My Thoughts…

They just don’t make ‘em like they used to…

10. Aaahh!!! Real Monsters- That was always a good show…  Who wouldn’t love a show where someone has to carry their eyeballs around in their hands all the time?

9. The Wild Thornberry’s- A girl who could talk to animals… Very interesting show.  The monkey was always my favorite character.  Darwin, I believe.

8. Angry Beavers- The only cartoon I’ve ever seen about beavers..  Good stuff.  I miss Daggett and Norbert. =(

7. Kenan & Kel- Who loves orange soda… Kel loves orange soda… I do I do I dooooooooo.  Genius comedy right there.  Ahh….those were the days.

6. Rocket Power- That show was awesome.  Always made me want to skateboard and roller-blade…and surf.

5. Are You Afraid of the Dark?- Definitely one of the best shows ever.  Closest thing to a horror movie on Nickelodeon.  Amazing show, no doubt.

4. Doug- Doug Funnie was the bomb.  Everyone and their crazy skin colors..  Great show.  Loved his dog Porkchop, too.

3. Hey Arnold!- Ahh..football head.  Football head and his little kilt..  It’s sad how much I miss that show.

2. Rugrats- If there’s one 90′s child that doesn’t know who the Rugrats are, then I’ll eat my hat.  That’s one show I don’t miss.  …Because I have about 50 VHS tapes of it at home. =)

1. Spongebob Squarepants- Now, I’ll definitely eat my hat if no one’s ever heard of Spongebob.  Even adults know who he is.  I’m pretty sure Spongebob is one of the only shows left from the 90′s still running on Nickelodeon.  And we’re very fortunate for that.  It’s the only decent cartoon left in existence.  You’re my hero, Spongebob.

I recently read an article by Shawn Pogatchnik, titled Irish student hoaxes world’s media with fake quote. The whole story is basically about a student who thought it would be interesting to put a “quote” on a recently passed away musican’s Wikipedia page, just to see how people would respond. The quote was put on Maurice Jarre’s page just shortly after the French composer’s death. Wikipedia addministrators quickly removed the quote, but the few short minutes it was there was plenty of time for journalists to notice. Many blogs and newspapers used the quote as the opening or closing of their obituaries, said Fitzgerald (the 22 year old student). So what does this say about our journalists? What does this say about how trustworthy the media can be? It says a lot.. It says what most of us already knew– you can’t always trust what you read. What kind of journalists are there out there that will seriously read a quote online, with no source of any kind, no other proof that it was ever said, and just automatically put it in the paper?! Without double-checking…at all? Some people, (especially the journalists), probably didn’t approve of this young Irish student’s way of going about this, but I support him 100%. I think what he did was hilarious and proved an excellent point that hopefully many people will now see.

So there’s this word.  Uglyography.  Never heard of it?  Exactly.

I tried to do some history on the word, tried to learn about its origin and everything, but you know what?  I couldn’t find any.  At all.  Apparently not one person on the planet knows enough about the word to write about it because this poor little word has gone unused for oh so long that only one website could even give me a tiny little definition.  Or maybe I’m just lazy and didn’t look hard enough.  Could be either one..

Anyway, my point is, we’re losing this cute little word, and we definitely don’t want to do that.  I mean, just say it, uglyography…  How fun is that??!  How many other words are there that have the word UGLY in it?!  I don’t think there’s any..  I think this word is special. 

But what does it mean, you ask?  Well, bad handwriting.  That’s what it means.  It even makes sense.  Isn’t that nifty?  Next time you’re in class and you lean over and look at your neighbor’s paper, you can be like “Hey dude, you’ve got some serious uglyography!”  And your teacher’s like “Stop talking, this is a test.  And keep your eyes on your own paper.”  And you’re like “Hey it doesn’t matter, I’m saving the word!!”  And after you get out of detention, you’ll feel very good about yourself for sharing this word with others. =)

So, take this word and say it.  Say it all the time.  Even if someone’s handwriting is pretty, say it’s not, just to use the word.  So what if they cry, we’re saving the word!

If you’d like to save a word of your own along with receiving a nice little certificate like mine, go here-
Save The Words

Over the past few weeks I have learned very much about third world countries, probably more than I wanted to. However, in the process, I’ve realized that it IS important that we learn about them. I think many kids drive around in their fancy new car that their parents pay for, walk around in their bazillion dollar designer clothes (that their parents also pay for), eat whatever they want whenever they want (the food of course, is bought by the parents!), and they still have the nerve to complain. They don’t realize how good they’ve got it. I don’t realize how good I’ve got it sometimes. I don’t think anyone does. That’s why I say students learning about third world countries can be very important. They might learn that there are children, and adults as well, living in complete poverty, dealing with terrible things every day that we’ve never even had to witness before. Perhaps it can teach us that things could be much much worse for us, and if we cannot help these people, the least we can do is to appreciate how much better we are allowed to live. I think any opportunity you can find (and afford) to help out people from undeveloped countries is great. We definitely have more than they do, and most of us have more than enough to give. However, I don’t feel that it is America’s responsibility to help these countries that are struggling. What these countries are going through is a terrible thing and they DO need help, and any help we can give is a very good thing, but it is not our responsibility. They are their own countries, and as rude as it sounds, it’s kind of up to them to fix themselves, not America.

I have created this quiz to see how much other students know about this third world country.

Click here to take it!

I have recently watched Hotel Rwanda (directed by Terry George), the tragic true story of the Rwandan genocide of 1994. Paul Rusesabgina (played by Don Cheadle), was the manager of a Rwanda hotel. In Rwanda, the citizens were broken down into two categories- Hutu and Tutsi. After years of being the ones looked down upon, the Hutu’s decided to rebel, trying to capture and kill many Tutsi’s. Fortunately Paul was Hutu, however, his wife Taiana (Sophie Okonedo), was not. Paul went to extreme lengths to protect his family. Don Cheadle played a very emotional and convincing character. I was very impressed with his acting ability. This movie most likely highly impacted many others as well as myself. Hotel Rwanda is extremely moving and will definitely make you glad to be living in America. One particularly emotional scene of the movie shows Paul driving back on a road a soldier told him to take; the road becomes bumpy and soon he realizes he’s driving over thousands of Tutsi bodies. Overall, I believe this movie is tragic, horrific, and definitely something every American needs to see at least once.

121 Minutes. Rated PG-13.

So I’ve done some more reading on Thailand, trying to figure out a little about their culture

Religion: Nearly 95% of Thailand is Theravada Buddhist, with a small minority of Muslims (4.6%).  The majority of Thailand residents own ‘Spirit Houses’- miniature wooden houses in which they believe household spirits live.  They offer food or drinks to these spirits to keep them from becoming unhappy, in which case is believed to cause chaos in the household.  So don’t tick off the spirits…

Arts: Visual art from Thailand is traditionally Buddhist.  Buddha images have a variety of different styles. Literature in Thailand is influenced by Indian culture.  Especially important is the Ramakian, based on the Ramayana, an Indian epic that tells stories of the Hindu god Rama.  Dancing is also something many Thai people engage in.  The music of Thailand consists mainly of classical, folk, string, and pop music.  I guess screamo isn’t big there.

Food: Thai cuisine is famous for the blending of four fundamental tastes: sweet, spicy, sour, salty.  Most Thai dishes combine most, if not all, of these tastes.  If you’re going to Thailand, you’d better like rice, because Kao (rice) is eaten with nearly every meal.  Popular dishes include pad Thai (pan-fried noodles), satay (barbecued pork or chicken on a stick with peanut sauce), yam (spiced salad), kaeng (any kind of curry), and tom yam (lemon-flavored soup usually with shrimp).  Yum…  I think.

Sports: The most popular sports in Thailand are soccer, table tennis (can you even call that a sport?), badminton, volleyball, and basketball. Children enjoy various martial arts. Thai chess, along with flying kites, are some of Thailand’s favorite activities.

Customs: Western-style clothing is very common in many parts of Thailand. Straw hats are often worn by farmers. Women wear a simple blouse with a wraparound skirt called a Sarong. Something tells me I wouldn’t quite fit in… One very distinct Thai custom would be the ‘Wai’, which is a gesture showing a greeting, a farewell, or an acknowledgement. It generally involves a prayer-like gesture with the hands and a bow of the head. Public displays of affection are common between friends but not as common between lovers. In Thailand it is much more common to see two friends holding hands rather than an actual couple. It may be considered rude to touch someone’s head or place your feet at a level above one’s head. This is so because Thai people believe the feet are the dirtiest, most disgusting part of the body, while the head is the most highest and respected part.  So if you’re looking for a foot rub, Thailand is not for you.

Hopefully these are some things that would be useful to you if you ever find yourself in Thailand. =)

(Wikipedia), (Culture Grams)