The Open Notebook of an Atypical Teenager

Is it outrageous that I already bought a SAT prep book?

Is it outrageous that I am already spazzing about the SAT?

Is it outrageous that I’m working through a 3,500 SAT vocab list?

Is it outrageous that I am worrying about college?

Is it outrageous that every time I get below a 90 on a tiny assignment all I can think of is that Brown won’t accept me?

Is it outrageous that I am worrying about Medical School?

Is it outrageous that I am worried about the MCAT? Post-graduate residency? Life?

Am I living too far in the future?

5001 hits! 

Yes, mathgeek, you were the 5000th hit.  Good job! And thank you!

Okay, well, this is a rather local news incident, but I will explain the incident and ask you what you think.

The short of the story is that a man and his daughter decorated the pillars in front of the daughter’s public school with red and white stripes swirling down it. This was done with red and white wrapping paper. A mom of a child who attends the said school called the school administration and complained, complaining that it depicted candy canes, which are symbols of Christmas. Because it is a public school, the school is obligated to be secular in everything. I do not know the verdict though I believe the school did take the paper off their pillars.

Ridiculous. Insane. Candy canes, while they are more commonly eaten during the holiday season, are absolutely 100% secular. They represent food. Perhaps they embody the spirit of a cold snowy night and sitting in front of a fireplace. But no way are they tied directly to Christmas and Christmas only.

I know I have a multi-cultural audience, so, please, what do you think of this?  Are candy canes secular or was the parent morally correct in telling the school to take down the decorations?

In other news, 4,999 hits! Wow. We are this close to 5,000 hits. Woohoo! 5,000 hits is halfway to my ultimate goal of 10,000 hits before this blog dies entirely [but let's stay optimistic. 5,000!!!!!]. And hopefully many more after that.

This is just a kind reminder to Mathgeek: please finish those math puzzles. By the way, more to come. [In the sub-subject of acute angle Trigonometry!]

You know what really grinds my gears? (Shameless Family Guy reference, for those of you that caught it.) Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The day after Thanksgiving, we oh-so-frugal Americans kick off the holiday season with a day where stores make huge sales. They advertise ridiculously low prices on “this season’s hottest gear/electronics/whatever else” (Another thing: Hottest – such an overused advertising buzzword), but “only today! So hurry in right now!”. So, in this economy, who in their right mind wouldn’t go and get 99% off the newest computer? Well. I think that these “holidays” are just dumb. If my facts are correct “Black Friday” is a real Christian holiday, but I don’t know exactly about what.  Now we’re giving it the wrong connotation. Now all you hear is “Black Friday deals!” and “Only today, Black Friday, 70% off!”. In addition, in an extreme effort to receive these deals, the companies are promoting the consumer to wake up (or stay up rather) at 2 AM to stand in line in freezing cold weather, and people do it to get the deals. That’s fine, if you really want the $1000 off the TV. However, what happened at a Wal-Mart on Black Friday is unforgivable. As people were charging in, an employee holding the doors open was trampled TO DEATH and the customers KEPT SHOPPING, even after the other employees ordered them out of the building because someone had DIED. That’s simply  no-brainer. No amount of money is worth the life oh a human being. I don’t care if it was 50000% off and they were paying you to take them. There is no excuse for that behavior-and the big corporations are only egging it on by providing these ridiculous deals on only one day. Maybe we should allow these deals at a lesser extent but for a longer period of time. When people think they have to be the first one in the store to get the product, that’s when the consumers trample other people and each other to achieve it. People are naturally attracted to money, and by correlation to deals that save them money. Regardless, it is absolutely inexcusable to kill people over MONEY. 

So, Black Friday and other days with the same idea really do grind my gears. Created by corporation so that they will reap the profits – but with the potential consequences of human lives.

Hmm, now looking at the snow suddenly made me discover that you cannot actually see the snow very much, with the exception of the title strip at the top and when the snowflake passes through sections of dark text.

I will attempt to remedy this by changing the theme. Feedback, please.

It’s snowing here at WordPress!! Just look at the web page. 

Happy holidays everyone, even if it’s not actually snowing outside.

PS: I do plan on updating more. Today’s a banner day, huh? First update in nearly a month!

The following is adapted from an anonymous person.

Nobody Likes Gays

1) Being gay is not natural.
- And real Americans always reject unnatural things like eyeglasses, polyester, and air conditioning, tattoos, piercings and silicon breasts.

2) Gay marriage will encourage people to be gay
- In the same way that hanging around tall people will make you tall.

3) Legalizing gay marriage will open the door to all kinds of crazy behavior.
- People may even wish to marry their pets because a dog has legal standing and can sign a marriage contract. Lamps are next.

4) Straight marriage has been around a long time and hasn’t changed at all;
- Hence why women are still property,blacks still can’t marry whites,and divorce is still illegal.

5) Straight marriage will be less meaningful if gay marriage were allowed;
- And we can’t let the sanctity of Britney Spears’55-hour just-for-fun marriage be destroyed.

6) Straight marriages are valid because they produce children.
- So therefore, gay couples, infertile couples, and old people shouldn’t be allowed to marry because our population isn’t out of control,our orphanages aren’t full yet, and the world needs more children.

7) Obviously gay parents will raise gay children,
- Since, of course, straight parents only raise straight children.

8) Gay marriage is not supported by religion.
- In a theocracy like ours, the values of one religion are imposed on the entire country. That’s why we have only one religion in America.
(Did I miss the lesson where Jesus says He hates gays?)

9) Children can never succeed without a male and a female role model at home.
- Which is exactly why we as a society expressly forbid single parents to raise children.

10) Gay marriage will change the foundation of society; we could never adapt to new social norms.
- Just like we haven’t adapted to cars, the service-sector economy, or longer life spans.

I really like this, I really do. If it wasn’t already apparent to you, that was a sarcastic writing.

Second excerpt. Different person, but same idea.

Prop 8 is a crime. It is unconstitutional, it is discriminant, and it is shameful. Shameful that this measure was even put on the ballot. It is shameful that it has a fighting chance to win. It is shameful that the state ignored the rulings of a non-biased supreme court. It is shameful that this country is as ignorant and as regressive as we feared. This was shown back in the 50’s and in the 30’s with the Jim Crow and the Nuremberg Laws. They talk about divorce rates going through the roof, should this measure fail. In Massachusetts, the divorce rate is way lower than anywhere else. They say that the sanctity of marriage will be harmed, when in fact it will be enlightened. We do not try to stop Brittney and her 2 hour wedding, do we? No. They say it will harm the children, because now, it is detrimental society if kids learn equality and freedom.
Ever since we were young, we have been indoctrinated with slogans such as “America the Free” and “It’s a free country” and “God bless America” and “You are lucky to live here because you get freedoms that other countries don’t have”. If this proposition wins, all of this will be proved wrong. We will be proved to be not the tolerant society we hoped we were. … If Prop 8 wins, America is homophobic. that’s the bottom line. You can argue the facts all you want, but when you get down to the core, the only thing stopping people from voting no is either a conscious or subconscious homophobia. No matter what light or angle or religious stuff you try to dump, it is blatant homophobia at the core. do not let this take over. Don’t let the bigots win. 

 I could not have said it more eloquently. 

Here is the final excerpt I have chosen (noon8.com):

Facts v. Fiction

Don’t be misled. Watch our ad to learn the why Californians oppose Prop 8.

Proposition 8 puts discrimination into our Constitution. It would inject government into private lives. It undermines equal protections under our laws.

Here’s what’s fiction and what’s fact:

Fiction: Prop 8 doesn’t discriminate against gays.

Fact: Prop 8 is simple: it eliminates the rights for same-sex couples to marry. Prop 8 would deny equal protections and write discrimination against one group of people—lesbian and gay people—into our state constitution.

Fiction: Teaching children about same-sex marriage will happen here unless we pass Prop 8.

Fact: Not one word in Prop 8 mentions education, and no child can be forced, against the will of their parents, to be taught anything about health and family issues at school. California law prohibits it, and the Yes on 8 campaign knows they are lying. Sacramento Superior Court Judge Timothy Frawley has already ruled that this claim by Prop 8 proponents is “false and misleading.” The Orange County Register, traditionally one of the most conservative newspapers in the state, says this claim is false. So do lawyers for the California Department of Education.

Fiction: Churches could lose their tax-exemption status.

Fact: Nothing in Prop 8 would force churches to do anything. In fact, the court decision regarding marriage specifically says “no religion will be required to change its religious policies or practices with regard to same-sex couples, and no religious officiant will be required to solemnize a marriage in contravention of his or her religious beliefs.”

Fiction: A Massachusetts case about a parent’s objection to the school curriculum will happen here.

Fact: Unlike Massachusetts, California gives parents an absolute right to remove their kids and opt-out of teaching on health and family instruction they don’t agree with. The opponents know that California law already covers this and Prop 8 won’t affect it, so they bring up an irrelevant case in Massachusetts.

Fiction: Four Activist Judges in San Francisco…

Fact: Prop 8 is not about courts and judges, it’s about eliminating a fundamental right. Judges didn’t grant the right, the constitution guarantees the right. Proponents of Prop 8 use an outdated and stale argument that judges aren’t supposed to protect rights and freedoms. This campaign is about whether Californians, right now, in 2008 are willing to amend the constitution for the sole purpose of eliminating a fundamental right for one group of citizens.

Fiction: People can be sued over personal beliefs.

Fact: California’s laws already prohibit discrimination against anyone based on race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation. This has nothing to do with marriage.

Fiction: Pepperdine University supports the Yes on 8 campaign.

Fact: The university has publicly disassociated itself from Professor Richard Peterson of Pepperdine University, who is featured in the ad, and has asked to not be identified in the Yes on 8 advertisements.

Fiction: Unless Prop 8 passes, CA parents won’t have the right to object to what their children are taught in school.

Fact: California law clearly gives parents and guardians broad authority to remove their children from any health instruction if it conflicts with their religious beliefs or moral convictions.

I respect you and your opinion if you disagree, but I do not respect bigotry. Please, avoid bigotry in comments, but if you have something meaningful to say about any of the above excerpts, I’d like to hear it.