Hey, remember that time when I used to update this? Let's bring that back. :D
Once upon a time, around 3:30 Monday morning, my friend Carmen and I set off for Washington DC for the Triple Rainbow Awesome Tour! :D It was a long drive. A loooong drive. =/
We get to DC around 12:30ish, having stopped to eat and getting lost once or twice. :D Then we still have to find parking, which is just ridiculous, because it was Columbus Day so forty thousand people decided to go to DC and just take up all the parking spaces. =/ A nice meter maid lady told us it was free because it was a holiday, but thanks to stupid jerkfaces who can't park, we just ended up paying $10 to park in a garage. We figured it was less frustrating, and thus worth the money and the walking. It wasn't far to the park, anyway, but then we decided to eat. It was around 2 (yes, it took us THAT LONG to park) and we had seen a Subway somewhere while circling looking for parking, and a security dude in an art museum directed us to Pennsylvania and 7th, which was really close! Yay! So we set off!
And then we got to PA and 7th and didn't see a Subway or ANY restaurants, in fact. =/ I asked a lady, but she thought I meant a real subway, not the food Subway, so that was useless. Then I got attacked by a bug. Then we found a Starbucks, rested, and decided to try a place called Au Bon Pain, I think. I was deeply unimpressed. It was $8 for a crappy little ham sandwich and a Pepsi, and I didn't even get refills, and they didn't even get it right. =/ Not a fan. Oh well. There isn't one here, so it's not a problem. :D
ALSO: walking back and forth between this place and Starbucks, there was a LEGIT CRAZY LADY. On the way past the first time, we thought she was talking on a bluetooth thing. She didn't look crazy. She wasn't dressed horribly, and she had a roll-y suitcase guy with her, but she was just sitting on this wall thingy talking to herself. It was kind of terrifying. =/
Then we hung out in Starbucks charging our phones for an hour or so, waiting for 4:00 to happen. We were sleepy, but by the time we made it to the park, I was pretty excited again. ^_^ And guys - I've never been to a YouTube gathering or a Nerdfighter meetup, and the other two wrock concerts I went to were kind of small, so it was freaking AWESOME to see like, 70 people in HP, Doctor Who, wizard rock, Nerdfighter, YouTube people, and generally nerdy t-shirts, all hanging out together and being awesome. There were two groups when we came up, and then by the power of the Sons of Admirals and Doctor Who, we joined together (two girls in one group were wearing those shirts and I went to compliment them and said they should come join the other group). :D WOOT. It was fairly awesome. Everyone introduced themselves, even though there were far too many people to remember names... it was fun.
AND THEN. The stars showed up! :D Luke Conard, Kristina Horner, Mike Lombardo, Alex Carpenter, and Jason Munday. Weeeee! :D We relocated to another bit of the park, and then the concert started. Highlights:
* I am TOTALLY IN LOVE with Mike Lombardo. Seriously guys, go look him up on YouTube. :D SOOOO CUUUUTE. :3
* ALEX CARPENTER WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL MY LIFE. Why didn't I love the Remus Lupins before now?! Everyone was right - he's pretty much a god. :D <3
* Jason Munday is frickin' adorable and played two songs I love, but unfortunately not California Dorks, which has been stuck in my head for about a squillion years.
* ALL CAPS acoustic was pretty good, and even though I was sad I didn't get to hear them/MoM in all their glory, it was a really cozy familiar setting, and it was really nice. :D
* Mike Lombardo solved my Rubik's Cube, which sounds like an innuendo, but it's just a fact. XD In one of his songs he says he can solve it in 2 minutes, and I wanted to see if it was true, and he didn't do it in 2 minutes so I felt bad, but he did eventually solve it so it was okay. :D
* Nerdfighters will clap at anything - parrots, fire trucks, some guy shaving in the park...
* Did I mention how cute they all are? 'Cause they are. SO CUTE.
I talked to Mike Lombardo, and guys, he is just so sweet. He's one of the sweetest guys ever. :D He was so nice to me even though I'm a crazy fangirl who was like "HELLO MIKE I LOVE YOU YOU'RE CUTE AND I LOVE YOU SERIOUSLY I LOVE YOU AND YOU'RE CUTE. I LOVE YOU. :DDD" And they were all pretty impressed that we drove so far to see them. ^_^ So that made us feel special.
Then we napped for about three hours in the rest area right outside DC on the way back to Richmond. Totally didn't even die. :D And then we drove home, and it was mostly okay, but the last 3 hours were just torturous. We were hallucinating and cranky and just wanted to teleport home. And we saw a weresheep. D: For reals. It followed us. ;-;
Anyway, so that was my adventure to DC for one day! :D It was a good time. People who performed:
Mike Lombardo - http://www.youtube.com/user/MikeLombardoMusic
ALL CAPS - http://www.youtube.com/user/ALLCAPSBAND
Ministry of Magic - http://www.youtube.com/user/ministryofmagicmusic
Luke Conard (ALL CAPS, Ministry of Magic)- http://www.youtube.com/user/LukeConard
Kristina Horner (ALL CAPS)- http://www.youtube.com/user/italktosnakes
Jason Munday (Skyway Flyer, Ministry of Magic)- http://www.youtube.com/user/JasonMundayMusic
Alex Carpenter (The Remus Lupins)- http://www.youtube.com/user/AlexanderCarpenter
Check them all out, they're all amazing musicians and really great people. :D
Showing posts with label nerdfighting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nerdfighting. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Friday, September 10, 2010
GRAMMAR NAZI ALERT
I feel a rant coming on. No one's going to read all of this, and I probably won't have any friends anymore, but I can't stop it.
You know what really freaking irritates me? When I see things that are for sale, like t-shirts or posters or whatever, with SPELLING ERRORS ON THEM. Especially handmade things, because then it's like, what, you just didn't check before you printed up the t-shirt? Just assumed you were right and went ahead and made it? I mean, really, if you're trying to SELL SOMETHING to people, you'd think you'd want to get it right. =/
Also really annoying - when people misuse apostrophes. I'm not talking about not doing contractions wrong, which is ALSO also really annoying; no, I mean when someone shortens a word and puts an apostrophe at the end of it for no reason. Example:
"You" to "ya" is a new word entirely, not half a word or two words smashed together.
"Want to" to "wanna" is a new word entirely. It's slang, not a contraction.
NEITHER OF THESE NEED APOSTROPHES.
And it's annoying enough to see "When are ya' coming over?" but when I see "When are ya' comin over?" my vision fades to red and I just start banging my head against the desk. APOSTROPHES AREN'T THAT HARD. Seriously, here are the basic rules of apostrophes:
1) Contractions, which are SPECIFICALLY these formats: "can not" to "can't," "will not" to "won't," "you are" to "you're," "she is" to "she's." Obviously there are more contractions than these, but these are examples of the format. We all know the contractions, but we don't all know how to use them, apparently.
2) To show possession. This is admittedly a little tricky, especially with names that end in s. "Erin's book." "Kelly's room." "Chris' problems," SINGULAR. NOW, if it's a name that ends in s and there are TWO of them, it would be "That's the Chris's problem now." Some grammarians say that it doesn't matter which you use, as long as you're consistent.
3) To shorten words. 'Cause. Goin'. These are the proper ways of shortening words - if you are simply taking off a letter or two and not adding any more, you can tack on an apostrophe.
Chris' comment shows he doesn't understand what I'm sayin'. SEE. It's EASY.
And another thing, just because it irritates me to no end:
YOUR = POSSESSIVE. Your book. Your shoe.
YOU'RE = CONTRACTION FOR "YOU ARE." You're crazy. You're wrong.
If YOU'RE not saying "you are," leave the apostrophe out of YOUR word.
There = a place. Over there. There it is.
Their = possessive, belonging to people who are not you or me. It's theirs.
They're = a contraction for "they are." They're going. They're with me.
THEY'RE going to get THEIR books from over THERE. "The" is always first no matter which one it is.
THESE ARE NOT THAT HARD, WHY DO PEOPLE GET THEM WRONG?
I'm not trying to be stuck up here or anything, but SERIOUSLY. This is our NATIVE LANGUAGE. We've all been speaking it since we were like, two or three, at least. There is no excuse, short of a mental handicap, for not knowing the basic rules of spelling and grammar. I mean, really, they haven't changed for a while. And I'm not talking about hard stuff, I'm talking about CONTRACTIONS and HOMOPHONES.
I find it particularly delicious and hilarious when I see something like this on Facebook:
"i shouldnt have to press 1 for englihs, your in AMERICA, learn the language!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Oh, I love it when people do things like this. XD Except for the blatant disregard for all rules of capitalization, spelling, and punctuation. Three exclamation points, MAX, guys. But really, the fact that they're saying "learn the language" in English that is ENTIRELY WRONG, oh, it just makes the evil part of me laugh and laugh. And then I get really scared because what if one of these people is in charge of something important? They can't even spell the name of our language, how are they going to do anything else? Then my brain and my heart huddle together and have a good cry, while the evil part of me is still snickering away.
tl;dr version: LEARN ENGLISH AND USE IT PROPERLY. There's no excuse not to, and people won't make fun of you and call you an idiot if you can speak your OWN FREAKING LANGUAGE. Well, they might, but it'll probably happen less.
You know what really freaking irritates me? When I see things that are for sale, like t-shirts or posters or whatever, with SPELLING ERRORS ON THEM. Especially handmade things, because then it's like, what, you just didn't check before you printed up the t-shirt? Just assumed you were right and went ahead and made it? I mean, really, if you're trying to SELL SOMETHING to people, you'd think you'd want to get it right. =/
Also really annoying - when people misuse apostrophes. I'm not talking about not doing contractions wrong, which is ALSO also really annoying; no, I mean when someone shortens a word and puts an apostrophe at the end of it for no reason. Example:
"You" to "ya" is a new word entirely, not half a word or two words smashed together.
"Want to" to "wanna" is a new word entirely. It's slang, not a contraction.
NEITHER OF THESE NEED APOSTROPHES.
And it's annoying enough to see "When are ya' coming over?" but when I see "When are ya' comin over?" my vision fades to red and I just start banging my head against the desk. APOSTROPHES AREN'T THAT HARD. Seriously, here are the basic rules of apostrophes:
1) Contractions, which are SPECIFICALLY these formats: "can not" to "can't," "will not" to "won't," "you are" to "you're," "she is" to "she's." Obviously there are more contractions than these, but these are examples of the format. We all know the contractions, but we don't all know how to use them, apparently.
2) To show possession. This is admittedly a little tricky, especially with names that end in s. "Erin's book." "Kelly's room." "Chris' problems," SINGULAR. NOW, if it's a name that ends in s and there are TWO of them, it would be "That's the Chris's problem now." Some grammarians say that it doesn't matter which you use, as long as you're consistent.
3) To shorten words. 'Cause. Goin'. These are the proper ways of shortening words - if you are simply taking off a letter or two and not adding any more, you can tack on an apostrophe.
Chris' comment shows he doesn't understand what I'm sayin'. SEE. It's EASY.
And another thing, just because it irritates me to no end:
YOUR = POSSESSIVE. Your book. Your shoe.
YOU'RE = CONTRACTION FOR "YOU ARE." You're crazy. You're wrong.
If YOU'RE not saying "you are," leave the apostrophe out of YOUR word.
There = a place. Over there. There it is.
Their = possessive, belonging to people who are not you or me. It's theirs.
They're = a contraction for "they are." They're going. They're with me.
THEY'RE going to get THEIR books from over THERE. "The" is always first no matter which one it is.
THESE ARE NOT THAT HARD, WHY DO PEOPLE GET THEM WRONG?
I'm not trying to be stuck up here or anything, but SERIOUSLY. This is our NATIVE LANGUAGE. We've all been speaking it since we were like, two or three, at least. There is no excuse, short of a mental handicap, for not knowing the basic rules of spelling and grammar. I mean, really, they haven't changed for a while. And I'm not talking about hard stuff, I'm talking about CONTRACTIONS and HOMOPHONES.
I find it particularly delicious and hilarious when I see something like this on Facebook:
"i shouldnt have to press 1 for englihs, your in AMERICA, learn the language!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Oh, I love it when people do things like this. XD Except for the blatant disregard for all rules of capitalization, spelling, and punctuation. Three exclamation points, MAX, guys. But really, the fact that they're saying "learn the language" in English that is ENTIRELY WRONG, oh, it just makes the evil part of me laugh and laugh. And then I get really scared because what if one of these people is in charge of something important? They can't even spell the name of our language, how are they going to do anything else? Then my brain and my heart huddle together and have a good cry, while the evil part of me is still snickering away.
tl;dr version: LEARN ENGLISH AND USE IT PROPERLY. There's no excuse not to, and people won't make fun of you and call you an idiot if you can speak your OWN FREAKING LANGUAGE. Well, they might, but it'll probably happen less.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Top Five Records - Book Edition :D
I missed yesterday because I was out doing things until like, 11:30, and when I got home I was just too tired. But whatever, I can still Blog Most Days in September! :D
So back in like... June or something, I did a Top 5 list post. One of my favorite movies is High Fidelity, in which John Cusack plays a record store owner who is always making "Top 5" lists. The first post was bands, and this post is going to be books. I will do a Top 5 Books Right Now, and Top 5 Books of All Time. 'Cause that shouldn't be hard, right?! :D
TOP 5 BOOKS RIGHT NOW
1. The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins
Yes, I am going to make series count as one. It's my blog and I can do what I want. :D But seriously, these books are amazing. They're set in a futuristic-y distopian society, and every year a bunch of kids have to fight to the death for the rest of the country's entertainment and as a reminder that the Capitol can do whatever they want and there's nothing the citizens can do about it. It's amazing, really.
2. The Gemma Doyle series by Libba Bray
Ahhhhh I love these books! They're so good, omg. They're set in 1895 in a girls' finishing school in England, and there's magic and other worlds and monsters, and it's just fabulous. :D I love this series. It's the perfect blend of historical fiction, which I think is a good time, and fantasy, and it's well-written and funny and sad and just... awesome.
3. Paper Towns by John Green
I love John Green a lot, thanks to YouTube, but I hadn't actually read any of his books until just recently. Paper Towns is about a boy who likes a girl and randomly has one incredible night with her, but the girl disappears and leaves a bunch of clues so he can find her, which he does. There's all kinds of message-y things and stuff in it, but mostly it's just a really fun story with really adorable characters. It's got an epic road trip, too, which is always fun. :D
4. 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson
Another book with an epic adventure. I want epic adventures. =/ This girl is basically following her dead aunt's instructions, via the 13 envelopes, for an adventure all around Europe. It's sad and funny and weird and a really good story, and reading all these books about these amazing places and stories just makes the wanderlust worse. =/ But they're still fun.
5. The Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld
I haven't actually been reading these lately, but a friend of mine is and her talking about it is making me remember how much I love them. :D Another futuristic distopia, and another epic adventure. In a world where everything is computerized, where hoverboards and tracking rings are standard, and plastic surgery is mandated when you turn 16, a couple of kids run away to live in the wilderness to escape the involuntary brain surgery that comes with the operation. They basically just make you completely shallow and idiotic so you don't question the way things are run. Another book series that shows us a completely ridiculous future to sort of put the way we actually live in perspective. It's very good.
Yes, yes I do read a lot of Young Adult fiction. And I like it. And I also read real books, so hush. :D
TOP 5 BOOKS OF ALL TIME
1. Harry freakin' Potter series by JK freakin' Rowling
Do I really need to say anything?
2. Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell
I love this book. I love the epicness, I love the romanticness, and in recent re-readings, I even love the whole Civil War aspect. It's a classic for a reason. Ugh, it's SO GOOD. I love it. The end.
3. The Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Um, YES, I still love these books, and NO, I don't care that they're written for children. I love Laura Ingalls Wilder and I want to be her. These books are awesome - the 1800s were awesome, and I want to live like she did. I just basically love everything about these books as well.
4. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
I don't care what you say, I love this book. I need to read it again, actually. It's one of those books I could read over and over and over and still find new meanings and make new connections. It's just amazing.
5. Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
This is one book that will always stick with me, primarily because it's awesome, but also because I had to annotate it for a summer reading assignment and my annotations are AMAZING. :D It was one of the first books about Buddhism that I ever read, so it's special in that way too.
BONUS 6. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
This book is also awesome and amazing and about an epic trip and learning things, and it's another book I could probably read forever and still find new stuff in it every time. Oh my goodness, READ THIS BOOK.
I could probably make a Top 100 book list, but I don't think I'll do that now. I am too hungry now. :D But there you have it, a small sampling of books I like. What are your thoughts on them? I'd particularly like to hear what people think of the ones on the All Time list. Tell me your favorite books and why - go! :D
So back in like... June or something, I did a Top 5 list post. One of my favorite movies is High Fidelity, in which John Cusack plays a record store owner who is always making "Top 5" lists. The first post was bands, and this post is going to be books. I will do a Top 5 Books Right Now, and Top 5 Books of All Time. 'Cause that shouldn't be hard, right?! :D
TOP 5 BOOKS RIGHT NOW
1. The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins
Yes, I am going to make series count as one. It's my blog and I can do what I want. :D But seriously, these books are amazing. They're set in a futuristic-y distopian society, and every year a bunch of kids have to fight to the death for the rest of the country's entertainment and as a reminder that the Capitol can do whatever they want and there's nothing the citizens can do about it. It's amazing, really.
2. The Gemma Doyle series by Libba Bray
Ahhhhh I love these books! They're so good, omg. They're set in 1895 in a girls' finishing school in England, and there's magic and other worlds and monsters, and it's just fabulous. :D I love this series. It's the perfect blend of historical fiction, which I think is a good time, and fantasy, and it's well-written and funny and sad and just... awesome.
3. Paper Towns by John Green
I love John Green a lot, thanks to YouTube, but I hadn't actually read any of his books until just recently. Paper Towns is about a boy who likes a girl and randomly has one incredible night with her, but the girl disappears and leaves a bunch of clues so he can find her, which he does. There's all kinds of message-y things and stuff in it, but mostly it's just a really fun story with really adorable characters. It's got an epic road trip, too, which is always fun. :D
4. 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson
Another book with an epic adventure. I want epic adventures. =/ This girl is basically following her dead aunt's instructions, via the 13 envelopes, for an adventure all around Europe. It's sad and funny and weird and a really good story, and reading all these books about these amazing places and stories just makes the wanderlust worse. =/ But they're still fun.
5. The Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld
I haven't actually been reading these lately, but a friend of mine is and her talking about it is making me remember how much I love them. :D Another futuristic distopia, and another epic adventure. In a world where everything is computerized, where hoverboards and tracking rings are standard, and plastic surgery is mandated when you turn 16, a couple of kids run away to live in the wilderness to escape the involuntary brain surgery that comes with the operation. They basically just make you completely shallow and idiotic so you don't question the way things are run. Another book series that shows us a completely ridiculous future to sort of put the way we actually live in perspective. It's very good.
Yes, yes I do read a lot of Young Adult fiction. And I like it. And I also read real books, so hush. :D
TOP 5 BOOKS OF ALL TIME
1. Harry freakin' Potter series by JK freakin' Rowling
Do I really need to say anything?
2. Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell
I love this book. I love the epicness, I love the romanticness, and in recent re-readings, I even love the whole Civil War aspect. It's a classic for a reason. Ugh, it's SO GOOD. I love it. The end.
3. The Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Um, YES, I still love these books, and NO, I don't care that they're written for children. I love Laura Ingalls Wilder and I want to be her. These books are awesome - the 1800s were awesome, and I want to live like she did. I just basically love everything about these books as well.
4. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
I don't care what you say, I love this book. I need to read it again, actually. It's one of those books I could read over and over and over and still find new meanings and make new connections. It's just amazing.
5. Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
This is one book that will always stick with me, primarily because it's awesome, but also because I had to annotate it for a summer reading assignment and my annotations are AMAZING. :D It was one of the first books about Buddhism that I ever read, so it's special in that way too.
BONUS 6. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
This book is also awesome and amazing and about an epic trip and learning things, and it's another book I could probably read forever and still find new stuff in it every time. Oh my goodness, READ THIS BOOK.
I could probably make a Top 100 book list, but I don't think I'll do that now. I am too hungry now. :D But there you have it, a small sampling of books I like. What are your thoughts on them? I'd particularly like to hear what people think of the ones on the All Time list. Tell me your favorite books and why - go! :D
Sunday, September 5, 2010
StickAid and Rambly-ness.
So in case you missed my entire interneting yesterday, StickAid (massive 24-hour livestream to raise money for UNICEF) happened! I stayed up for 37 hours straight, which is my new record, and then slept for about 13 hours, which was nice. I'm still tired, so perhaps I have not completely destroyed any hope of sleeping normally when school starts again. :D
I didn't mean to stay up for so long - I was just up late, and then the StickAID thing started and I decided I'd see if it was interesting, and it was, and then all of a sudden it was the afternoon and you can't go to bed at 2pm. So I stayed up and watched almost all of the broadcast. I went to bed about four hours before they stopped. I almost wish I'd stayed up for the rest of it, but I was so tired I just couldn't. But it was a good broadcast, very funny and entertaining, and all the musical performances were great.
We ended up raising over 20,000 pounds, DOUBLE the original goal. 20,000 pounds equals $30,896, so we raised probably 31.5 or 32,000 dollars. That is just mind-blowing, and so amazing to think about all that money going to help kids in the poorest parts of the world. It's awesome. Great job, Myles and Charlie, and all the people running the show and contributing, and AWESOME job, everyone who donated! And if you donated because of my promoting it, please let me know. I'd be so happy to know that all I did yesterday actually helped. :D
This was my first experience with the amazingness that the internet, especially the YouTube community, can do. I've seen videos about all the stuff the YouTubers personally are doing, and I've seen all the vlogbrothers' Project For Awesome videos, but I haven't been a part of it yet. This is the first time I've been a part of something so huge and with such an awesome goal. It's a pretty amazing thing. Seeing how many people there are out there who are willing to help the world makes me feel better about it, because we rarely see the fruits of their efforts in our lives, so we all kind of assume we're alone in wanting to make things better and therefore nothing we do will matter because we're all just one person each. But when you see all of the people, who are all just one person each, coming together to do something so fantastic to help other people they don't even know... it's just indescribable. I only donated $12 of my own meager amount of money, but if that $12 saves some kid from starving to death, or gets a community vaccinated, or helps build someone a house, that's awesome. I feel like I did a lot more than that, because I was so invested in it and the feeling of community was so strong, and that's another awesome thing about both charity and the internet - you're all complete strangers, but you've got something strong connecting you, so you feel like you're best friends with everyone around you. Or at least I do. XD
Anyway, I guess the whole point is that StickAid was a ridiculous success, and I am amazingly happy to have been part of it, sleep-deprivation and all. :D And I'm very excited for this year's Project For Awesome, because even if I don't make a video, I'll be able to be in the comments and promoting and stuff, feeling like I'm making a difference. Which I guess is less important than actually making a difference, but still pretty important. When I have money to spare, I will definitely be donating to charities, but I feel like getting invested in the causes and actually going out and doing things is just as important.
As a side note, I want a job that centers around the internet. XD I'm really good at it, and at knowing things that are going on, and networking, which means getting information from all kinds of places... I'd be awesome at promoting stuff online. I should find some company that needs an internet person. =/ Or maybe figure out what the actual job title would be first. XD
I didn't mean to stay up for so long - I was just up late, and then the StickAID thing started and I decided I'd see if it was interesting, and it was, and then all of a sudden it was the afternoon and you can't go to bed at 2pm. So I stayed up and watched almost all of the broadcast. I went to bed about four hours before they stopped. I almost wish I'd stayed up for the rest of it, but I was so tired I just couldn't. But it was a good broadcast, very funny and entertaining, and all the musical performances were great.
We ended up raising over 20,000 pounds, DOUBLE the original goal. 20,000 pounds equals $30,896, so we raised probably 31.5 or 32,000 dollars. That is just mind-blowing, and so amazing to think about all that money going to help kids in the poorest parts of the world. It's awesome. Great job, Myles and Charlie, and all the people running the show and contributing, and AWESOME job, everyone who donated! And if you donated because of my promoting it, please let me know. I'd be so happy to know that all I did yesterday actually helped. :D
This was my first experience with the amazingness that the internet, especially the YouTube community, can do. I've seen videos about all the stuff the YouTubers personally are doing, and I've seen all the vlogbrothers' Project For Awesome videos, but I haven't been a part of it yet. This is the first time I've been a part of something so huge and with such an awesome goal. It's a pretty amazing thing. Seeing how many people there are out there who are willing to help the world makes me feel better about it, because we rarely see the fruits of their efforts in our lives, so we all kind of assume we're alone in wanting to make things better and therefore nothing we do will matter because we're all just one person each. But when you see all of the people, who are all just one person each, coming together to do something so fantastic to help other people they don't even know... it's just indescribable. I only donated $12 of my own meager amount of money, but if that $12 saves some kid from starving to death, or gets a community vaccinated, or helps build someone a house, that's awesome. I feel like I did a lot more than that, because I was so invested in it and the feeling of community was so strong, and that's another awesome thing about both charity and the internet - you're all complete strangers, but you've got something strong connecting you, so you feel like you're best friends with everyone around you. Or at least I do. XD
Anyway, I guess the whole point is that StickAid was a ridiculous success, and I am amazingly happy to have been part of it, sleep-deprivation and all. :D And I'm very excited for this year's Project For Awesome, because even if I don't make a video, I'll be able to be in the comments and promoting and stuff, feeling like I'm making a difference. Which I guess is less important than actually making a difference, but still pretty important. When I have money to spare, I will definitely be donating to charities, but I feel like getting invested in the causes and actually going out and doing things is just as important.
As a side note, I want a job that centers around the internet. XD I'm really good at it, and at knowing things that are going on, and networking, which means getting information from all kinds of places... I'd be awesome at promoting stuff online. I should find some company that needs an internet person. =/ Or maybe figure out what the actual job title would be first. XD
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Saving the world via the internet.
So today has largely been devoted to Myles Dyer's StickAID project, which is a 24-hour live streaming benefit show that he does every year, this being the fifth, I think. This year, Charlie McDonnell is co-hosting, hence my interest. :D I never intended to stay up all night and day watching this, but that is what happened.
StickAID (http://stickam.com/blade376 - streaming live until about 7 AM EST) is basically this: Myles Dyer, adorable British internet persona, joined by several more-adorable equally-British internet personas and friends of his, is doing ridiculous things for 24 hours straight with no sleep while people all over the world watch, and donate to UNICEF. His goal is 10,000 pounds, and as of 6:27 PM EST, they already have 9,000. It's been 12 hours nearly, and they have nearly raised the entire goal amount, and this is the entire point that Myles hoped to make by doing this online streaming thing: the internet is a powerful tool, and in such a connected time, there is so much that we can do.
UNICEF, in case you don't know, is a world-wide organization that helps needy kids in all countries, which is exactly why Myles chose it. It's something everyone in the world can donate to, and it's something the whole world can benefit from. Five pounds, ten dollars, one fast-food meal to us can be a life-changer to a kid thousands of miles away.
This has been my first year watching StickAID, and it's been pretty amazing. I donated 5 pounds, which equals about 8 dollars, and I've been tweeting about it all morning and afternoon. It's been such a cool experience, because there were times when there were over 10,000 people watching the show at one time, all over the world, in all time zones. There were times when everyone was tweeting and retweeting, trying to make #stickaid trend, and succeeding. It was just this huge group feeling, even though it was 10,000 people across the entire world, and it was so cool. It's still going on, obviously, but I'm updating around the halfway mark, so I'm just talking about earlier this morning. They still have all kinds of crazy challenges and ridiculous stunts to do, so if you're bored later and you have a chance, check them out. And if you're not bored, but you want to do something to help needy kids everywhere, please donate. Even 5 dollars will be a huge help to some poor kid.
Here is the link to donate (the link to watch the streaming video is above): http://www.justgiving.com/stickaid2010/
You can use Paypal or a debit/credit card, and Americans can donate even though it says pounds. It's a very easy, simple process, and it will take you five minutes to save someone's life.
EDIT - WE DID IT! We reached 10,000 pounds! IN ONLY TWELVE HOURS! The internet is truly an amazing thing! Oh my god, this is so awesome. Keep donating, please! Just because we reached our goal doesn't mean all the needy kids will be taken care of. Donate as much as you can! Be a part of this awesomeness!
StickAID (http://stickam.com/blade376 - streaming live until about 7 AM EST) is basically this: Myles Dyer, adorable British internet persona, joined by several more-adorable equally-British internet personas and friends of his, is doing ridiculous things for 24 hours straight with no sleep while people all over the world watch, and donate to UNICEF. His goal is 10,000 pounds, and as of 6:27 PM EST, they already have 9,000. It's been 12 hours nearly, and they have nearly raised the entire goal amount, and this is the entire point that Myles hoped to make by doing this online streaming thing: the internet is a powerful tool, and in such a connected time, there is so much that we can do.
UNICEF, in case you don't know, is a world-wide organization that helps needy kids in all countries, which is exactly why Myles chose it. It's something everyone in the world can donate to, and it's something the whole world can benefit from. Five pounds, ten dollars, one fast-food meal to us can be a life-changer to a kid thousands of miles away.
This has been my first year watching StickAID, and it's been pretty amazing. I donated 5 pounds, which equals about 8 dollars, and I've been tweeting about it all morning and afternoon. It's been such a cool experience, because there were times when there were over 10,000 people watching the show at one time, all over the world, in all time zones. There were times when everyone was tweeting and retweeting, trying to make #stickaid trend, and succeeding. It was just this huge group feeling, even though it was 10,000 people across the entire world, and it was so cool. It's still going on, obviously, but I'm updating around the halfway mark, so I'm just talking about earlier this morning. They still have all kinds of crazy challenges and ridiculous stunts to do, so if you're bored later and you have a chance, check them out. And if you're not bored, but you want to do something to help needy kids everywhere, please donate. Even 5 dollars will be a huge help to some poor kid.
Here is the link to donate (the link to watch the streaming video is above): http://www.justgiving.com/stickaid2010/
You can use Paypal or a debit/credit card, and Americans can donate even though it says pounds. It's a very easy, simple process, and it will take you five minutes to save someone's life.
EDIT - WE DID IT! We reached 10,000 pounds! IN ONLY TWELVE HOURS! The internet is truly an amazing thing! Oh my god, this is so awesome. Keep donating, please! Just because we reached our goal doesn't mean all the needy kids will be taken care of. Donate as much as you can! Be a part of this awesomeness!
Friday, September 3, 2010
This still counts as a post on Friday.
Okay, so TECHNICALLY, since it's after midnight, I've missed a day, but since I haven't gone to BED yet, I'm saying the day's not over yet. :D Shut up, it's my blog.
A friend asked me recently why I decided to start this blog, and I thought I'd answer that question on my blog. :D There are really 3 main reasons why:
1) To work on my writing
I want to be a writer, and in order to do that, I need to write all the time and in all sorts of forms. I write poetry and stories for fun, I write essays for school, and now I'm giving blogging a go. There are some things I notice in my writing that I know I need to fix, and I'm hoping that with practice, and practicing in different styles, I can improve my overall talent and find my own voice with which to write novels and things.
2) To write about Important Issues
Recently I've become very interested in keeping up with things going on today, like politics and environmental issues and whatnot. I figured a good way to keep up with these things, to voice my own opinions and views, and to maybe strike a spark in other people my age, would be to start a blog focused on political things. After a few posts, though, I decided to branch out. I want to share my opinions on all kinds of things, not just political issues. I wanted to be able to talk about whatever I wanted, but still with the same sort of goal - to be educated and keep up with things going on around me, and to maybe educate someone else.
3) To be INTERNET FAMOUS
I don't really expect to become famous through this blog, but it would be cool, huh? :D I've decided that internet fame would be the best kind of fame, because you'd get the best bits of being famous without the insanity of never being able to go anywhere or having to have bodyguards or whatever. So if I'm going to be in any way famous, it'll be through the internet or as an author. 'Cause you never hear about crazy screaming mobs chasing after authors, no matter how famous they are. :D You just have to watch out for the crazy obsessed sociopaths, and you'll be fine.
So yeah, those are my main reasons for creating this blog. Mostly the first two. XD I really just love to write, and I love to express my opinion and hear other peoples' opinions on things. And with my recent interest in discussing politics and religion and all this controversial type stuff, I thought perhaps this blog could end up making a difference, even if it's to change one person's mind about a certain issue. That would be really awesome to me. On top of that, if I gain some sort of insight about my writing through these posts, that would be awesome as well. And as added bonuses, it's fun, it's an easy way to get in touch with people, and it means a legit reason to spend more time online. XD
A friend asked me recently why I decided to start this blog, and I thought I'd answer that question on my blog. :D There are really 3 main reasons why:
1) To work on my writing
I want to be a writer, and in order to do that, I need to write all the time and in all sorts of forms. I write poetry and stories for fun, I write essays for school, and now I'm giving blogging a go. There are some things I notice in my writing that I know I need to fix, and I'm hoping that with practice, and practicing in different styles, I can improve my overall talent and find my own voice with which to write novels and things.
2) To write about Important Issues
Recently I've become very interested in keeping up with things going on today, like politics and environmental issues and whatnot. I figured a good way to keep up with these things, to voice my own opinions and views, and to maybe strike a spark in other people my age, would be to start a blog focused on political things. After a few posts, though, I decided to branch out. I want to share my opinions on all kinds of things, not just political issues. I wanted to be able to talk about whatever I wanted, but still with the same sort of goal - to be educated and keep up with things going on around me, and to maybe educate someone else.
3) To be INTERNET FAMOUS
I don't really expect to become famous through this blog, but it would be cool, huh? :D I've decided that internet fame would be the best kind of fame, because you'd get the best bits of being famous without the insanity of never being able to go anywhere or having to have bodyguards or whatever. So if I'm going to be in any way famous, it'll be through the internet or as an author. 'Cause you never hear about crazy screaming mobs chasing after authors, no matter how famous they are. :D You just have to watch out for the crazy obsessed sociopaths, and you'll be fine.
So yeah, those are my main reasons for creating this blog. Mostly the first two. XD I really just love to write, and I love to express my opinion and hear other peoples' opinions on things. And with my recent interest in discussing politics and religion and all this controversial type stuff, I thought perhaps this blog could end up making a difference, even if it's to change one person's mind about a certain issue. That would be really awesome to me. On top of that, if I gain some sort of insight about my writing through these posts, that would be awesome as well. And as added bonuses, it's fun, it's an easy way to get in touch with people, and it means a legit reason to spend more time online. XD
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Blog Every Day in September!
One of my friends challenged me to blog every day in September, so I'm going to give it a go. :D It will probably be boring, and I will probably miss a few days, but who knows - I might make it, and I might even still have readers at the end of it! ^_^
SINCE it is September 1st, a very important day indeed, I am going to talk about something pretty personal, more personal than anything else I think I've mentioned on this blog.
I love Harry Potter.
No, like, REALLY love. Like, go-to-conventions-dressed-like-a-witch love. Listen-to-music-about-Harry-Potter love. Somehow-manage-to-relate-everything-in-my-life-to-Harry-Potter love. I have a Harry Potter related tattoo, and I plan on getting more. I have a special shelf in my room for my Harry Potter books, which includes the series, the two textbooks JKR published, The Tales of Beedle the Bard, six theory-type books about the series, and a textbook from a real college from a course about theology in Harry Potter.
I have another special shelf with all of my memorabilia: my HP glasses, the Marauder's Map, two plastic Snitches, a crystal ball, a Magic-8-Ball-esque Sorting Hat, two packs of HP Uno cards, a stationary set, three collector's bookmarks, two snowglobes, a Time-Turner, the cloth bag from a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, my two House ties, my Gryffindor scarf, and a toothbrush. That doesn't include my 2 wizard rock T-shirts, four cast T-shirts, and two hoodies. Or my Chocolate Frog cards, my House Crest pins, my wristband from the book release party, my posters and wallscroll, my pins from the 7th book release and the 4th DVD release, and my less-awesome HP glasses. Then there's the notebooks and folders, the towel, and the plushie Snitch and Time-Turner necklace hanging from my car's review mirror. Oh, and I almost forgot my replica of Hermione's wand, that actually lights up. AND all the board games (six HP board games, I think?), including Wizard Chess and a LEGO set. Aaaand also the video games. Oh, and my Quidditch goggles! How could I forget those?
Okay, I think that's all. And wow. That's actually... quite a lot of stuff. :D And I'm proud of that, thank you. I am not in the LEAST bit ashamed of owning so much HP stuff, or wanting a full HP sleeve tattoo, or listening to more wizard rock than regular rock. I am proud of my nerddom, and of my obsession with this series. It's a huge part of who I am.
I didn't actually read the books until the third one was coming out, and at first I'd kind of written it off as a silly kids' series. When I read the first two, though, I was immediately hooked. Not as crazy about it as I am now, because the first two books are the least amazing of the seven - they're still awesome, but they're more stand-on-their-own, less about the backstory and character development. So when I read 3 and 4, which really start telling you who these people are and what is going on, and the story starts getting really epic, it became apparent that this was something that would stay with me forever.
My first book release party was the fifth one - and I stayed up all night to finish it, crying for hours over Sirius. My friends and I talked about Harry Potter all the time. In fact, I firmly believe I would not be best friends with my bestie if it weren't for this series. The midnight showings of the movies became totally reasonable excuses for falling asleep in first block, and in fact, some of my teachers understood if I did.
The summer of 2007 was a very important time in my life. The fifth movie was coming out, and as that was my favorite book, I was very excited, but more importantly, the last book of the series was coming out on July 21st, 2007. The very last installment of my beloved series. People would die, Harry would face Voldemort, everything would end. The months leading up to July 21st were filled with speculation, hopes and fears, and endless, endless conversation about our boy wizard. And then it came. And then came the months of "why?" and "I wish that ____ hadn't/had happened," and "I miss _____." I have cried more over Harry Potter than anything else in my life.
I don't know why exactly I feel so strongly about this series and these characters, other than the obvious: a) it's an amazing story, b) the characters are all so awesome and so well-developed and everyone's individual story is fantastically told, c) it's one of the most popular series of my time. I do feel like my being in the thick of it all had a lot to do with my loving it so much. I was THERE. I was at the final book release party. I was in the theatre at midnight. I was part of the Harry Potter community, almost from the beginning, and among us there is a bond that cannot be broken, a feeling of camaraderie, even with someone you've just met. I'm not the only person who feels this way, and that in and of itself makes me love the series more, for making some of my favorite memories and bringing some of my favorite people into my life.
So yes, I am a huge nerd, and yes, it's probably really lame that I know birthdays and who married who and whose kids were born when and all this stuff that's not in the books. And yes, it's probably kind of pathetic that a 22-year-old is still this obsessed with a book series. But you know what? I love it, and it makes me happy, and there are many intelligent, amazing, influential adults older than me who feel the same way I do.
NERDFIGHTERS!
PS - as I'm tagging this entry, I'm amazed to find that I have not actually used a Harry Potter tag yet.
PPS - and now I'm ashamed to find that I have, in fact, used a Twilight tag before I used Harry Potter. =/
EDIT - Okay, I posted this, and I read over it, and I don't feel like I stressed the last bit enough. I know I am a huge nerd, and I am proud of it. Loving Harry Potter like I do doesn't make me pathetic, though. Maybe you think it's weird, or you can't understand what I see in this series, but loving something - anything - with everything in you does not make you pathetic in any way. I don't care if it's books or music or motorcycles or YouTube videos or cats. If you love something so much that it fills you up inside and makes you want to cry from pure joy, so much that you can't help but smile when you think about it, and you think about it all the time, and it consumes your mind and your heart and your soul... if you love anything that much, you should consider yourself lucky. And it makes no difference what it is. If you're happy, it doesn't matter who thinks what about it.
And I am extremely glad that I have Harry Potter, and that I've been able to have the experiences I've had, and meet the people I've met through our love of this series. I'm extremely glad that I was part of all of this. And I will always have a place in my heart for this amazing story that's been with me for half of my life.
And there's nothing pathetic about any of that, thank you very much.
SINCE it is September 1st, a very important day indeed, I am going to talk about something pretty personal, more personal than anything else I think I've mentioned on this blog.
I love Harry Potter.
No, like, REALLY love. Like, go-to-conventions-dressed-like-a-witch love. Listen-to-music-about-Harry-Potter love. Somehow-manage-to-relate-everything-in-my-life-to-Harry-Potter love. I have a Harry Potter related tattoo, and I plan on getting more. I have a special shelf in my room for my Harry Potter books, which includes the series, the two textbooks JKR published, The Tales of Beedle the Bard, six theory-type books about the series, and a textbook from a real college from a course about theology in Harry Potter.
I have another special shelf with all of my memorabilia: my HP glasses, the Marauder's Map, two plastic Snitches, a crystal ball, a Magic-8-Ball-esque Sorting Hat, two packs of HP Uno cards, a stationary set, three collector's bookmarks, two snowglobes, a Time-Turner, the cloth bag from a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, my two House ties, my Gryffindor scarf, and a toothbrush. That doesn't include my 2 wizard rock T-shirts, four cast T-shirts, and two hoodies. Or my Chocolate Frog cards, my House Crest pins, my wristband from the book release party, my posters and wallscroll, my pins from the 7th book release and the 4th DVD release, and my less-awesome HP glasses. Then there's the notebooks and folders, the towel, and the plushie Snitch and Time-Turner necklace hanging from my car's review mirror. Oh, and I almost forgot my replica of Hermione's wand, that actually lights up. AND all the board games (six HP board games, I think?), including Wizard Chess and a LEGO set. Aaaand also the video games. Oh, and my Quidditch goggles! How could I forget those?
Okay, I think that's all. And wow. That's actually... quite a lot of stuff. :D And I'm proud of that, thank you. I am not in the LEAST bit ashamed of owning so much HP stuff, or wanting a full HP sleeve tattoo, or listening to more wizard rock than regular rock. I am proud of my nerddom, and of my obsession with this series. It's a huge part of who I am.
I didn't actually read the books until the third one was coming out, and at first I'd kind of written it off as a silly kids' series. When I read the first two, though, I was immediately hooked. Not as crazy about it as I am now, because the first two books are the least amazing of the seven - they're still awesome, but they're more stand-on-their-own, less about the backstory and character development. So when I read 3 and 4, which really start telling you who these people are and what is going on, and the story starts getting really epic, it became apparent that this was something that would stay with me forever.
My first book release party was the fifth one - and I stayed up all night to finish it, crying for hours over Sirius. My friends and I talked about Harry Potter all the time. In fact, I firmly believe I would not be best friends with my bestie if it weren't for this series. The midnight showings of the movies became totally reasonable excuses for falling asleep in first block, and in fact, some of my teachers understood if I did.
The summer of 2007 was a very important time in my life. The fifth movie was coming out, and as that was my favorite book, I was very excited, but more importantly, the last book of the series was coming out on July 21st, 2007. The very last installment of my beloved series. People would die, Harry would face Voldemort, everything would end. The months leading up to July 21st were filled with speculation, hopes and fears, and endless, endless conversation about our boy wizard. And then it came. And then came the months of "why?" and "I wish that ____ hadn't/had happened," and "I miss _____." I have cried more over Harry Potter than anything else in my life.
I don't know why exactly I feel so strongly about this series and these characters, other than the obvious: a) it's an amazing story, b) the characters are all so awesome and so well-developed and everyone's individual story is fantastically told, c) it's one of the most popular series of my time. I do feel like my being in the thick of it all had a lot to do with my loving it so much. I was THERE. I was at the final book release party. I was in the theatre at midnight. I was part of the Harry Potter community, almost from the beginning, and among us there is a bond that cannot be broken, a feeling of camaraderie, even with someone you've just met. I'm not the only person who feels this way, and that in and of itself makes me love the series more, for making some of my favorite memories and bringing some of my favorite people into my life.
So yes, I am a huge nerd, and yes, it's probably really lame that I know birthdays and who married who and whose kids were born when and all this stuff that's not in the books. And yes, it's probably kind of pathetic that a 22-year-old is still this obsessed with a book series. But you know what? I love it, and it makes me happy, and there are many intelligent, amazing, influential adults older than me who feel the same way I do.
NERDFIGHTERS!
PS - as I'm tagging this entry, I'm amazed to find that I have not actually used a Harry Potter tag yet.
PPS - and now I'm ashamed to find that I have, in fact, used a Twilight tag before I used Harry Potter. =/
EDIT - Okay, I posted this, and I read over it, and I don't feel like I stressed the last bit enough. I know I am a huge nerd, and I am proud of it. Loving Harry Potter like I do doesn't make me pathetic, though. Maybe you think it's weird, or you can't understand what I see in this series, but loving something - anything - with everything in you does not make you pathetic in any way. I don't care if it's books or music or motorcycles or YouTube videos or cats. If you love something so much that it fills you up inside and makes you want to cry from pure joy, so much that you can't help but smile when you think about it, and you think about it all the time, and it consumes your mind and your heart and your soul... if you love anything that much, you should consider yourself lucky. And it makes no difference what it is. If you're happy, it doesn't matter who thinks what about it.
And I am extremely glad that I have Harry Potter, and that I've been able to have the experiences I've had, and meet the people I've met through our love of this series. I'm extremely glad that I was part of all of this. And I will always have a place in my heart for this amazing story that's been with me for half of my life.
And there's nothing pathetic about any of that, thank you very much.
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