Current System Configuration: Bewildered
Earworms:
-Bring It On by Steven Curtis Chapman [CCM]
I fell in love with this song when I first heard it back in college, but I never found an mp3--until yesterday. -ZEST SEVEN by Salamander Factory (From Super Robot Wars Alpha 3: To the End of the Galaxy; Shivah Gozzo's boss theme)
It's hard not to love this epic, tragic piece. Part battlehymn, part march. All awesome.
-Graceland by Freedom Call [Power Metal]
Sustenance:
[Breakfast] Merced Raisin Bread and oatmeal
[Lunch]
[Dinner]
[Coffee] Homebrew coffee
Current Read:
None
Just an announcement: I am moving to Wordpress. I'll be leaving this blog operational so that I don't lose all my valuable posts from the past. I'll be linking both blogs so that nothing is lost. That's about it. I'll be posting something on my new blog soon.
Monday, September 11, 2006
Saturday, September 09, 2006
Inhumanities Week
Current System Configuration: Fighting neuralgia
Earworms:
Iisang Bangka by The Dawn
Hemisphere by Maaya Sakamoto (from the anime RahXephon)
The Gate of the Hell by JAM Project (from Mazinkaiser vs. Ankoku Daishogun). Yes, it really is "The Gate of THE Hell."
Sustenance:
[Breakfast] French toast and blueberry jam
[Lunch] Spaghetti with meat sauce
[Dinner] Ziti with meat sauce D:
[Coffee] None
Current Read:
None, finished the following recently:
-The Giver by Lois Lowry
-Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
InHumanities week is finally over. Overall it was a good mix of doing absolutely nothing and being absolutely stressed. For most of the time I did nothing but listen to talks, but yesterday was completely busy. English day does that to you. I coached one of the debate teams, and in the afternoon I emceed for the speech choir competition.
The result of the debate was very favorable. My team did win, although both the Best Speaker and Best Debater awards went to Max Gana on the opposing team. He did excellently, and deserved it. I was pleased with the good fight both teams put up. In fact, one of the judges commended the students on how impressive their manner was, considering that they were only in high school. He said that they were quite promising and could look forward to outstanding performances in debate circuits if they continued honing their skills.
The speech choir was generally impressive. Most of the presentations were quite entertaining, although some of the sections failed to grasp the concept of the speech choir---that is, unison. Some put on impressive shows, although only a few people were talking at a time. One class relied too much on monologues, which hurt their score a lot.
The most memorable of the presentations was that of Rosal. They dressed up as zombies and portrayed a shambling undead horde quite well--the result was slightly comical at first, but it eventually escalated into a haunting portrayal of our country's fight for freedom. They only won second place, but it's the only presentation that really stood out in my mind.
The rest events of the week are chronicled in my photobucket account.
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v312/AslanCross/Pisay/InhumanitiesWeek0607/
The password is vaevictis
Again, the week was generally successful. The only total failure was on the part of our government, which did not pay us when they should have.
Anyway, I'm quite pleased with the two books I finished this week. Let's start with Inkheart.
Inkheart is a must read for anyone who likes reading. The story revolves around Meggie, a 12-year-old girl whose father Mortimer (Mo) is a book restoration specialist. The book starts with a visit from a mysterious old acquaintance, Dustfinger. Eventually, it's revealed that Meggie's father has the ability to read fictional entities and objects into physical existence in this world whenever he reads out loud.
The plot itself is quite long and winding, so first time fantasy readers might find the text ponderous. In the words of one of my students, it was quite tiring to read towards the end. However, it was very entertaining, with the ending leaving many possibilities open. I look forward to getting my hands on the sequel, Inkspell.
If Inkheart was a bit of a struggle, The Giver was not. Lois Lowry narrated it so clearly and concisely that I finished the book at 10 pm, having only begun at 4:30pm that day.
The Giver is set in what seems to be a utopian society in which everything is controlled and taken care of. Jonas, the protagonist, is an eleven-year-old boy waiting for his assignment to his adult role in the community. Eventually, he discovers that his community is not as peaceful as it seems.
The novel was quite chilling and inspiring at the same time. It asks very poignant questions about human freedom. Of course, I can't discuss it in detail as I will be giving my students a long test on it. <_<>
Oh yeah, for all my current students:
If you didn't know yet, I'm making sigs for use on the Rex2010 Forums for those who get a 1.00 in my class. So far, four people got them, with one declining my offer. Here are the ones I've made so far:
Andie's sig:
Joe's sig:
Isa's sig:
So if you guys want to have a custom sig done by me, do better this quarter.
Earworms:
Iisang Bangka by The Dawn
Hemisphere by Maaya Sakamoto (from the anime RahXephon)
The Gate of the Hell by JAM Project (from Mazinkaiser vs. Ankoku Daishogun). Yes, it really is "The Gate of THE Hell."
Sustenance:
[Breakfast] French toast and blueberry jam
[Lunch] Spaghetti with meat sauce
[Dinner] Ziti with meat sauce D:
[Coffee] None
Current Read:
None, finished the following recently:
-The Giver by Lois Lowry
-Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
InHumanities week is finally over. Overall it was a good mix of doing absolutely nothing and being absolutely stressed. For most of the time I did nothing but listen to talks, but yesterday was completely busy. English day does that to you. I coached one of the debate teams, and in the afternoon I emceed for the speech choir competition.
The result of the debate was very favorable. My team did win, although both the Best Speaker and Best Debater awards went to Max Gana on the opposing team. He did excellently, and deserved it. I was pleased with the good fight both teams put up. In fact, one of the judges commended the students on how impressive their manner was, considering that they were only in high school. He said that they were quite promising and could look forward to outstanding performances in debate circuits if they continued honing their skills.
The speech choir was generally impressive. Most of the presentations were quite entertaining, although some of the sections failed to grasp the concept of the speech choir---that is, unison. Some put on impressive shows, although only a few people were talking at a time. One class relied too much on monologues, which hurt their score a lot.
The most memorable of the presentations was that of Rosal. They dressed up as zombies and portrayed a shambling undead horde quite well--the result was slightly comical at first, but it eventually escalated into a haunting portrayal of our country's fight for freedom. They only won second place, but it's the only presentation that really stood out in my mind.
The rest events of the week are chronicled in my photobucket account.
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v312/AslanCross/Pisay/InhumanitiesWeek0607/
The password is vaevictis
Again, the week was generally successful. The only total failure was on the part of our government, which did not pay us when they should have.
Anyway, I'm quite pleased with the two books I finished this week. Let's start with Inkheart.
Inkheart is a must read for anyone who likes reading. The story revolves around Meggie, a 12-year-old girl whose father Mortimer (Mo) is a book restoration specialist. The book starts with a visit from a mysterious old acquaintance, Dustfinger. Eventually, it's revealed that Meggie's father has the ability to read fictional entities and objects into physical existence in this world whenever he reads out loud.
The plot itself is quite long and winding, so first time fantasy readers might find the text ponderous. In the words of one of my students, it was quite tiring to read towards the end. However, it was very entertaining, with the ending leaving many possibilities open. I look forward to getting my hands on the sequel, Inkspell.
If Inkheart was a bit of a struggle, The Giver was not. Lois Lowry narrated it so clearly and concisely that I finished the book at 10 pm, having only begun at 4:30pm that day.
The Giver is set in what seems to be a utopian society in which everything is controlled and taken care of. Jonas, the protagonist, is an eleven-year-old boy waiting for his assignment to his adult role in the community. Eventually, he discovers that his community is not as peaceful as it seems.
The novel was quite chilling and inspiring at the same time. It asks very poignant questions about human freedom. Of course, I can't discuss it in detail as I will be giving my students a long test on it. <_<>
Oh yeah, for all my current students:
If you didn't know yet, I'm making sigs for use on the Rex2010 Forums for those who get a 1.00 in my class. So far, four people got them, with one declining my offer. Here are the ones I've made so far:
Andie's sig:
Joe's sig:
Isa's sig:
So if you guys want to have a custom sig done by me, do better this quarter.
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Be Just or Be Dead
Current System Configuration: Painfully just
Earworms:
Salva Nos by Yuki Kajiura (from the anime Noir)
Sustenance:
[Breakfast] French toast and blueberry jam
[Lunch] Shawarma without the onions
[Dinner] 3x Julie's cheesedesal with cheddar cheese inside.
[Coffee] Homebrew coffee and a venti mocha frappuccino with valencia syrup. Double blended, as usual.
Current Read:
-Still not reading
Remember that little quote I used to add at the end of every entry? "Be Just or Be Dead"? I took it from Ky Kiske's theme in Guilty Gear, entitled "Holy Orders ~Be Just or Be Dead~." I thought it was so easy to do, but now I'm sure it's not.
I had to dispense painful justice on someone who I did not want to dispense it on. This person may deserve it, but when you genuinely care for a person and wish that person to continue to grow and be encouraged by your tutelage, it is very, very, very painful to give that person deserved justice.
I guess this is a taste of how God feels when He disciplines us for our foolishness. Nevertheless, I can never imagine the pain the Father felt when He sent Jesus to die on the cross. Punishing a person who deserves it is painful enough---how much more punishing someone who is completely innocent?
It's been said that mercy is not getting what one deserves, grace is getting what one does not deserve, and justice is getting what one exactly deserves. It's difficult to show mercy, but do people ever think about how hard it is to dispense justice on someone who is not at all hateful or depraved, yet completely deserves it? It rips my heart like a scourge. I wish I could take the blame upon myself, but alas, I cannot.
Tasting the bitterness of being just,
Your Black Lion
Dominus Deus,
exaudi nos et miserere
exaudi, Dominus
Dona nobis pacem
et salva nos a hostibulus
Salva nos, Deus
Earworms:
Salva Nos by Yuki Kajiura (from the anime Noir)
Sustenance:
[Breakfast] French toast and blueberry jam
[Lunch] Shawarma without the onions
[Dinner] 3x Julie's cheesedesal with cheddar cheese inside.
[Coffee] Homebrew coffee and a venti mocha frappuccino with valencia syrup. Double blended, as usual.
Current Read:
-Still not reading
Remember that little quote I used to add at the end of every entry? "Be Just or Be Dead"? I took it from Ky Kiske's theme in Guilty Gear, entitled "Holy Orders ~Be Just or Be Dead~." I thought it was so easy to do, but now I'm sure it's not.
I had to dispense painful justice on someone who I did not want to dispense it on. This person may deserve it, but when you genuinely care for a person and wish that person to continue to grow and be encouraged by your tutelage, it is very, very, very painful to give that person deserved justice.
I guess this is a taste of how God feels when He disciplines us for our foolishness. Nevertheless, I can never imagine the pain the Father felt when He sent Jesus to die on the cross. Punishing a person who deserves it is painful enough---how much more punishing someone who is completely innocent?
It's been said that mercy is not getting what one deserves, grace is getting what one does not deserve, and justice is getting what one exactly deserves. It's difficult to show mercy, but do people ever think about how hard it is to dispense justice on someone who is not at all hateful or depraved, yet completely deserves it? It rips my heart like a scourge. I wish I could take the blame upon myself, but alas, I cannot.
Tasting the bitterness of being just,
Your Black Lion
Dominus Deus,
exaudi nos et miserere
exaudi, Dominus
Dona nobis pacem
et salva nos a hostibulus
Salva nos, Deus
Dominus exaudi nos
Dominus miserere
Dona nobis pacem
dona nobis pacem
e dona eis requiem
inter ovas locum
voca me cum benedictis
pie Jesu domine, dona eis requiem
dominus deus, Sanctus, Gloria
Sanctus, Gloria-Salva Nos, Yuki Kajiura
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