Elistina's Story:

You wanted the best, you got the best!! :) Just kidding! I have posted my D&D character's back story in 3 posts going back in time. So if you start with this one and read them down the page you will get the full story. IF you want to ready them the way they were written... read them in reverse order. But this way makes the most sense for a presentation. Enjoy!

Elistina, or Elle or Ellie is from the House of Simeon. A noble line with an outstanding reputation for many things, the most unique of which is their habit of only having one child. This mandate was to protect the family fortune.

Elsitina’s Story:

                Disgusted by my father and unable to stay in the place that held so many memories of my mother and sister I decided to set out on my own. I was 15 but I had been trained since I was young and I felt confidant that I could take care of myself and find odd jobs to accomplish to make money. Since the inheritance was mine for the taking I took enough to get myself started and left my father to wallow in our manor alone.

                I would return to him one day but for now his lies had caused me so much loss that I could not bear to look at him. I wished him well the day that I left, turned and walked out the door. I left the manor, the lands and the kingdom behind.

                Once I was outside the safety of my kingdom I was immediately jumped by a group of bandits who thought I was blind and an easy target. Once I dispatched with them I had acquired a cart, a horse, some gold and the confidence I needed to keep pressing forth through this strange land.

                It has been 5 years on the road. I have taken odd assignments from anywhere from local government to common farmers. I had made a tidy sum of money along the way and now my travel has me heading into the Dalelands.

The Fletchers & Elistina and Melba Growing up:

The Fletchers:

                Precise records were kept on the House of Simeon. All documents including marriage certificates and birth certificates were kept in the temple on the, now, even greater estate.  The Fletchers were a Descendant of Angelica Argurious. The only family remaining in The House of Simeon. Rachael Fletcher was the only child of Agatha and Benvolio Fletcher and when she married Laurence the Wheeler, he was made to take her name to keep the family line going.

                Rachel and Laurence Fletcher were the last descendants of The House of Simeon and were, therefore very wealthy. They tried for a few years to conceive a child and after a few complications Rachel became pregnant.

                Rachel gave birth to identical twin girls. Elistina the oldest and Melba the younger and frailer of the two. Rachael and Laurence were horrified to discover that they had conceived twins. They knew they had to kill one but which one should they choose?

                The obvious chose was to keep Elistina and abort Melba. Melba was frail and was born with milky eyes indicating that she was blind. However Rachel could not bear to ruin one of her children. She begged Lawrence to let her keep them. Knowing the legend, Lawrence declined. He could not bear to lose a child to some unnatural cause either. Rachel begged until finally they decided that they would keep the children until they were 5 years old. Melba looked as if she wouldn’t last long anyway, and since they were the last of the line of Simeon it was safer to keep both children in case one died of natural causes.

Elistina and Melba Growing up:

                Rachel had to give special care and attention to Melba for the first year of her life, but she became stronger. Even though it was clear that she would never see there was no difference between the two girls except the color of their eyes. Melbas were, of course white while Elstina’s were dark brown to match her hair and her father’s own eyes.

The first year of their lives set the tone for the next four. Rachel spent most of her time fussing over Melba and so Elistina’s father picked up the slack with her. By the time the girls were in their second year the couple had clear favorites. Once they could walk and talk they began all of the training and schooling afforded to a noble family.

However, since the fact that the Fletchers had two daughters had to be kept a secret only one private tutor was hired and they were placed under a powerful magical oath by Rachel so that their secret would be kept safe. The tutor trained them in every weapon type and thought them several languages.

                They were both a quick study which came in handy because they would speed through their studies to get to their sparring lessons. As their fifth year approached Rachel and Lawrence began to worry that they wouldn’t be able to choose. They both loved their daughters and there was no way for them to decide. They feared that the curse would decide for them but they were horrified at the thought of having to take one of their lives with their own hand. So they let another year pass.

                It was easy keeping the fact that they had two daughters a secret. They only needed to pretend that they were the same person. Elistina began training to manage with a blindfold on so that she and Melba were on equal ground for sparring matches. It was an easy translation to using one while she walked around town with her parents or attended celebrations.

                Rachel and Lawrence let another year pass. Rachel had the blindfold enchanted with blind sight and both the girls were taught to train with that. It turned out that neither of the girls needed the limited vision much as they honed their other senses and were very competent fighters. The blindfold came in handy more for social occasions.

                The Fletchers let the time pass as easily as if they were allowed to have two daughters. As they grew up the favoritism deepened. Melba was quick to study magic alongside her mother and became quite gifted. Elistina’s gifts were not so apparent. She took after her father’s line and was able to manipulate the earth around her. She was also very clever at channeling that energy into healing magic.

                As their fifteenth birthday approached Rachael and Lawrence became desperate. Rachael spent every waking moment in the monastery trying to find ways to break the spell that had been cast on their family line. One of these days she decided to take Melba with her and explain everything. They were instantly both determined expel the magic that would kill one of them in only a few months. Melba was worried for the life of her sister and Rachael for her beloved Melba.

                Only a few short weeks from the anniversary of Elstina and Melba’s birth Melba and Rachael were again at the temple searching frantically for a way to keep both of the girls alive past their fifteenth year. During one of their attempts to destroy the spell there was an enormous explosion in the temple. Priests fled their lives; some went to the river to bring back buckets of water to try to put out the fires that had started due to the explosion. Nothing could be done to stop the blaze. There was nothing left of the ancient building save some foundation stones and of course, amongst the rubble the still shining Scepter of Simeon.

                Elistina and Lawrence were enjoying a day at the lake when they heard the explosion. It took them over an hour to run to the temple, when they it was a smoldering pile of ash. Rachael and Melba were never found and were presumed to have perished in the explosion along with 12 other priests and devotees.

                Elistina and Lawrence were devastated. Lawrence fell into a deep despair.  He rarely came out of his room except to eat and he could no longer take joy in the presence of his beloved daughter. She reminded him only of what they had lost.

                Elistina’s 15^th birthday came and passed and Lawrence’s despair grew. One evening, only a few days after her Birthday Elsitnia dined with her father. She greeted him and took her place at the table and as she sat he began to weep.

                He told her the whole story about her ancestry and about the curse. He told her that Rachael and Melba were working on a way to end the curse and that was what had caused the explosion that ended their lives. Elsitina was devastated. She screamed at her father that he should have told her sooner that he should chosen to kill her rather than let this happen. If he had told her she would have taken her own life rather than feel the pain of the loss of her sister and mother.

                What Elistina thought was an unfortunate accident had now become a huge hole through her heart. 

The Story of the House of Simeon:

 Simeon Argurious had made his fortune by adventuring and later by commissioning adventurers to treasure hunt for him. He and his wife Leighton had 11 children. Simeon’s fortune was so great that he divided it equally between his 5 sons and 4 daughters and they each had enough to live off of the rest of their days. When they were each married, their gift from their father was their portion of the fortune and a house in their father’s lands to call their own.

                In Simeon and Leighton’s mind this was extremely fair and a good use of their fortune. The kept only enough for themselves to live comfortably until the end of their lives. However, as in all families, even the most meticulously laid plans have their flaws. After the last of their children had taken a spouse and left their house for their own plot of land the squabbles began amongst their children.  Braden, the eldest thought that he should be entitled to more than his younger siblings since he was what was known in that time as the “rightful heir.” Angelica, a middle child didn’t think it was fair that she should have to live so far away from the main house. She made her distaste known by rarely making the trip to visit her parents. There was also the matter of who would receive the main house and the remainder of the fortune once their parents had passed? Tradition dictated that the split it equally, but how do you split a house?

                Simeon became enraged by his children’s behavior and inability to be thankful for the gifts that he gave them all. Since they were not happy to be equals, and could not think of any way to get along with one another, he raised a decree. He gathered all of his children and their children together in his house. He placed the rest of his fortune on the main dining table and had every child and grandchild take a place around the table. Leighton sat at one end and Simeon at the other. When everyone was present he started.

“You are all my beloved children.” He stated plainly, “I have found more joy in raising each one of you than in all of my years of adventuring or running a successful business. Your mother and I loved each of you equally and saw fit to divide up all that we had worked for amongst you equally.”

He turned to Angelica. “My Angel, you were always so in love with the waterfall and the lake. I am so sorry that it did not please you to receive the fief of land that held those things. I hoped that you would take your children there, as I took you, so that you could share with them the wonders of that place.”

“Braden, my oldest child and my eldest son. I awarded you the richest farmland in my entire kingdom. Your knowledge of the growing seasons is vast. I had hoped that you would take pride in cultivating and making your own fortune off of the piece of land that I selected for you.”

Simeon paused. “Instead you squabble amongst yourselves as you did when you were younglings under the dining room table. It saddens me.  I have therefore made a decision. I will not wait until I am gone so that you may decide for yourselves who gets my remaining pennies or my manor. I will decide everything for you right now.”

He picked up a large golden scepter from the table of artifacts. “This is the rod of Calistrade, I won it in a hand of cards…. No matter. Its power is still great. From this day forward it shall be known as the Scepter of Simeon for I am going to seal this decree with the magic in this rod so that none of you may ever disappoint me again.”

“It is my decree that from this day forward no child of mine shall have any more than one child in their household. This way it will be clear who receives the fortune when you all die. There shall be one heir, whether it is male or female, and no more. Should any woman in this family have more children after their first, its head should be severed from its body at birth.”

Braden spoke up, “Father! This is barbaric! My wife has already given me three children,” he said gesturing to his son and two daughters. “What of them?”

“It is my decree that you should choose which of them to keep and you should sever the heads of the other two clean from their necks. You will do it here, on this table before you leave or forever be disowned. Your house and fortune will be divided up between your remaining siblings and you shall be exiled from this land.”

“Let me tell you know that I am set in my decision. All of you who have children will choose one to keep and the others will be slain. Those of you without children will be held to the standards I have just set forth. Once you choose your children and slay the remaining you may divide up the artifacts that I have laid out here and return to your homes. Your mother and I will live out the rest of our days here, then after our death I would like this house converted into a temple of Torag. The rooms can serve as a monastery and this hall as a temple hall.”

There was silence in the room as the children took it all in. Simeon sat down in his chair with his scepter still in his right hand and waited. He cast a long look down the table to his wife who was stoic. When he had told her his plan she was devastated. She loved all of her children and grandchildren and did not want his decree to be carried out. So great was Simeon’s faith in the kindness of his children’s hearts that he assured her that they would never go for it. They would each be disowned rather than give up any of their living children or any of their future children. So assured was he that he made it through his speech without batting an eyelash. The rod that he had in his had did have real power, but he hoped he could use it at a later time for some real good.

It was Winsted, Simeon’s middle most child that stood first. He had one baby and one two year old son. “I do not know this girl-child that I hold as well as I know my son. His first words were ‘happy’ and ‘mom’. I choose my son, though I love my daughter. I will do this awful thing if it pleases you, father.” With that he lay his daughter on the table, drew his knife and cut the baby’s head from her body.

Instantly Braden stood, not to be outshined by his younger brother, and stated “I love all three of my children, and though my daughter’s are older, I choose my son so that I can teach him how to cultivate the land.”

Simeon and Leighton were horrified. The tears began to flow down Leighton’s cheeks and Simeon was frozen in agony. How could his children choose a life of luxury over the love of their children? He would have murdered his own father before doing such a thing.

Slowly, staidly each child who had more than one child, and there were four, stood and took the lives of one or more of their offspring. Eight children, all under the age of 10 died in horror before their grandmother and grandfather and aunt’s and uncle’s eyes. The four children who remained clutched their mothers and did not speak.

Simeon stood up from his seat his jaw slack. “I do not believe what I just witnessed. You all chose to keep your comfortable life rather than fight for your children’s lives. You all chose comfort over love. You are all made of stone. My heart is breaking; I cannot bear to look at you. What I have just said stands. You must never break your bond, or the lives of your children and your children’s children will be forever cursed. Should you choose to keep a child against my decree, their lives will be snuffed out at the age of 15. You may take your share of what is left. When my scepter comes down it will take mine and your mother’s lives and hold you to all of the promises that you have made to me on this table that is no covered in our grandchildren’s blood. I hope that your fortune and welfare are worth this pact.”

With that he slammed the bottom of the scepter on the table. Immediately Leighton’s soul was taken from her body and was trapped in the rod. “My faith in you was misplaced.” Simeon’s soul went into the rod and his body went limp. The Scepter of Simeon rattled on the table for a moment and then fell silent. 

               

                The members of The House of Simeon were made to memorize that story and tell it to their children and their children’s children to remind them why they are to only have one child. Who could bear to lose a child that you have given birth to? How much worse would it be if you allowed them to reach the age of 15 and then the suddenly died.

                The Scepter of Simeon was kept in the Temple of Torag which was once the house of Simeon Argurious. The priests were charged to protect it since the descendants of Simeon believed that the souls of Simeon and Leighton were still inside.

                The House of Simeon never disobeyed his decree. There were a few slip ups. An unfaithful member would have a child with someone other than their wife and they had no idea why their own child passed away at the age of 15. Another family kills their son only to have another child’s heart fail them. Some members were barren, some refused to marry. Slowly the family dwindled and the fortune was combined and redistributed to the remaining members until finally there was only one family left.

Trying to Become an Early Riser

I have been trying to become an early riser for most of my life. The closest I have gotten was in high school when I had to drive for almost an hour to get to class. At the same time I was doing that I was taking an independent study course that required me to get up in the morning and write 3 pages by hand every morning (about a half an hour worth of work). My senior year of high school was the most productive year of my life. I got up at 6:03am exactly. Wrote for a half an hour, did my morning routine and drove myself to school in time to find a parking spot and get to class. 

The next most productive time in my life was the summer immediately following my senior year. I was working as a wrangler at a summer camp. This meant that I had to get up at around 5am every day and bring the horses in, feed them, brush and saddle them all before breakfast. The reason that I count this as the second most productive time is because it was only 3 months long and I often took naps during the day just to make sure I didn't pass out while on a trail ride. That, and I took a week off to go to Orlando. 

The reason that I am trying to get back into these good habits is because I waste so much of the day. I could work out in the morning, but I often don't. I could write in the morning but I almost never do. Even something as simple as having an hour extra to get through a load of laundry or wash the dishes would be extraordinarily useful. Especially since I live on the opposite side of town from my job which means I commit over an hour to driving each day. This is the hour that (I tell myself) I could be using for my workout or my grocery shopping... or the endless list of other things that I think about while sitting idly in traffic. I enjoy that I get to spend the time with the love of my life, but we don't get to talk with our normal fluidity when we are worried about ramming into the car in front of us. 

I have read several blog posts and scientific journals on the matter of becoming an early riser. The scientists say "yes, do it, it is healthier." However, they don't lend much advise on the how to do it. The very first "how to" article I ever read was simply How to Become an Early Riser which was the exact search I typed in. In the article, Steve Pavlina goes over his struggle to become an early riser and the ultimate solution. He realized that you must use both your biology and necessity to become an early riser. He states that simply going to bed when you are tired and waking up when your body naturally tells you to isn't the solution. It leads to your sleep patterns drifting around and never knowing when you are going to wake up. This also isn't practical with a 9-5 job. Also, going to bed earlier in order to get up earlier isn't the solution either since you end up going to bed and not falling asleep which defeats the purpose. What Steve suggests is splitting the difference. What he has found is that you need to go to bed when you feel tired enough to fall asleep. Then you need to wake up at the exact same time every day. (your preferred, early time). Your body will naturally adjust from there. If you went to bed late one evening and didn't get enough rest, you will naturally go to bed earlier the next evening.

This theory and advice was supported by another article on econsultant.com also titled How to Become an Early Riser. This article actually goes over how to do it and how to form the habit. It suggests that you make it a game to write down the precises time that you get out of bed each morning. This is habit forming and it gives you a gauge of how responsible you are being with your new goal. It also suggests waking up to classical music in the morning. This I like because I HATE the buzzer and because it has no words. Which according to the article are not conducive to the waking up process and are not good for me since I need to get up and write in the morning. Outside words don't let me focus on listening to what needs to be written. (I write that knowing I will sound pretentious... but it is my process so... :p) The thing that I won't do in this article is give up coffee. I am sure it was written a long time ago and the health benefits of coffee far out weigh any "drug addiction." 

With all of this new and exciting information in mind this is how my ideal morning would go. (this will help me figure out what time i need to set my alarm to).

 -- Wake up and get out of bed when the alarm goes off.

 -- Write 3 pages of morning pages (should take about 30-45 minutes)

 -- Do 30 minutes of aerobics

 -- Blog or free write for 30 minutes

 -- Take a shower/ get ready for 45 minutes

 -- Make and consume breakfast 15-30 minutes

 -- Be off to work by 7:45am

Wow, that is 2 and a half hours of stuff that I would like to accomplish before I can go to work. 

5:15 AM is now my constant wake up time. 

We usually go to bed at about 10pm. This is too early for me since I spend about an hour laying in bed waiting for sleep. I think that I will try to read a bit in the evening to keep myself occupied until I am sleepy enough to go to bed. So! This is the plan. From here I can adjust it depending on what else I need to add to my morning the same way Leo Babuta did in How I Became an Early Riser. He adjusted for NaNoWriMo and a marathon. Things that may (NaNoWriMo) or may not (a marathon) be in my future. It is more likely that I will get up and go to an early yoga class than do a marathon, but the habit must be established before it can be adjusted. 

Today I will put a clock in the bathroom along with a calendar and a pen. So that I get up and leave the bedroom before I am allowed to chart my wake up time. 

Really?... really...?

Okay so. Last week Anthony and I were listening to our "favorite" morning show and they were doing what they call "news." The first awesome.
They talked about an agency that promised $300 to homeless people and drug addicts if they go to the doctor and sterilize themselves. I think this is brilliant. Then people are not bringing crack babies into the world or having a baby that they cannot afford.
Personally I think this should be a government program. And! If people want welfare for their existing babies they should have to get the same thing done. A basic "you want money? get fixed." policy.


So then they moved on to the second half of the segment where the began reading a list of courses that can be found in a catalog at some leading universities.


The List follows: BTW The asides in the list that are not italicized are not me... they staid this on the radio... This compounds the idiocy, you'll see.

• At Santa Clara University, you can take a class called The Joy of Garbage, where you explore "the technical aspects of decomposition and waste processes.

• At Cornell University, you can take a class called Tree Climbing.

• At Georgetown University, you can take a class called Philosophy and "Star Trek".

• At UCLA, you can take a class called Queer Musicology, which explores pressing issues like "the possibility that being gay makes music by gay composers sound different to you than it would if you were straight."

• At Pitzer College in California, you can take a class called Learning from YouTube, which . . . shocker . . . consists of "students watching, discussing, and commenting on YouTube videos."

This is the one that I was least interested in and thought it could be a slacker class. It depends on how it is represented. -- incidentally this is the one that the radio personalities thought was "kinda interesting"

• At Stanford University, you can take a class called iPhone Application Programming.

so this is when I turned off the radio... this list is called:

HERE ARE TEN OF THE MOST RIDICULOUS COLLEGE COURSES YOU CAN TAKE

I really couldn't stand how stupid they sounded I still have a little throw-up flavor in my mouth from them being so dumb. *giggle* like that is a legitimate class! who wants to make money off of apple!?
Needless to say I didn't hear the last few which I found on the internet later in order to post this blog. 

• At Alfred University in New York, you can take a class called Maple Syrup; The Real Thing.

• At Frostburg State University in Maryland, you can take a class called The Science of "Harry Potter".

• At Centre College in Kentucky, you can take a class called The Art of Walking.

• And at Reed College in Oregon, you can take a class called Underwater Basket Weaving.

No, really.

------------------------------------------------------
So, this list is brought to us by the Huffington Post. To them I have to say, good fucking job. You now appear to a multitude of educated people like a bunch of moronic, ill-advised High School children. Did you even attend college?
Let me ask you this: When you were in college getting your "journalism" degree did you only take English courses?
Here is how I see it. College is supposed to be fun. It isn't supposed to be an endless series of meaningless classes on your way toward a degree. You are supposed to be able to broaden your horizon, think in new ways, undertake challenges that you would never have considered previously in your academic career.
I can forgive the radio personalities that made this list available to Las Vegas, part of Sacramento and the internet... They are for lack of a more profound word... dumb... they are profoundly dumb. That is absolutely their appeal. I argue with them in my head and am fired up to start my day. Not only to I feel smarter and more justified in my opinions, I am ready to take on opposition.
This faux pas is on you  Huffington Post.  You dare to imply that these classes are both ridiculous but have no academic value. Lets take a look shall we?

Ten Of The Most Ridiculous College Courses You Can Take:

• At Santa Clara University, you can take a class called The Joy of Garbage, where you explore "the technical aspects of decomposition and waste processes.

I cannot find anything about this course because, it appears you have to be a student to view the course catalog online. But understating the composting process, waste management, decomposition... all of that is important. PS. I took a class that had us go to the waste treatment plant... makes me think about all the processes that go into enabling me to flush my toilet.

• At Cornell University, you can take a class called Tree Climbing.
• PE 1657 Tree Climbing
  Fall, spring. Fee charged. All equipment is included in course fee. No experience necessary.Whether you are a rain forest canopy researcher, an arborist, or just a kid at heart, everyone loves to climb trees. Recall the excitement and your sense of adventure when you first crawled into the branches to look inside a bird’s nest. Then you swung from limb to limb without a thought of ropes and harnesses. But what about that big tree down the street you always wanted to climb, but couldn’t reach the first branch? Cornell Outdoor Education’s Tree Climbing course will teach you how to get up into the canopy of any tree, to move around, even to climb from one tree to another without touching the ground.
  I don't know about you, but this sounds like a pretty fun and interesting PE course. You have to take one anyway, why take Weightlifting for the 11th time? I am sure that this course is also required for a few botanical science classes. 

• At Georgetown University, you can take a class called Philosophy and "Star Trek".
• 
  
  
  PHIL-180 Philosophy and Star Trek
  Faculty: Wetzel, Linda
  Star Trek is very philosophical. What better way, then, to learn philosophy, than to watch Star Trek, read philosophy, and hash it all out in class? That's the plan. This course is basically an introduction to certain topics in metaphysics and epistemology philosophy, centered around major philosophical questions that come up again and again in Star Trek. In conjunction with watching Star Trek, we will read excerpts from the writings of great philosophers, extract key concepts and arguments and then analyze those arguments. The questions that we will wrestle with include:
  
  I. Is time travel possible? Could we go back and kill our grandmothers? What is the nature of time?
  II. Could reality be radically different from what "we" (I?) think? Could we be brains in vats?
  III. What is the relation between a person's mind and his functioning brain--are they separate substances or identical? Can persons survive death? Can computers think? Is Data a person?
  IV. What is a person? When do we have one person, and when do we have two (think of the episodes where people "split" or are "fused")?
  V. Do people have free will, or are they determined by the laws of nature to do exactly what they wind up doing, while believing they have free will? Or both? What is free will?
  
  Course requirements: Four papers, 1000 words long, typed, double-spaced, on topics suggested a week in advance in class. Participation in discussions. 
  Credits: 3
  Prerequisites: None
  
  
  I am sorry, I have seen slouch course descriptions, this isn't one. Who says Philosophy has to be all old dead dudes? Ethics is ethics is philosophy of ethics. Star Trek is based on Greek moralistic plays... put a giant mask on Captain Kirk and we are discussing philosophy the way Plato would have wanted us to. 

• At UCLA, you can take a class called Queer Musicology, which explores pressing issues like "the possibility that being gay makes music by gay composers sound different to you than it would if you were straight."
• Mitchell Morris specializes in music at the fin-de-siècle, Russian and Soviet music, 20th century American music, opera, rock and soul, and gay/lesbian studies. He has published essays on gay men and opera, disco and progressive rock, musical ethics, and contemporary music in journals such as repercussions and American Music as well as in collections such as Beyond Structural Hearing?, Musicology and Difference, En travesti, and Audible Traces. He is currently preparing a book entitled The Persistence of Sentiment: Essays on Pop Music in the 70s and at work on a project entitled Echo of Wilderness: Music, Nature, and Nation in the United States, 1880–1945.

I couldn't find the course description because they only have a few years worth of catalogs, however this is the guy how teaches the class. He got his Phd at Berkley. Incidentally when I was poking around in the Musicology department I also found a class on Gay and Lesbian perspectives on Pop music... this class escaped attack though.  This is what I have to say on the subject. It is important--to understanding another human being-- to view things from their perspective. The course, I am sure, studies everything about what made the homosexual composer's life different and how it effected the music. 

• At Pitzer College in California, you can take a class called Learning from YouTube, which . . . shocker . . . consists of "students watching, discussing, and commenting on YouTube videos."
• The first college course entirely about, and primarily occurring on YouTube was taught by Professor of Media Studies Alex Juhasz this fall at Pitzer College. The ground rules were simple and few. All the classwork and assignments (reading, writing, viewing and video production) occurred on and about YouTube. Juhasz and her class caught the attention of the news media and were featured in numerous newspaper articles as well as television and radio broadcasts. Visit www.youtube.com/mediapraxisme to learn more.

Makes sense that they have a YouTube channel, no?  So how is this any different than any other Pop Culture studies class? This is exactly the medium to use to study the Now generation. It is immediate, it is narcissistic, it is capitalist... How in the world do you expect to understand our culture with out it?  

• At Stanford University, you can take a class called iPhone Application Programming. 

I am sorry, but I do not need to go and find the course description for this one. Any programmer will tell you that this is a core class. Duh. There is java, there is PHP and then there is iPhone development...

• At Alfred University in New York, you can take a class called Maple Syrup; The Real Thing.
• HONR 172 - Maple Syrup: The Real Thing
  "Wanted: Someone with a background in meteorology, chemistry, botany, forestry, art, and cookery who is also a nature lover with lots of patience. Must enjoy long hours of hard work in the snow, cold, and mud." Even though this is an accurate description of a maple syrup producer, don't let it scare you! The method of producing maple syrup is one of the things in our society that has endured even in today's culture of constant change; fundamentally it's the same process Native Americans used centuries ago. This class will explore the history of maple syrup production, discover the ins and outs of making syrup, create (and eat) some sweet confections, and take field trips to local producers, restaurants and festivals. No prior experience expected.
  
  Hmmm Interesting that this is an Honors class. This is also in New York state, the East coast... where the maple syrup comes from. It states that this is the same process that Native Americans used to use. So, what do we have? Botany, Dietary Anthropology and Outdoor Adventure. Plus, you know if you are at all zealous about your foods (wine, cheese, beer, bread) you would love this class... Academic power and enjoyable subject matter, woot!

• At Frostburg State University in Maryland, you can take a class called The Science of "Harry Potter".
• Fans of the phenomenally popular children’s book character, Harry Potter, turned to Frostburg State University this year when University offered the honors seminar “The Science of Harry Potter.” The course, which examines the magical events in J.K. Rowling’s books and explains them through the basic principles of physics, received international attention after an Associated Press writer picked up the story. From there, reports of the FSU class appeared in newspapers and magazines across the nation and throughout Europe, Australia, Indonesia and China. Harry Potter fansites on the Web posted announcements about FSU. Even the 24-hour news stations, such as CNN, FoxNews and MSNBC, ran information of the unusual class on their bottom-of-the-screen news crawls.
  Media outlets, including the BBC, Radio Europe and morning radio shows, hounded FSU Physics Professor George Plitnik, the mastermind behind the Potter course. He even received international e-mails Potter fans who wanted to take the class (including a woman in Romania!)
  The highlight of the coverage was a visit from CBS News Correspondent Tracy Smith, who taped a story for “The Early Show.” When the three-minute segment aired on Oct. 3, FSU alumni called to say they saw their alma mater on the air. Later, that same CBS piece was broadcast on other stations, including MTV. The global attention was truly, dare we say, “magical.” An honors class again? Well when you are this deep in engineering and physics it is no wonder. 
• http://www.isr.umd.edu/news/news_story.php?id=2545

 This link is to a news story about a different class. Not the course description. It appears that Frostburg isn't they only school interested in what physical mechanics it would take to actually make something "magical" function in a real life setting.

• At Centre College in Kentucky, you can take a class called The Art of Walking.
• http://www.centre.edu/web/news/2008/walking.html

The article is too long to post here... but! I am happy to be wrong about this class. I thought it would really teach you the proper way to walk like in Zen or the proper way to breathe, as in Yoga. But it is not a physical eduction class, it is a philosophy class. (not that those other two aren't philosophies) And, not even an Eastern philosophy class. We are talkin' Kant here. Hilarious! Are we still opposed to taking course offerings seriously?

• And at Reed College in Oregon, you can take a class called Underwater Basket Weaving.
• COMPETITIVE Underwater Basket Weaving (Alice Neels) 2:00pm, pool Bring a partner, or find one there. Basket making supplies provided. Prizes will be awarded to the winner(s).

I'm sorry, I'm sorry... COMPETITIVE!!! COMPETITIVE? Not only is this course serious, it is so serious that there are prizes. Actually, let me correct myself THIS ISN'T A COURSE AND THEREFORE DOESN'T BELONG ON THIS LIST. Dummies. This is course takes place in January, it is like an intersession course or activity. Look at it this way. You have to weave a basket -- difficult -- under water -- harder -- NOW DO IT FASTER AND BETTER THAN ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS. 

Enough said. 

Quickest Blog ever

I wanted to throw some love out to my fiance -- He just got his Facebook game approved! So he is really excited. I would like to share it with everyone I can, and this means calling out to all those people who may read/stumble across my blog.
It is called PhotoPursuit, you can find it by searching that term on your fb home page. It is a little photo hunt game. Really nice and clean. Not spammy like so many other games. However, you can choose to invite your friends if you like the game enough and you want to challenge someone. I like it. I keep trying to challenge people to beat my high score... but I will let you in on a little secret. That isn't my high score. The girl who made all the pictures for the game did that. :) I still challenge you! Simply because I know it cannot be done.

The link is http://apps.facebook.com/photopursuit/ 

or again, SEARCH: PhotoPursuit
Or click on any of the links in this post!

You can send feedback to  anthony@multilytics.com HE WOULD LOVE IT!

St. Andrews and Other Considerations

Well, I was not accepted to my first choice grad school and it has had me changing the way I think. Since I am not attending grad school in the immediate future I feel like I am able to live.

Since not getting accepted I have:
Worked on the website, at least a portion each day
(it looks much better)
Began a Blog with my friend
(Which now has almost as many post as this blog)
Outlined several programs that I need to have built for my Web site
Began looking at other grad programs
Started looking at houses to rent/buy

I consider all of these things to be positive and constructive. Additionally I am allowing myself to be excited about planning a wedding. Of course it will always be a big scary deal, but the idea of looking for a dress and picking out colors and flowers is now  fun and interesting rather than horrifying and drudgery.

I have had several story ideas and comic ideas come to me in the past few months. Of course I write the idea down and never do any of the actual writing of the story. This is something that I hope to rectify. It is on my list of things that I want to get accomplished. (haha) In honesty I need to work on some of the ideas if for no other reason than to strengthen my portfolio. I also need to do that all important thing and get published. No small feat.

It was my birthday this week. I know my age plays no role in what I do but I really thought I would be in a different place by now. I had different plans for myself. I was going to already have a masters degree and be working on a Phd by now... and in a year I thought I would be dead. Thing change. Now I know that neither of those things are on the horizon. (except the dying, how knows.) Now that sentiment reminds me how emo I was when I was younger. It is both refreshing and terrifying.

I am strongly considering a path in psychology as of late. I think I would make a good councilor. All thoughts, all considerations.

Nervous Blogging

I have been blogging and replying to blogs in all of my free time today... that isn't saying much but my blogging has gone up. If it was being graphed there would be a spike today. Right now I am on my lunch. This consist of a piece of lasagna from yesterday and a Wild Cherry Pepsi. The Pepsi is making my stomach hurt but I must extract the caffeine from its cola insides. Why?

Well, it happens once a week at least: The coffee incident. I usually have 2 cups of coffee a day. This is for its health benefits and to make my eyes pop open far enough to read a computer monitor. Today I got through my first cup and poured a second. Then I got very busy, there was a newsletter to get out and some articles to edit (or at least spruce), there were phone calls and emails and ... things ba dumbum. My second cup of coffee got about half drunk. I reach for it, not thinking, over an hour later and take a big sip... STONE COLD. Then, what do you do? Run to the bathroom and spit it out? Spit it back into the cup? Try to gag it down? I did the gagging thing.

Why does this incident strike me so if I do it once a week? It doesn't. I am nervous blogging. I feel like I need to start creating thing or I will burst. This is a quick and easy way to do that. It also keeps my thought busy so I don't fret about the fact that I have not gotten a reply from grad school yet. I am nervous blogging because I feel directionless and stranded. I complain about work too much and I do too little to improve my situation and my life. I hope I am looking into grad schools for the right reasons, not just as an escape from my current life and situation.

I did discover something today. One of my friends got a reply from the same grad school I applied for. I feel sad that she did not get accepted but I am excited to realize that I would still go even though she may not be there. I am excited to learn that I was applying for myself and not just to attend the same school as someone that I am close to. I am able to separate the emotion. Being sad for her, and being excited that I still have a chance to get in... EVEN THOUGH THEY NEED TO HURRY THEIR ASSES UP!! hem...

Emo Thrusday

I find that Thursdays are either fantastic or existential. I cannot have an average Thursday.

Last Thursday was fan-frikken-tastic. I had a mountain of work to do from the holiday break and I got through all of it. Not just some minimal portion, but all of it. I was searching for work to do by the end of the day. (This turned out to be a good thing because Friday and Monday of this week were "insane in the membrane" to quote Cypress Hill... and I did, confessing my child-of-the-90's-ness) Ok. So Last Thursday=awesome.

TODAY!!!
Existential. One of my compatriots broke down and went to see Avatar (bleh) last night. He came in and told me all about how I must go see it. I now... tentatively... agree. I should go see it because from what he says it has already carved a place in the cannon. But! He cautioned me "it gets no points in originality of plot."

The plot, if you could not tell from the trailer is either Pocahontas or Dances With Wolves http://www.geeksaresexy.net/2010/01/03/james-camerons-pocahontas-avatar/

All of the names in the movie are EXTREMELY FAMILIAR. Avatar as in - do you wanna date my, the last airbender, the thing you find at the top of your screen on your screen on yahoo etc. etc. However, this I can forgive. It makes sense since it is alluding to the fact that the main guy has an avatar of himself that he becomes blah, blah, blah.

Na'Vi - The race of smurf-like, lion faced blue people who evoke the memory of Mystique from X-men....(Rebecca Romijn ftw) Na'Vi, as in Navi, as in "HEY LISTEN". Na'Vi as in Navigation as in moral compass... whatever...

Pandora - The place the Na'Vi live... just... yeah.

He goes on to inform me that a lot of the art in the movie was ripped off of album covers that Roger Dean did for the band "Yes" among other works of art. Other people came to the same conclusion http://blog.signalnoise.com/2010/01/06/avatar-vs-roger-dean/
Now. It got us to talking about originality in art. How everything is a copy of a rip-off of a remake. Nothing is stand out and stand alone.

:: Copied from chat log ::

Him		someone else came to the same conclusion: http://blog.signalnoise.com/2010/01/06/avatar-vs-roger-dean/
Me		there is nothing new to be created in the world... everything is a rip off of a rip off of a rip off... *sigh* I may have to go cut myself
Him		well, some of this is true
Him		firefly was pretty original
Me		it was a western in space... which isn't as original as it sounds since we have been calling space "the final frontier" since Start Trek
Me		.... Start Trek... the last original work
Him		yes, but westerns for the most part are rip-offs of japanese samurai films from the 40s
Me		Hmmm.
Him		and star trek is technically a rip-off of morality plays from the midievil period
Him		i can validate your statement about nothing being original, but i don't think that's the case
Me		The original series always reminded me of greek plays... with the big masks.
Him		hell, that too! bamn, you're on it

So I suppose I have had this conversation before. I can recall having it several times in college. However, I can never pinpoint the moment that can be defined as the last original moment. Innovation began at fire and ended at the wheel. Everything else is an improvement upon that structure. There is nothing new in the universe, there is no point in striving toward new and interesting thoughts, ideas or art.

Then the only reason to create is the need to do things for yourself. To personally learn what can be done with paints and keystrokes. An entirely masturbatory measure.

However since there is no reason to be original since it is impossible then there is no shame in committing act that everything indie in your soul tells you not to do. SO! I can feel free to see Avatar for no other reason than it is a film that should cause me some enjoyment. This also gives me license to listen to Lady Gaga and Basshunter back to back, oh yeah!

Once you are free from the need to be oritional you are free to be yourslef... A copy, of a copy of a copy through eterntity.