Art or Vandalism?

Living in southern California obviously has its benefits, I can go to the beach, the mountains, and play golf in the desert in the same day for instance. I live about 45 miles south of Los Angeles, one of the biggest cities in the United States as far as population and business are concerned, and while Hollywood and all the sky scrapers show the glitz and glam of L.A. there is also the extremely dangerous and not so wealthy parts of town. One of my favorite things about the drive to L.A. isn't seeing the massive buildings in the distance, but all the awesome graffiti tagged along the freeways and neighboring buildings. While some is obviously gang related, the other spots are literally pieces of art. Honestly if you were to see some of the things people are able to do with a can of spray paint, the images they are able create, the way the words almost come out at you in crazy fonts. So is it vandalism or art? Another form of vandalism I find highly entertaining is the things people carve into the desks and stalls around campus. Fraternity letters that may have been there from the 80's or 90's silly messages that entertain me while I am too distracted to continue reading. Unless the message are speaking ill of someone's name I see no harm in it, it's not like the desks in the library are even close to new anyways. While i would never carve something into someone else's property I do enjoy the aftermath of other people doing it.

Make Money Money Make Money Monaaaay

As the end of the semester rolls around and students begin to freak out about exams and papers and projects etc. there is a building on campus that gradually becomes busier and busier every day. Hundreds of students flock to Fondren library in the evening to sit in a cubby and attempt to bust out all their work. Adderal in their system and computers open either taking notes or creeping on someone's facebook. As many excuses as SMU has to continuously charge students for ridiculous things like parking tickets and the like I'm surprised they haven't started charging admission to Fondren. Imagine how much more money the school could make off the students if they even charged two dollars a day for entrance fee. It's not like they need it, or any other money after the tuition since all of it seems to go to putting up new buildings and fountains every other day. I understand that SMU has to pay it's faculty a good sum of money but is the millions of dollars spent on the boulevard and all the grounds really necessary. I feel like SMU could use some of its money for a better use. Maybe starting a new program for special needs students that are capable and willing to get a good education but just need a little extra time and help. Just a thought.

When Will It Stop

I don't know if the faculty are aware of it yet, but there is some terrible stuff being done to some students over the internet at this school. While I can happily say I have not been the target of these people there are some students whose reputations are being smashed anonymously. I am talking about college ACB. It is an anonymous website where people can start threads about anything, which I assume intended to be for positive discussion but has turned into a gossip website where people can hide behind their computer screens and talk shit about people. It makes me kinda angry that people continue to hurt someone over and over again. This takes cyber bullying to the next level because there is no way to confront the people spreading slander about you. The only thing the victims can do is apply to have the thread deleted but the same assholes that continue to spend all their time on the website just recreate the thread and start fresh. There was a reason juicy campus went under, because the material on the site was so hurtful and negative no advertisers wanted to be associated with the site. Why is this eyesore still around?

Just My Luck

After the long boring ride to DFW and nearly being felt up by some frightening, gross TSA agent, I get some food and go back to my gate to await my flight home. While sitting in the somewhat comfortable chairs that all have armrests so that it would be impossible to sleep on them if necessary and I notice all the very pretty girls which are clearly getting on the same plane as me. This makes me a little more optimistic about the three hour flight ahead but surely they are going to be playing some lame kids movie so I settle back down. As i board and take my usual isle seat, because the other ones make me feel claustrophobic, usually near the front of the plane so I don't have to wait for all the senile elderly people to deplane. Once I'm seated I watch and wait for my fellow row mates hoping that this time maybe I'll get lucky and have some really cute girl to entertain me and my eyes for a couple hours. As the girls walk by I begin to doubt the miracle that would be, and assume I'm going to get some business man who is going to work on his laptop the whole time and not talk my ear off about her eight year old grandson. But instead of the mediocre business man I see this very heavyset middle aged woman headed right for me and I can tell that she is looking for her row down the way. The plane is filling up and there aren't many other seats available except for the one next to me.....and then it happens, my nightmare comes true!

Is It Cold Outside?

Where I come from there are no seasons, literally in southern California our winters may get a little bit more chilly but it's not like the palm fronds turn brown and yellow and fall to the ground and snow doesn't cover cars and sidewalks aren't icy causing people to slip and break their wrists. Don't get me wrong I love seasons, winter being one of my favorites because I am an avid snowboarder but there is just something about the seasons here in Dallas I can't stand. I would be completely fine if the winters here were like the northeast where you knew is was going to be super cold everyday, that isn't a problem. The issue is in Dallas it will be 37 with a windchill one day and the next day its 64 and sunny, and when I leave the frat house to walk to class all bundled up, by the time I get to class I'm sweating. When it's cold out of course SMU has every building's thermostat turned up to 84* so all the students bundled up in winter clothes get to suffer in the heat until they go back outside to be miserable in the cold. I will be pleased as long as we get another snow day, but Turner won't give us one of those unless their are about 12 near death experiences. While its been a lovely November I am already expecting a miserable next three months.

The Young and the Innocent

"Back in the day..." may be such a cliche term but it is so useful. My friends and I use it on a regular basis to refer to not only our high school glory days, but also to a time where skipping classes to go to Fashion Island or the Bean Bag store wasn't and option. The innocence I possessed as a child amazes me. Times when the tooth fairy seemed so real I would try and stay awake to catch him/her/it or how the one time my parents let me sleep next to the tree to wait for Santa Claus and somehow they managed to put all the presents under the tree, eat the cookies and drink the milk without disturbing me, although I was a heavy sleeper. Back when teddy bears and action figures could take the place of friends who couldn't come over to play and entertain me for hours. They almost were Toy Story-esque the way each of them had personalities and tendencies I would create, the bad guys, the good guys, how the cool lego guys were the ones with the white helmets and black visors named Chad and Chase. I spent hours playing with those legos, and my parents spent so much money on keeping me entertained and happy. The thing is that they still spoil me, maybe not to the extent they did when I was a child but at least now I am mature enough to realize it and be very appreciative of all their efforts. I became so close with my family that now when there aren't serious things to deal with they can be the friends/ siblings I never had as a child.

My Little Slice of Heaven

While on a very enjoyable spring break road trip to Boulder, Colorado I came into contact with the greatest morsel. It was a thirteen hour drive from Dallas, Texas in a car or should I say beastmobile with no working speedometer, an oil pressure gauge that said the car was going to explode any minute, a crack that extended all the way across the windshield, and faulty windshield wipers. Anyhow while we were shredding by day and raging by night, we needed a certain something to hold us over both before and after the mountain, luckily we found something that could do both over multiple days. This saving grace was a sandwich shop called Salvagio's and the taste will never leave my memory, one because it was so good and two because we must have eaten there at least 6 times in four days. The thing to order was the steak and cheese but this was no ordinary philly. The savory beef and melty cheese were perfectly combined with a little bit of mayo and hot sauce, and while this sounds like a heartburn sandwich it was well worth it. Not to mention the fresh home baked bread they put all the ingredients on which I wish I knew the recipe for. All in all this place was so good that I asked my parents if we could make a two hour detour from Denver on our way to Brekenridge so that I could have a Salvagio's, unfortunately they shot me down.

The Future of Facebook

In a world where social networks are truly beginning to run the world as we know it, at least as far as communication is concerned, what is the world going to be doing in five years. Facebook as I learned today in my Ad Literacy class has grown to over 500,000,000 registered users according to one student. With numbers like that, it puts facebook as about the 3rd largest country in terms of population if I'm not mistaken. So in a world were people can video chat on their phones, and where advertisements are able to be seen by 500,000,000 people, how is facebook going to change? We now have 3-D televisions and movies, interactive computer screens and websites, imagine if in three years instead of chatting with someone in a little white box, we could produce a three dimensional fully functional image of the person so it is literally like they are in the room talking with us, while still being at home; you could literally almost be in four places at once.

A Little Entertainment

Since I got docked a few points last semester for not making my blog very 'fun' and engaging with the lack of media and all I figured for this post I'd simply give you all a golden nugget of new music. It may not be your style Dr. G but its been in my head the last three days. This is the Laidback Luke remix of Do! Do! Do!, you should add it to your class playlist for next semester's class.

Cavemen?

As I walked over to the barbell rack at Deadman to grab the necessary weights for my 21's I started spacing off in my head. Every day so many SMU students make their way to the gym to run or swim or lift weights to stay in prime, sexy shape, but when did the concept of using tools to stay in shape arise. I'm sure the neanderthals weren't too worried about lifting rocks and trees to tone their shoulders and biceps. Obviously they got stronger just trying to survive in a world where, let's be honest, they weren't exactly the top of the food chain. I don't know whether the cavemen and women were in shape or not nor do I think it mattered because they were always active simply trying to exist, but at some point our activity diminished so that people no longer had to stay in good health and shape to live. Now you see people going to the gym everyday to tone their bodies and trim fat, at some point someone must have realized, "hmmm when I exert myself, my muscles hurt all over" and their reaction must have been to refrain from whatever it was that caused their body physical pain. Eventually someone learned that by stressing and shocking your body that it will result it it growing and becoming stronger. I guess its like the first time someone tried a chilli pepper, it burned their eyes nose and mouth but eventually people learned of its flavor enhancing ability.

New Years Eve

Now while some of us may not be of the legal drinking age that is not to say that a majority of people won’t be partying/ celebrating the New Year on December 31^st. However, instead of sitting at someone’s house binge drinking and struggling to find a sober ride home, only to risk getting hit by a not-so-sober driver, some of my friends and myself will be celebrating in a relatively safe environment known as the Los Angeles Sports Arena. The event is called Together As One, more commonly known as TAO, and it is a massive (large dance music festival) expecting to reach an attendance of at least 75,000. Now while this sounds overwhelming, it is exactly the opposite. At an event where a lot of people are taking party drugs intended to make you more happy and tolerant of everything around you, TAO is a place where everyone can come together for one night for the common goal of celebrating a successful year and their same love for upbeat dance music. Featuring huge name artists like Wolfgang Gartner, Markus Schulz, Laidback Luke, Dada Life, Rusko, Nero, Diplo, Major Lazer, 12^th Planet, Kill the Noise, Pendulum, Jack Beats and many more it is sure to blow everyone who attends’ minds. But the point is not to get extremely F’ed up, but instead to enjoy each other and share one another’s passion for love and light. I went last year and I must say the countdown was pretty magical while David Guetta counted down from 30 seconds to midnight at which point the crowd, ERRUPTED. If you haven’t seen anything like this before, I would highly suggest researching what type of celebrations are in your area because it is an eye-opening experience.

Beuler....Beuler....Beuler

If you didn't get the title reference 1. shame on you 2. its from Ferris Beuler's Day Off, true classic. The scene I am referencing i when the professor is taking attendance for the class, which is the topic of this post. I can understand roll calls in elementary school to ensure that all the students are accounted for since there is a huge amount of liability when dealing with children, and as far as high school is concerned it seems appropriate because not going to class actually begins to be a possible choice. What I have the hardest time understanding is attendance policies in college. Aren't we adults now who are supposed to be learning how to make our own decisions about life? I mean we don't live at home with our parents anymore, we don't have curfews , we schedule our own classes, so why don't we have the other luxury of adults. I mean the fact that missing class hurts your grade is ridiculous, what if you can learn all the material on your own and ace the tests? If the point of taking attendance is to make sure that students come to class to learn the material so they don't do poorly in the class, then why would a professor hurt their grade. I'm sick of having to try and remember how many absences I have to make sure i don't get 10% of my grade knocked off.

knuP tfaD

If you were to hold the title up to a mirror and rotate the letter around you would read the name of one of the most legendary House producers in the world today. They hail from France and they have been crushing the scene for the last 20 years. Although older than most of the rising young stars, they still have such a huge following that it is almost an honor to see them live. The only dilemma is that their US tours are few and far between. So if they have so many die hard fans that would travel anywhere in the country I don't understand why their latest appearance in the states was at a Phoenix concert as a special guest where they played two songs? It may be because the alternative rock group is also from France but it doesn't seem like their target audience. Either way the duo's newest project is composing the soundtrack for the awaited Disney movie, Tron. Currently the duo is apparently making appearances in large cities in order to promote the movie, I wonder how much Disney is throwing at them for all this? Must be quite a bit if it brought them all the way back to the United States when they aren't officially touring. All i know is if they announce a location where they are playing, I'll be there!

Samesies

I'm not quite sure what is included in copyright laws these days since I, 1. have nothing to copyright and 2. am not a lawyer but I do notice things that are almost identical and yet still coexist. Obviously you can't take a product, reproduce it and then label it as your own, same goes for plagiarism, but what about taking a concept and slightly altering it so that you are able to market it in the same market but under your brand? What I'm talking about is products like Coka-Cola Zero and Pepsi Max, or Nintendo Wii, Playstation Move and Xbox Kinect. I feel as though its almost unfair that after Coca-Cola came up with the idea to market a zero calorie alternative that Pepsi is able to steal this concept and make money off of it. Whether or not Coca-Cola came up with the idea first or not is irrelevant because they were the original brand to market it to consumers. Is that not intellectual property?

My Ideal Day

Every school day I wake up, frustrated that somehow it is already 9:30, and struggle to get out of bed in order to shower and get to class, only to dread going to the next one. But if I had the ability to realistically have a day where I could do whatever I wanted without any future consequences whatsoever, this is how it would go. I would wake up probably around 10:30 not feeling tired at all but make sure to appreciate about fifteen minutes of laying awake in my comfy bed. Of course my five star chef Antonio would be downstairs waiting for my order of crepes, a ham, chicken and cheese omelet and a cup of dark coffee. After finishing breakfast and enjoying a nice fifteen minute hot shower listening to a live broadcast from Ibiza of someone like Deadmau5, I would check my email and such, just to confirm that I didn't have any necessary duties for the day. Now that its around noon on a Saturday, I would enjoy an awesome college football game with some of my closest friends. We would all have nice beer and the other things we all like to enjoy that can't be mentioned here, but we would not get sloppy, because after all its the perfect day. After the football game and an hour and a half at the pool with some cute girls, the boys would all get together and play some pickup football out in the sun. Following our team barely winning by a last second score by me, we would all go back to our respective abodes to change and get ready for the night. After a quick power nap, all the girls and guys would meet up for drinks and appetizers at a nice restaurant/ bar. After a few drinks we would venture to Texas de Brazil for a filling meal and more drinks. Now that it has gotten dark out and everyone is in the party mood, we may continue drinking and possibly take some party drugs (because there are no future consequences) and head out to a massive (dance music festival with upwards of 25,000 people) at Cowboys stadium where we would have a VIP tent and backstage passes to party with the artists. After meeting some of the best DJ's in the world, we could all go back to some mansion to enjoy the rest of our night together before reality hits. Wouldn't that be nice!

Blackberry Torch

I know I have mentioned before how electronic music is taking over the pop scene, but this is just another reminder that the future is near. The "Love what you do" campaign features hit electro house artist Diplo in his everyday life using his phone. He talks about the usefulness of having this smart phone and the applications that make his life traveling around the world easier. Not only does the drop in the song get me really pumped on this product but the fact that agencies know where the music world is going makes me warm inside, because I am an avid fan of the genres. Let me reiterate, electronic music is taking over!

Advertising That Makes Me Sick

I'm sure everyone who watches tv has seen some of these disgusting ads. If anyone watches the garbage programs on stations like MTV or VH1 then they probably see them every fifteen minutes or so. I'm talking about the weight loss supplement ads that seem to air back to back to back. Supplements like Zantrac 3 and Hydroxycut, which are literally a heart attack in a bottle, are directed toward the millions of 13-19 age girls that are watching these channels at night. The first thing that bothers me is that these pills do not make a person lose weight, they simply give you enough horrible chemicals and caffeine to aid the lazy couch potatoes get out and get active and have the energy do to so. The second thing that bothers me is that in the ad it shows before and after shots of the people who supposedly used the product. I know for a fact Hydroxycut was involved in a law suit over this because in reality the 'after' picture is actually taken first and then the participants are paid to gain multiple pounds of fat to take the 'before' picture. You can easily tell especially with the men, because they are still extremely jacked just with a layer of fat on top. But the worst part of these ads, especially Zantrac 3 is their slogan which is fueling an out of control fire right now that deals with girls and their body image. At the end of the Zantrac commercial its slogan repeats, "Its great to be thin". This is torturing to young girls, I'm sure, who may not be in the best shape; they know the benefits to being in shape especially at such a vulnerable age. These weight loss commercials, make up ads, or any other beauty products show retardedly skinny models making it seem like you can only be considered beautiful if you look like this. Advertising for these products should be canceled not only because the product is horrible for your health but also because it is sending the worst possible message.

The Definition of a Word.....

Courage

Things I Find Pointless....

There are a few things in this world which I feel are kind of unnecessary. The first thing that comes to mind is a new craze that has hit SMU like a tidal wave. They are called 'Silly Bandz' and in case you haven't gotten a chance to see them or the ridiculous people wearing them, they are colorful rubber bands molded into shapes of various things: guitars, octopus, van, cat etc. Now I am not one to bash things with an actual purpose, such as normal rubber bands when used for their intended purpose. But these 'Silly Bandz' are not used for a functional purpose, instead people have started wearing them on their wrists, and not just one, multiple bands all of different colors and such. More power to the inventors of these absurd.....things, because I am sure they are doing quite well for themselves right now. The other thing that really bugs me because of its impracticality is fire drills. Come on, who the hell doesn't know how to exit a building they have been in for weeks? Personally if there is a fire, there is no way in hell I am casually strolling down the hall to the stairwell. It is pointless because no one reacts the same to a drill as they would in the occurrence of an actual fire. As far as I am concerned, it is every man for himself and I am going to make sure that I am not the last one out of that blazing building.

The Best Advice I Was Ever Given....

It did not take me long to think about what and where from the best advice I have received came. The information undoubtedly came from my true hero. Those who have met him love him and those who haven't wish they had. This wise old man is without a doubt my father, or as many of you know him Joel. Ever since I was little I was never the best, fastest, biggest or strongest at anything I did, but that never stopped me. My dad was the ultimate cheerleader and supporter for me. He was at every grade school assembly (twice a week), every practice, every game, you name it, and even with all this support and encouragement there were times when I wanted to quit. Let it be known I have never quit a sport, project, anything, and it is all due to my dad. He always told me to do my best and put 100% percent effort into anything and everything I did. As previously stated I was never the MVP for any team I played on, but no one ever hustled more than I did, which is the reason I was able to participate in so many sports. Coaches were more willing to start someone with a great attitude and work ethic with decent skills than a cocky and lazy athlete who didn't try. All I wanted to do was play, I would ask coaches whether there was any spot on the field that needed to be filled, if there was anything I could do or work on so that I could have more playing time, and you know what, I almost always was one of the big contributors. My dad taught me to have a big heart and to have spirit with whatever it is I need to accomplish. There is no better role model than Joel Spencer.

Communication

It must have been around 6th or 7th grade for me, when I started having my parents drop me off at the mall with my friends to see a movie and eat dinner. It was always the cool thing to do with all the cute girls in our grade, and it seemed so normal to have my parents drop me off with a specific time to be picked up. The reason there was a specific time was because I was living in a world without a cellphone. In today's age I feel completely naked without my phone, and whenever I destroy or lose one communication with the rest of the world seems impossible even with the use of social networks. The thing that baffles me is how my parents did it when they were my age. So often when caravanning with a couple of cars somewhere and one gets stuck at a light, or as happens all the time when plans change on a whim; how were they able to communicate to each other? Did they have to go home and check their answering machines or did they not have those either? We as a society rely so heavily on the use of these mobile phones, that if all the cell phones all of a sudden stopped working, I couldn't even imagine the chaos that would ensue. Its so strange to me to see children in 1st and 2nd grade constantly texting on their phones that are nicer than mine. If this is how communication has developed in the past 20 years, what is going to happen in the next 40? Are our phones and contact lists just going to be stored in our heads? Imagine if you could call someone through your head, everyone would be walking around like they are talking to themselves.

That Was Trippy

So there I am at some lake on an island with very jungle like terrain and I am with with some friends of mine, who I could not recognize. All of a sudden we are no longer on the island but on a nice boat relaxing, drinking some beer, and enjoying a sunny afternoon in the sun. We eventually beach the boat, probably a bad idea, and go up on shore. All of a sudden a few of the crew gets killed, shot by arrows. Honestly who really uses arrows anymore? Its 2010! Anyways we then notice that there are what appear to be Natives approaching us on small wooden boats. With no other options myself and two of the people I was with, who have now changed their identity, scamper up the overgrown side of a mountain on the island to lay low and watch the natives actions. Soon enough, while remaining concealed, we suddenly have huge guns I'm assuming to protect ourselves and we make our way to a cliche rope and wood bridge, like something you would see out of Indiana Jones, over a large valley. As it happens in most dreams, the completely unexplainable happens and I am all of a sudden driving a huge convertible monster truck with a midget down some highway. Of course the dream couldn't end with some nice attractive young lady, but instead we end up crashing the monster truck and end up dying. Now what does this detailed dream that strangely remains so vague in my memory tell me?.......I should probably lay off the 'tree' right before bed.

Girls Nike Shorts?

I have been curious about this for the past 2 1/4 years while at SMU, and I doubt that I will ever truly understand. I understand it is normal for college students after the first week of school to put less effort and care into getting ready to go to class because many times I just roll out of bed myself. And its not that most girls at this school even need to spend time getting ready because many people at this school are naturally attractive, but what is with these shorts? I know everyone has seen them and every girl has at least one pair. I've heard testimonies about how comfortable they are and how they have a lining in them so you can just wear the shorts, but really? Like the girls, and I know some of them personally, that own every single color in production and still have duplicates of some colors. I think more girls wear these shorts than people wear cowboy boots at SMU. If SMU were smart they would start embroidering the mustang or the letters onto the shorts, jack up the prices and sell them in the bookstore. I'm pretty sure Mcartney's on Hillcrest makes ones with sorority letters on them, and I'm sure as shit the girls go nuts over them. I blame nike for not making a comparable piece of clothing for the guys, but please no lining!

Greatest Product Ever!

I was just introduce to the coolest thing I have seen in a while. I am usually someone that comes home after a night of partying and just throws my clothes on the floor, usually because I am too "tired" to adequately hang them up. There have been so many instances where I am attending something a function that requires khakis, only to realize that they are horribly wrinkled. So this product, it works wonders by getting rid of the wrinkles in your clothes! I grew up with a housekeeper and never really learned how to iron, nor do I posses anything related to ironing because lets be honest, I live in a frat house. But this product by Downey, all you have to do is spray it generously on the piece of clothing lightly rub out some of the bigger creases and then hang it up. Not only does it save you from looking like a slob in important situations, but it also smells clean and fresh. I had heard of stain removers and bleach pens, but this takes it to the next level of preparedness for unprepared people like myself.

Ice Cold

I was first introduced to this gem of a game right when I was picked up from the airport in Dallas earlier this year. At first I was skeptical but after being a good sport I realized the potential this game had. "Icing" as it is called, is no ordinary drinking game, mainly because you don't play it with other people. Here's the premise, take any size Smirnoff Ice and hide it anywhere you like. If you can get someone to find it without them knowing about it, then they have been iced. But the best part about icing someone is the pose that must be struck while chugging, down on one knee and visible for the phone camera. There is nothing worse than waking up at a friends apartment hungover, looking for 'the real hangover cure' in the closet and finding a WARM ice waiting for you. This game originated on some website a few friends made and it has become an internet sensation. I believe Smirnoff filed some sort of lawsuit because the website was taken down, but honestly, Smirnoff probably sells more of their product now then they did with their mediocre advertisements. If someone wants to market my product with a fun rebellious game, I'm all for it, but please drink responsibly.

A Tasty Delight

The first time I had one of these round treats, I immediately felt like I was in heaven. Not to mention the clean and almost mechanic the interior was, and yet it slightly feels like you are in the clouds. I am talking, of course, about Krispy Kreme doughnuts. This establishment really knows how to make a doughnut and markets themselves so well. This is the only doughnut shop I have seen where not only is everything done completely by machines, but you can watch the entire process while waiting in the undoubtedly long line. But don't worry about the wait even if the show bores you, because the company usually has someone, clad in their classic uniforms with the iconic hat, serve you fresh warm melt-in-your-mouth samples. These samples are pretty generous as well, considering they give you an entire doughnut! They are famous for the original glazed; however some of my favorite have to be the chocolate cream-filled and of course for the kid in me, original chocolate with sprinkles. But back to the way this company markets itself. As previously stated, this is the only shop, I have seen, that shows you the mechanical process, and that gives you warm doughnuts in line, but their uniforms and the hats they offer you, the hospitality; they have solidified an image for families. They are at a tier of doughnut shop that the vietnamese Mom and Pop shops can't compare themselves too. The only thing they can compete on is price, and if you are only going for one doughnut, the price difference is minute. So, if you haven't tried it, make sure you take the stairway to heaven.

The Death Penalty

It is truly difficult to argue against your own position on a controversial topic, especially one I feel as strongly on as capital punishment. So here it goes.... In a scenario where a suspect has raped and killed an innocent victim and the jury is on the fence whether he deserves the death penalty, my vote would go for capital punishment. There is no greater fear in life for most people other than death, which makes it the best consequence. It is similar to George Orwell's 1984, where Winston is tortured by is greatest fear in order to gain the truth. If a person takes the life of another human being, not only does he murder that person but they also destroy the lives of anyone close to that person. It is similar to the Code of Hammurabi, which has the basic principle of "an eye for an eye". If you are convicted of murder whether it be one person or a mass killing, the death penalty should always be a possible consequence. If potential murderers knew that the consequence of killing someone may be that their own life may be taken from them, it would deter a lot more violence.

Something My Mind Map Says About Me.....

There are a few things that my mind map says about me. The first thing that can most likely be clearly seen from my mind map, is that the creator was obviously a guy. It is not the content or depth that would lead someone to this discovery but simply the organization and penmenship. I find it very easy to tell between most guys' versus girls' work, whether it is handwriting or art. For one thing most of my illustrations, which took surprisingly long despite there not being very many, are somewhat sloppy, in the sense that I have a hard time drawing straight lines and such. A more important thing that my mind map says about me, is that no matter how manicured the final product is, the observer can tell that I put all my effort into it and didn't just do the minimum required. It also shows what my interests are; going out and doing things, playing sports, sleeping, and my respect for friends and especially family. I found it interesting, when making the cross connections, that some of the connections were between two completely different things that had nothing to do with each other but everything to do with me.

In the Digital Age....

It seems as though our world is evolving almost like a video game. Only 60 or some odd years ago the entertainment people took part in was so much simpler. Every aspect of our lives has grown and changed with the developing technology. Video games have gone from pong to motion censored controllers, television has gone from a few black and white channels to hundreds of high definition channels, not to mention the recent 3-D craze. But as with visual media, auditory media is also changing. When rap first hit the masses people were appalled at it, disassociating it with any title close to "music". Time went on and hip hop became one of the leading genres of music for pop culture. Well times are changing again. Rap and rock are out, electronic is in. If you haven't noticed it yet it is probably because you, A. don't like it and therefore choose to ignore it or B. are at an age where new things like this don't have an impact on your generation. But electronic music is everywhere, it is even taking over the music for pop videos. Almost every pop song that comes on MTV or VH1 has an electronic beat with the lyrics, and while it may not be the same as heavy hitting house, dubstep or other electronic genre's the roots are there. Personally the craze hit me a few years into high school and I haven't looked back. A lot of people say that it isn't music its just a bunch of error messages put together, and while the artists may not pluck strings or beat platforms, the rythm and tempo are still there. Artists have found a way to please listeners with technology!

Nuts and Berries

Eating in today's age is something that most people don't really think about, it is just a part of life that gets done, like breathing or walking. I was looking at my desk and saw a can of cashews sitting open, 3/4 eaten already. It made me think about the food we eat, and how it came to be known as edible. I started wondering how many people it took in the past to try ingesting different things in order to satisfy their hunger. How many people did it take to try all the different seeds and berries found in the forrest to know which ones were edible. The first people had no clue what type of reaction these foreign items were going to have on them. People truly must have had to try an acorn they found to see not only if it made them less hungry but also whether or not it would make them violently ill or even poison them. How would they even test these nuts or berries or seeds? For instance if they ate three different berries and two different nuts, they would have no way of knowing which of those things made their stomach twist in agony. We take what we eat for granted, especially in America. I can't even imagine what the original inhabitants would have done for a drive through building that prepares hot meals for you. This leads me to wonder what is out there currently that has yet to be tried. Imagine if there were some delicious substance in abundance somewhere that has yet to be discovered or tried; it just needs to be found.

My Greatest Fear

It took me a while to truly realize what my biggest fear in life is. The first thing that came to me was obviously spiders and all other bugs for that matter. Let's be honest, who is not arachnophobic these days? Any bug flying around, with whatever motivation they have to annoy the shit out of me, makes me uncomfortable. Simply waking up with a spider crawling on my arm or lifting up a book on my desk to watch a cockroach attempt to scurry away, makes my skin crawl. But creepy crawlies aside, there is something that scares me more than anything, and that is failure. I have spent more sleepless nights than I can count wondering how I am going to make it in this world of competition. The fact that I am expected to start my career in two years makes me a little uneasy. What if I don't find a job that can support a family or even myself for that matter? What if I don't find a job at all? These questions that can't be answered are the only ones I wish were known. If there were any questions that I would truly look to someone else for the answer it is these. It would kill me to let down my family and myself. Hopefully I can overcome these worries and make something of myself.

There are two things that drive me crazy!

Ok the first one is something that I don't feel was inherent by birth....needless to say my father always taught me as a kid to be on time to things. My football coach used to say if your five minutes early then you are on time, if you are on time you are late. The thing I hate most is people that show up to things late, and not only that but people who don't stick to a time limit they give you. For instance when I was in high school one of my best friends would always drive to my house on the weekends, and I would get very excited for his arrival. He lived far away so I would call once and ask how far out he was. The problem was he would tell me 15 minutes and wouldn't show up for 45. Now it wouldn't have been a problem if he had just told me 45 so I knew what to expect but that wasn't the case. The other thing that drives me nuts is all other drivers in general. Every other driver on the road that irritates me is automatically a bad driver in my mind. The people that change lanes without signaling or that sit in one of the middle lanes going 62. I know road rage is a bad thing to have but I no longer enjoy driving because of all the stupid drivers.

What if.......

Now although I know this is highly improbably but stick with me for a sec. As people we always seem to be carrying things whether it be a wallet or books. We use things like backpacks and pockets and purses to carry the things that we want with us. Well, just imagine if somehow a person were to develop.....and get this.....a bodily compartment. Essentially a place inside our body accessible through your stomach or hip, where you could keep valuables. Now the person that develops this, is going to need to figure out a way to not interfere with any vital organs nor make it look like you have a 20 pound tumor coming off your hip. Imagine how you could advertise for the new junk trunk. It is something that could be advertised to the masses because it is not a personalized product. If it sold you would have a monopoly on the body compartment market. A girl could actually have.....junk in her trunk.

Oh no am I Turning into my Parents?.....

Oh wait that wouldn't be a bad thing, I would be honored if I could have the life of my parents. This week they are celebrating their 35th wedding anniversary in Cancun. They met when they were sophomores in high school and they have been together ever since. I have never met two people who are more happy in their life than my parents. My mom excelled in high school and was valedictorian of her class and my dad was no dummy either. However my mom decided not to go to college and instead got a job because in those days in Northeast Washington, people didn't really go to college. My dad did a year and a half at University of Washington and decided to drop out and get his real estate license. I am the first person in my family to go to college, and my parents are able to afford it because they work their asses off. Now my beautiful mother is the CFO of the company she works for and my father is a very respected name in his business. If I could grow up and work as hard and be even half as happy in life as my parents, then I would say I am successful. So instead of 'oh no I'm turning into my parents....' its more like 'what more can I do to be more like my parents'.

The Scariest Thing that Ever Happened to Me.....

The scariest thing that ever happened to me occurred while in one of the most beautiful places in the world. My family was in Hawaii, and I couldn't have been older than six or seven. My father and I were snorkeling around in the clear warm waters, I believe on the big island. Either way we were following a large lazy sea turtle examining all the colorful fish and wildlife in the area. I have always been a strong swimmer so we were able to go a couple hundred feet offshore. As we were swimming along in hot pursuit of the turtle, a spear-fisherman crossed our path, dragging behind him a decently long line of fish that he had caught. I didn't think anything of it at the time but now I distinctly remember there being a trail of blood. At that age I didn't put together islands in the pacific plus bleeding fish equals trouble (I guess math wasn't one of my strengths). About seven minutes later, and out of nowhere a huge Black Tip Reef Shark cut us off by no more than four or five feet from our faces. I would estimate this shark to have been around eight feet long, which is a very formidable foe when you are in first grade. But as terrified as I was, i could rely on the fact that my dad would not let anything happen to me and we safely made it back to shore. Luckily for him, he was also a good swimmer because I used his back as a jungle gym the whole way back!

The Moment I Realized I Was Wrong...

The setting was 6th grade, in Mrs. Bearden's class, who was a magnificent instructor, but for some reason i had a habit of using the words "a" and "lot" together, but attaching the two to form one word. I made the mistake over and over again. Each time I made the mistake I would have to write it out more and more times. For some reason it made sense to me for 'alot' to be one word. After making the mistake one too many times and having to write it out 500 times, I finally realized that I was wrong.

Alarm Clocks

Why is it that something so helpful and necessary to everyone's day is often so dreaded and neglected. Most people have evolved from the old school round clock mounted by two bells (see above picture) to now using the convenience of their cell phone. All last year I used the same jingle for my alarm and now every time I hear it being used as someone's ringtone, I almost twitch, like I'm suddenly being woken up. And why make it a snooze button? Why not just make it a screw you I'm hungover/ simply over class button, because lets be honest the whole "snooze" thing doesn't just happen once. Once someone can come up with a product that people don't want to smash against their wall will certainly be a very wealthy person.

But if you want some great songs/jams to either wake you up or to enjoy on your lunch break, check out another blog I write for at lunchjams.blogspot.com

That is all

-Jordan