

I am appalled by the recent admission by Mark Mcgwire that he took steroids during the 1998 season when he first broke the all time home run record. What is even more astonishing is that he claims that he did not use the steroids to hit home runs. It is very clear to me that he tried to circumvent the system, and become more successful by injecting himself. Now he is trying to redress the situation, by admitting his wrong-doings, because he has become the hitting coach of the Cardinals? Where has he been the past 11 years? A lot has transpired since he broke the record, the most important of which is that he blatantly lied to a congressional committee created to learn more about steroids. All respect for Mcgwire has been lost because of his lies, and his and his steroid use. The data was there for all to see, and now Mcgwire has finally admitted his steroid use.

Economic Recovery

jwman92 — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 04:43:27 +0000

I believe that our country is well on its way to a successful recovery from the recession, however, I feel that we can’t be too careful in making sure that we make it all the way out. President Obama has done an incredible job in being transparent throughout the process, and not being equivocatory by lying. Our economy has often proven to be capricious, fluctuating between high points and lows. This is just another low point for the United States, who will eventually make its way out and be the greatest nation in the world again. I believe that the congress and Senate will be exonerated, and the blame will fall solely on the shoulders of President Bush, and his decision to invade Iraq. The U.S. was unprepared financially for a war, and this hurt the American economy. In addition, Obama has not been garrulous in his speeches. He has said what is necessary, and nothing more. This is a nice break from the rambling and nonsensical speeches of the last 8 years.

In usurping the large amount of power that big businesses have over there workers, Obama has been able to improve the economy drastically, by choosing to work with these companies and guide them in the right direction. He has driven a hard bargain with these companies, forcing them to increase regulations, and spend there money more wisely, unlike the sycophant who was in office for the last 8 years.

An important factor in this recession was its many differences from the Great Depression. The American economy did not succumb all at once, like it did in 1929. It slowly but surely drove down the prices of homes, stock prices, and many other items that we have become accustomed to having. However, I hope that this recession will serve as a stigma of the failed policies of the Bush administration.