Incoherent Thoughts

It is almost summer and this blog is coming to a close. It was made for the sole purpose of schoolwork, and with summer just around the corner there isn’t much point to keep on posting. I was unable to think of an adequate topic, so here are some very incoherent thoughts that I have been having.

1. Summer is what all students dream of, from the point that it ends. There’s no school and you can do almost whatever you want. In the morning you get to sleep in and know that there is nothing to do. In the afternoon the sun shines radiant heat, which can easily send you napping. In the evening it starts to cool, and you’re proud to of accomplished nothing. At night you go to bed with an amazing feeling that seems like it will never end.

2. Food is awesome. Tastes and flavors rush out into your mouth as you chew it. And if you put two tastes together it creates a whole new flavor. French fries and ice cream for example. The fries a crispy, salty, and warm. Ice cream is soft, sweet, and cold. These clashing qualities actually make something together that is truly delicious.

3. Stars shine through the night without ever changing. It’s very hard to imagine that they’re actually just like the sun, except even bigger. And yet they’re so far away they look like tiny white dots that are only visible at night. When there is no light to reflect off of the air in our atmosphere, it becomes see-through and lets the stars shine through.

4. Life will find a way, it always does. When you look out at the universe it’s hard to imagine life existing somewhere else. But when you look at the actual chances, there is most certainly intelligent life out there. We only know what we experience, so logically it is impossible for us to imagine some other being’s life. It is haunting to think about someone else way up there, who’s wondering if you’re there, but then realizes that you are, and you’re thinking the exact same thing.

So maybe this summer I’ll just relax and realize something. I realize that nothing is a coincidence and that everything is connected. During the summer I may just sit by the fire. I may eat some french fries dipped in ice cream. I just might just happen to look up at the stars. And with all this I may share that perfect moment. So as you can see, nothing is truly unconnected, or incoherent.

Have a marvelous summer, ~ Tristan

P.S. I commented on Wyatt's Blog

SCIENCE FICTION

We know exactly what has happened in the past, and sort of what is happening now. But one thing we are unable to know is what is going to happen in the future. And I’m talking about spaceships, robots, and other advanced technology. Because of all the science fiction shows on T.V. we have a very fixed idea about what space life will be like. But upon having a full day to think about this, I realized that space life will not be anything like it is on T.V.

            The first issue is getting across huge distances in a few seconds. It has now been proven that it is impossible for humans to travel over the speed of light. This is because hydrogen gas would be forced into a high intensity radiation beam that would kill all affected life forms in a matter of seconds (so much for Star Trek). And even if you were to travel close to the speed of light, it would take too long to get up to speed without killer “Gs” – gravitational force. There is another form of space travel that is widely used in fiction, and that is warping technology. Warping technology basically consists of taking the ship it’s on out of existence, and in again somewhere else. This hasn’t been proven impossible, but if it is possible it will take centuries to develop. Overall the transportation needs for spaceships would require you to spend many years waiting to get to your destination.

            By the time we humans have reliable spaceships, there will probably be many more countries than there are now. And the chances are that there will be wars between some of them. That leads us to my next point. In science fiction you always see epic space battles going on. The weaponry consists of plasma related projectiles and missiles. Plasma weaponry, on a large enough scale for a ship, isn’t invented but it is quite possible for it to be invented in the next 50-100 years. As for missiles, they’re only going to get bigger. On the battle side of things, a space ship could easily engage in space-combat many years from now.

            Another thing that you often see on T.V. is alien life forms. Mathematical formulas have proven that there is intelligent life somewhere out there. The problem is that coming across them, or finding something they left behind is like finding a needle in a haystack bigger than our sun. And if we were to come across them, it would be survival of the fittest. Although we would be able to profit off of each other’s technology and knowledge, the governments would order to destroy anything that is a threat. Or perhaps it’ll be their side where the hostility originates. Either way it won’t be fun for us. Also, if we are friendly to each other, what are the chances of having the same understandings of the way things work. The concept of aliens has a major impact on our thoughts of the future, but whatever you think will happen, it is very unlikely.

            T.V. is completely changing our thoughts of what space life will be like. There won’t be any “hyperdrives” that take you past the speed of light; it will be quite a long boring ride. And if there are any space battles they’ll probably be pretty cool to watch from a distance, but not exactly what’s seen on T.V. Finally, if we ever do meet aliens, there is a high probability of hostility. I don’t think any of us can truly predict what space will be like when we travel through its great expanses, but I only hope that there is a hint of 21^st century imagination in there some where.

I commented on wills blog

Cause & Effect

Do you ever wonder what your life would be like if you had made one choice differently? Perhaps instead of taking a job in an office, you chose something that keeps you outside. But what would have happened if you were in the office? Maybe you make some new friends, one of which has a very tough life. Then one day when they break down, you give them simple advice that makes it all better. The person’s sudden realization of the way things should be, tells their child. And as he grows up, the inspiration from his parent drives him to make the world a better place. Although this may sound absurd, or at least unlikely, it could have happened. But because you never chose the office job, it never did, nor would you know if that’s exactly how it would happen. This is one example of a mind-boggling concept.

Such little things in our lives can make a big difference. Let’s say you’re in a hurry to get somewhere, so you don’t let a car turn in front of you, instead you make them wait. That little delay in the other driver’s time could have any number of results that would change their day, or maybe their whole life.  Pretend they continue on their path after you’re gone, and the cars right in front of them crash into each other. The driver swerves out of the way just in time, but what if you hadn’t cut them off and they were a little further up the road? This also may be extreme, but it could also happen. In this case you did something rude to someone, and something good came to him or her. More often than not, if you do something rude to someone, they will probably do something rude to someone else, until it causes something bigger to happen.

When I was in grade one, my teacher told me a story. On her morning run to the drive through at Tim Horton’s, the old man in front of her asked to pay for her. When she was pulled up to the window, the cashier said that the man in front paid for her coffee. The cashier also said that this had been going on constantly for an hour. So of course, my teacher paid for the people behind her, and the cycle continued. This is an example of something good contributing to more kindness.

Craig Kielburger was inspired in his childhood to make a difference. It was all because a boy had been killed after he escaped from child labor and tried to make a difference. Because the boy had been killed for someone’s convenience, Craig set out to prevent such things from happening. Just think if this had happened to someone with a different kind of personality. All of the lives saved, and work that Craig contributed to wouldn’t have happened. And all the people who he inspired wouldn’t have done their part in making this world a better place.

So now as you go about your day, keep this in mind. Be kind to people. Help someone who needs it. And never let anybody harm another person. Although something good can come out of something bad, so much more can be possible from kindness. For every good act you do, it goes on to other people who do the same thing. If it goes on enough, then it will change the world, and wouldn’t you want to be part of such a revolution to a better world?

P.S. As part of this blog assignment, I must comment on one of my classmate’s blog. So I choose to comment on Emily Moon’s blog.

Xbox failure

Technology is so important these days that you can’t live without it. Just last Saturday my Xbox broke and I’ve been struggling with what to do. I know I have work to do and many other games to play but knowing that one option isn’t available messes the whole day up. Only now have I found time to actually write this. This is a huge inconvenience that I wish to tell you about.

It started in the morning and it was working perfectly. I was playing the last level on Halo 3 on the hardest difficulty. I decided to call my gaming friend because I wanted to play co-op, but he wasn’t available that day. I go back to my Xbox and it won’t turn on, and it had the red ring of death (as oppose to the blue screen of death). And after much research it said that it had an internal hardware failure. My friend had said that he could play tomorrow so in the morning of the next day I got one, one that was much better then the previous Xbox. But because my family was watching hockey, I wasn’t able to set it up. OY!

I know that I’m very lucky to even have an Xbox, but when I’m used to having it and it breaks, it has a serious effect on my day. It’s sort of like this for a lot of people. Have you ever been working and your Internet didn’t work? And because you need it, you start freaking out? Well it’s a bad habit in this modern age. We should try not to let this happen, so please join me in being less reliant on technology. We are very lucky to have technology and we shouldn’t be this reliant on it.

P.S. I commented on wyatt's blog

Ozy & Millie

Imagine yourself on the first day at a new school. You’re only ten years old, and you’re worried. Will you fit in? Will you make friends? And there are bound to be bullies to watch out for. You know, those mean kids who push you around and make fun of you for no apparent reason. And you just know when they make fun of you they’ll use one of those cheesy rhymes with your name. Uh-oh, here come the first.

“Ozymandias, Ozymandias, he’s a big, a big, uhhh…”

Well at least you’re lucky if you have a name that doesn’t rhyme with anything.

(Due to sizing isues, if you want to see the full picture, click on it)

This is the opening of my favorite web comic: Ozy & Millie created by D.C. Simpson. Obviously from the title, the two main characters are Ozy and Millie. Ozy is a 10-year-old arctic fox who was named by the author because of the poem “Ozymandias” by Percy Bysshe Shelley. He is always wearing a top hat, and a vest, but no pants, which makes him immune to “pantsing” from the schoolyard bully, but a target for Millie’s jokes. He often ignores Millie’s pranks on people by using his philosophy of Zen, making him very serene.

Millie is a red-fox girl of the same age who can be quite a maniac. She and Ozy are best friends despite some controversies. Very unlike Ozy, Millie always gets into trouble, whether by trying to avoid work, or by scheming. She also has some odd creations, such as the George Bush sock puppet, used to make fun of everything he does. Regardless of her personality, Millie does have philosophical moments, probably due to being around Ozy.

The comic often deals with varying issues, such as politics, trends and advertising, and popularity. The first issue is politics. As mentioned before, Millie finds a way to criticize the government in a very humorous way. Second are trends. There is an secondary character in the comic named Avery who is obsessed with keeping up to date with all of the modern trends. Trends and advertising are made fun of to the extremes through Avery. The third thing the comic often makes fun of is popularity. The secondary character Felicia is a typical schoolgirl whose life revolves around popularity. These along with many other recent happenings are expressed comically in this comic.

The comic Ozy & Millie is possibly the best web comic strip ever. Its many characters give different perspectives on life and happenings. The very funny takes on certain issues also give the reader something to laugh at. Above all, the actual drawings are extremely well done. Ozy & Millie is an amazing comic, and you should give some of it a read.

P.S. I commented on Andrew's blog

Grease

I’m not the kind of person who likes to see plays and musicals, but just last weekend I saw a truly exceptional musical. I was with the Upper School choir on the CISMF trip, and on one of the nights we went to see a major production. It is called Grease, and it’s full of music, dancing, and a great story. Of the very few shows that I have seen, this is definitely the best.

Some of the amazing elements of the musical include, the great songs, astonishing actors, a famous country singer, big, grand sets, and a fluid plot. Some of my favorite songs of the musical are: Summer Nights, Greased Lightnin’, and We Go Together. The actors who perform these songs are brilliant; like Ace Young and Emily Padgett. Another famous name is Taylor Hicks who performed many old-fashioned country songs. For one of his songs he appeared out of a giant ice-cream cone that seemed to be solid. All of these elements came together for an amazing performance.

With each and every song, you wanted to get up and dance. The singers sung perfectly without any noticeable mistake. And the orchestra played the 50’s music very well too. The choreography for the singers was pretty cool; after a couple seconds of seeing them, it felt like you could do it too. The whole thing came together to be a truly remarkable performance.

P.S. I commented on emily M's blog

HTTYD

HTTYD

Mild Spoiler Warning

How To Train Your Dragon is an amazing movie. The story follows Hiccup, a weak, scrawny Viking, who is unable to fit in due to the fact that he can’t kill dragons. During one attack by the dragons on the town, Hiccup manages to take down the most rare and dangerous dragon called a Night Fury. Nobody sees the dragon fall past a ridge or Hiccup actually hitting it. Because no one believes that he took down a Night Fury he sets out to find the dragon and kill it. Once he finds it he decides not to kill the dragon, but to let it loose. After a couple of visits to the injured Night Fury Hiccup befriends the dragon. With time on his hands and craftsman skills, he makes a harness so he can ride his newfound friend.

            Toothless is the name given to the Night Fury by Hiccup because when he first saw the dragon he didn’t have teeth. After the first encounter though, Toothless is much more like a pet then a dreaded Night Fury, but he does show aggression whenever Hiccup is in danger or threatened. Because Toothless is injured, Hiccup makes an artificial tail wing to replace Toothless’ missing one, which Hiccup has to control when flying. So when Toothless and Hiccup fly together they appear to be in perfect harmony. Another odd thing about Toothless is; he has an uncanny resemblance to Stitch from Lelo & Stitch.

            The animation in this movie is really something to admire. For some of the scenes that take place in the air, it all seems so majestic with detail of the land below. The fire from the dragon’s mouths is also something that is very difficult to make realistic. And overall, the people look so real, and because they’re Vikings, it adds a very specific, and good, feel to it all. All in all How To Train Your Dragon is a must see movie that has stunning animation and a very good plot.

P.S. I commented on will's blog