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
Showing posts with label vlogbrothers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vlogbrothers. Show all posts
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
Ground Zero Mosque Nonsense.
I missed my Saturday post because I was busy watching Doctor Who, so I feel like I should post tonight. BEFORE I watch Doctor Who. :D
One thing I did actually want to talk about: the whole Ground Zero Mosque Extravaganza.
AMERICA. DUDES. WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM? Do you not remember that whole freedom-of-religion thing that is in your beloved Bill of Rights? Would you not be all up in arms if someone wanted to stop YOU from building YOUR churches? This whole issue is just beyond ridiculous.
Let's get something straight right now. RIGHT NOW. Are you listening, America? I'll put it in simple terms you can all understand, so pay attention:
MUSLIM =/= TERRORIST. ALL MUSLIMS ARE NOT TERRORISTS. ALL TERRORISTS ARE NOT MUSLIM. Anyone remember that Unabomber guy, Ted Kaczynski? American citizen, freakin' genius - terrorist. The Oklahoma City bomber dude, Timothy McVeigh? American citizen, Army vet, raised Catholic - terrorist. His partner, Terry Nichols, was a Michigan farm boy, football player, veteran - and terrorist. Oh, and this awesome guy: Eric Robert Rudolph, the Olympic Park Bomber (killed two and injured over 150 people in a series of Southern bombings between 1996 and 1998), a Southern boy, Catholic, a veteran, far-right affiliations - and a terrorist. All of these people were born and raised on American soil and all of them killed Americans on American soil. Some of them were even in the military, fighting for their country. Most of them were Christian. NONE OF THEM ARE MUSLIMS, ALL OF THEM ARE TERRORISTS.
There. Now that's out of the way. It really irks me that a lot of people seem to think that ALL or MOST terrorists are Muslim. But what irks me even more is the anti-mosque movement. Terrorism aside - because this isn't about terrorism, it's about religion - people don't want the Muslims putting up mosques at all. I could understand, maybe, not wanting a mosque at the site of an alleged Islamic terrorist attack, but it makes complete sense for a city with a large Islamic population to build a mosque, just like it makes sense for a place with a lot of Jewish people to have a temple. No one pitches fits when Jews put up temples, or when different Christian sects build their churches. But the second an Islamic community decides they want somewhere to worship, too, they get attacked, protested against, even BOMBED.
Now, I don't think that Muslims in NYC having a sense of community, a place to feel closer to their god, and a place where they can feel safe and be themselves is in any way a threat to the US, but most Americans seem to feel that it is. How completely unfair is that? I mean, imagine for a second - here you are, in this glorious country founded on freedom, which indeed preaches "freedom of religion" as one of its citizens' most important rights, and all you want to do is pray to and worship your god. But you're not allowed. Your ways and traditions are mocked, feared, maybe you're not even allowed to perform them in public places. Your church is vandalized, people stand outside yelling insults and threats for hours, maybe it's even bombed. Maybe your family members are killed in a bombing. You're blamed for something you had nothing to do with, just because of the color of your skin, the style of your clothes, and the religion you follow. You're punished and blamed for these things, and the whole country is against you, even if you're American-born. And there's nothing you can do, because any retaliation or protest will be construed as terrorism and you'll be arrested or shot or possibly deported. You have no friends in school or work because people are afraid of you. Imagine being a little Islamic kid, friendless and shunned at school, mourning the loss of a family member from a mosque bombing, and now you're not even allowed the comfort of your religion and religious community.
We don't assume every German person is a Nazi. We don't assume every Chinese person is a Communist. We don't assume every English person wants to take over the world. We are so worried about being politically correct, about not making racist-sounding statements, about not offending anyone in any way... and then we do stuff like this. Why is this okay? Why is it even an issue in this country?
People can be so freaking cruel to each other, and I just don't understand it. I just can't understand why we do these things to ourselves. Did you ever stop to think that maybe being so intolerant of Muslims may cause MORE terrorist attacks? Did you ever think that by allowing them to build their Ground Zero mosque, it could be an opportunity to forgive and forget, to maybe lessen the tension between all of us? The actual terrorists are the crazy, hardcore religious people, in ALL religions. But there are an awful lot of Muslims in our country who are perfectly nice people, perfectly sane and normal and peaceful people, and by refusing to let them worship, by grouping them all together and labelling them "TERRORISTS," we are alienating our own citizens. How is that American?
And as far as Obama's reaction goes, I'm a little upset with him for "flip-flopping," although nearly all the articles I've read cite him as supportive, so I guess the flip-flopping is behind him. I can understand that this would be a difficult thing for him to speak decisively on, also. Salon.com has this to say:
President Obama delivered a strong defense on Friday night of a proposed Muslim community center and mosque near ground zero in Manhattan, using a White House dinner celebrating Ramadan to proclaim that "as a citizen, and as president, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as anyone else in this country" . . . .
"I understand the emotions that this issue engenders. Ground zero is, indeed, hallowed ground," the president said in remarks prepared for the annual White House iftar, the sunset meal breaking the day’s fast.
But, he continued: "This is America, and our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakable. The principle that people of all faiths are welcome in this country, and will not be treated differently by their government, is essential to who we are."
As Salon.com states, this is awesome because there's nothing he can gain politically from his support of this, but there is substantial risk politically. He's speaking not with himself and his job in mind, but with our country and our rights in mind. And that's what a president should do. You go, Obama. Four for you. <3
Also, as a side note: all you people who are all like "It's insensitive to the people who lost family members and stuff in 9/11," just shut up right now. If they were building any other building there you would not have an issue, so just shut up.
The went on a lot longer than I thought, and I got a little rambly, so I guess I'm pretty angry about it. But I just think it's insane, and a horrible thing to do. WHY CAN'T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG, PEOPLE.
Some articles about this issue and terrorism in general:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrorism
http://socialistworker.org/2010/08/30/challenge-to-islamophobia
John Green's video about Islam - very helpful in understanding the actual religion:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jQ67cdzDyI
One thing I did actually want to talk about: the whole Ground Zero Mosque Extravaganza.
AMERICA. DUDES. WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM? Do you not remember that whole freedom-of-religion thing that is in your beloved Bill of Rights? Would you not be all up in arms if someone wanted to stop YOU from building YOUR churches? This whole issue is just beyond ridiculous.
Let's get something straight right now. RIGHT NOW. Are you listening, America? I'll put it in simple terms you can all understand, so pay attention:
MUSLIM =/= TERRORIST. ALL MUSLIMS ARE NOT TERRORISTS. ALL TERRORISTS ARE NOT MUSLIM. Anyone remember that Unabomber guy, Ted Kaczynski? American citizen, freakin' genius - terrorist. The Oklahoma City bomber dude, Timothy McVeigh? American citizen, Army vet, raised Catholic - terrorist. His partner, Terry Nichols, was a Michigan farm boy, football player, veteran - and terrorist. Oh, and this awesome guy: Eric Robert Rudolph, the Olympic Park Bomber (killed two and injured over 150 people in a series of Southern bombings between 1996 and 1998), a Southern boy, Catholic, a veteran, far-right affiliations - and a terrorist. All of these people were born and raised on American soil and all of them killed Americans on American soil. Some of them were even in the military, fighting for their country. Most of them were Christian. NONE OF THEM ARE MUSLIMS, ALL OF THEM ARE TERRORISTS.
There. Now that's out of the way. It really irks me that a lot of people seem to think that ALL or MOST terrorists are Muslim. But what irks me even more is the anti-mosque movement. Terrorism aside - because this isn't about terrorism, it's about religion - people don't want the Muslims putting up mosques at all. I could understand, maybe, not wanting a mosque at the site of an alleged Islamic terrorist attack, but it makes complete sense for a city with a large Islamic population to build a mosque, just like it makes sense for a place with a lot of Jewish people to have a temple. No one pitches fits when Jews put up temples, or when different Christian sects build their churches. But the second an Islamic community decides they want somewhere to worship, too, they get attacked, protested against, even BOMBED.
Now, I don't think that Muslims in NYC having a sense of community, a place to feel closer to their god, and a place where they can feel safe and be themselves is in any way a threat to the US, but most Americans seem to feel that it is. How completely unfair is that? I mean, imagine for a second - here you are, in this glorious country founded on freedom, which indeed preaches "freedom of religion" as one of its citizens' most important rights, and all you want to do is pray to and worship your god. But you're not allowed. Your ways and traditions are mocked, feared, maybe you're not even allowed to perform them in public places. Your church is vandalized, people stand outside yelling insults and threats for hours, maybe it's even bombed. Maybe your family members are killed in a bombing. You're blamed for something you had nothing to do with, just because of the color of your skin, the style of your clothes, and the religion you follow. You're punished and blamed for these things, and the whole country is against you, even if you're American-born. And there's nothing you can do, because any retaliation or protest will be construed as terrorism and you'll be arrested or shot or possibly deported. You have no friends in school or work because people are afraid of you. Imagine being a little Islamic kid, friendless and shunned at school, mourning the loss of a family member from a mosque bombing, and now you're not even allowed the comfort of your religion and religious community.
We don't assume every German person is a Nazi. We don't assume every Chinese person is a Communist. We don't assume every English person wants to take over the world. We are so worried about being politically correct, about not making racist-sounding statements, about not offending anyone in any way... and then we do stuff like this. Why is this okay? Why is it even an issue in this country?
People can be so freaking cruel to each other, and I just don't understand it. I just can't understand why we do these things to ourselves. Did you ever stop to think that maybe being so intolerant of Muslims may cause MORE terrorist attacks? Did you ever think that by allowing them to build their Ground Zero mosque, it could be an opportunity to forgive and forget, to maybe lessen the tension between all of us? The actual terrorists are the crazy, hardcore religious people, in ALL religions. But there are an awful lot of Muslims in our country who are perfectly nice people, perfectly sane and normal and peaceful people, and by refusing to let them worship, by grouping them all together and labelling them "TERRORISTS," we are alienating our own citizens. How is that American?
And as far as Obama's reaction goes, I'm a little upset with him for "flip-flopping," although nearly all the articles I've read cite him as supportive, so I guess the flip-flopping is behind him. I can understand that this would be a difficult thing for him to speak decisively on, also. Salon.com has this to say:
President Obama delivered a strong defense on Friday night of a proposed Muslim community center and mosque near ground zero in Manhattan, using a White House dinner celebrating Ramadan to proclaim that "as a citizen, and as president, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as anyone else in this country" . . . .
"I understand the emotions that this issue engenders. Ground zero is, indeed, hallowed ground," the president said in remarks prepared for the annual White House iftar, the sunset meal breaking the day’s fast.
But, he continued: "This is America, and our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakable. The principle that people of all faiths are welcome in this country, and will not be treated differently by their government, is essential to who we are."
As Salon.com states, this is awesome because there's nothing he can gain politically from his support of this, but there is substantial risk politically. He's speaking not with himself and his job in mind, but with our country and our rights in mind. And that's what a president should do. You go, Obama. Four for you. <3
Also, as a side note: all you people who are all like "It's insensitive to the people who lost family members and stuff in 9/11," just shut up right now. If they were building any other building there you would not have an issue, so just shut up.
The went on a lot longer than I thought, and I got a little rambly, so I guess I'm pretty angry about it. But I just think it's insane, and a horrible thing to do. WHY CAN'T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG, PEOPLE.
Some articles about this issue and terrorism in general:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrorism
http://socialistworker.org/2010/08/30/challenge-to-islamophobia
John Green's video about Islam - very helpful in understanding the actual religion:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jQ67cdzDyI
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Look at all these updates! Whooo!
It seems as though they have FINALLY capped the oil leak, and so far it's held up. They said the naked eye could even see the difference within just a few hours or something, so that's encouraging. Too bad it took them EIGHTY-NINE DAYS TO DO THIS. Although, there is "something" seeping near the oil well, but they're not sure what it is yet or if it's an issue. I guess we'll find out pretty soon, huh? It'll either explode and destroy the ocean, or it'll be okay. =/
In less important news, I've caught up with the vlogbrothers! Wooot. And my epic wizard rock concert of awesomesauce is only TWO DAYS AWAY. :DDD I can't even.
Okay, onto REAL business. The challenge thing is going okay so far. I've Tweeted my random facts, but I have yet to give presents or leave Post-Its (I'm planning to do a lot of that on my trip, though) and I haven't yet made it to the gym. BUT. I have tomorrow, then if there's a gym at the hotel, Tuesday night/Wednesday morning, and then Thursday and Friday. So. I can totally make it. :D I'm fairly excited. I know these are silly tasks, but considering a) how I haven't even been able to do half of them yet, b) how weird I am around people, and c) how long I've wanted to do this kind of stuff, I'm okay with starting off with these. The next ones will probably be some sort of real challenge, something I really want to do, and will be more interesting for me to blog about.
Changing subjects! A friend and I are writing a musical based on Twilight, only BETTER. It will very much be a parody, and it will be hilarious, and we will post it on YouTube when we're finished. It's actually going very well. We have a few songs completed, some scenes totally finished, and most of the cast assembled. We're very excited. Except for all the thinking about Twilight we have to do... that part sucks. =/
Anyway, friends, that is all from me tonight. Just a little update on some stuff. Leave me your thoughts, comments, questions, whatevs. I'll probably update Thursday, or maybe Wednesday night, after I get home. There will be many stories, and hopefully some success on the challenge front! :D STAY TUNED. I'M SURE IT WILL BE FASCINATING.
In less important news, I've caught up with the vlogbrothers! Wooot. And my epic wizard rock concert of awesomesauce is only TWO DAYS AWAY. :DDD I can't even.
Okay, onto REAL business. The challenge thing is going okay so far. I've Tweeted my random facts, but I have yet to give presents or leave Post-Its (I'm planning to do a lot of that on my trip, though) and I haven't yet made it to the gym. BUT. I have tomorrow, then if there's a gym at the hotel, Tuesday night/Wednesday morning, and then Thursday and Friday. So. I can totally make it. :D I'm fairly excited. I know these are silly tasks, but considering a) how I haven't even been able to do half of them yet, b) how weird I am around people, and c) how long I've wanted to do this kind of stuff, I'm okay with starting off with these. The next ones will probably be some sort of real challenge, something I really want to do, and will be more interesting for me to blog about.
Changing subjects! A friend and I are writing a musical based on Twilight, only BETTER. It will very much be a parody, and it will be hilarious, and we will post it on YouTube when we're finished. It's actually going very well. We have a few songs completed, some scenes totally finished, and most of the cast assembled. We're very excited. Except for all the thinking about Twilight we have to do... that part sucks. =/
Anyway, friends, that is all from me tonight. Just a little update on some stuff. Leave me your thoughts, comments, questions, whatevs. I'll probably update Thursday, or maybe Wednesday night, after I get home. There will be many stories, and hopefully some success on the challenge front! :D STAY TUNED. I'M SURE IT WILL BE FASCINATING.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
A month later...
So I'm kind of bad at keeping up with things. :D But I'm back now! And I have three things to talk about!
THING 1: I've recently discovered the vlogbrothers on YouTube, which is the channel shared by YA fiction author John Green (Paper Towns, Looking For Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines) and his brother Hank Green (runs http://www.ecogeek.org, writes occasionally for the NY Times, does other cool things). They have this insane following called the Nerdfighters, who are made of awesome, and one of which I am. :D It is awesome, they are awesome, and it has made my life a lot more awesome since discovering them.
THING 2: The oil spill! Yeah! I've not really been following this very much, but recently I've been thinking more about it. It's TERRIFYING. I do NOT like this situation. It's very scary to think that the actual, honest-to-god END OF THE WORLD may be upon us. And I don't know what we can do to fix it, other than try to suck up the oil that's spewing out and figure out a way to scoop it up off the water. =/ But it's a very distressing situation, and I will be attempting to follow this from now on.
THING 3!: Vegetarianism and the world today! Putting aside the much-discussed issues of animal cruelty and health benefits, consider the resources that go into raising animals for meat. Half of our water supply goes into growing food that we feed to, well, food. It takes up to 16 pounds of grain to produce just one pound of meat, and about 20 percent of the world's population, or 1.4 billion people, could be fed with the grain and soybeans fed to U.S. cattle alone (goveg.com). It takes 5,000 gallons of water to produce 1 pound of meat, while growing 1 pound of wheat only requires 25 gallons. You save more water by not eating a pound of beef than you do by not showering for an entire year (goveg.com). These are some serious numbers. Our resources are limited, and frankly, I kind of think this is a waste.
I like meat. I'm a big fan of ham, burgers, steaks, and especially bacon. I've tried and failed at vegetarianism before, and I'm not saying we should all stop eating meat forever. I'm just saying maybe we could ALL cut back a little. Instead of 1 out of 10 people eating NO meat, what if 10 out of 10 people ate LESS meat? If we could all cut back on our meat intake, maybe just didn't have meat one night a week, or skipped the bacon and sausage at breakfast every day - that would save huge amounts of water and food, plus things like corn that could be used for alternate fuel sources. Not only that, but fewer animals would have to be raised for food, which would mean better living conditions, less land and grass devoted to raising food, and less gas consumed carting the animals back and forth. Not only all of THAT, but we would all be a little healthier.
Vegetarianism is hard, and it's not for everyone. And I know there are people out there who don't see any of these things as problems, and so will refuse to change anything about their habits. Those people probably drive Hummers and use their sprinklers even in thunderstorms and leave all their lights on while they're on vacation elsewhere. BUT, for every ONE of those people, there could be twenty people eating less meat, conserving energy, driving less and walking more, taking shorter showers, and buying locally. There could be, like, three vegetarians for every one of those people. Six bike riders. Four people who have gardens. It doesn't have to be one person doing it all - you can pick an area and go all out, or you can do a little of everything, but as long as you're doing SOMETHING to help our planet, you're helping save the world.
Well, save OUR world. The planet will go on without us - what we're really trying to save is the future of our species. We only have this one world to live on, guys. If we break it, we're going to die out. And with people like the Hummer guys and British Petroleum and the Octomom, I'm afraid that will happen sooner rather than later.
What do you guys think about all of this? Opinions on the oil spill? Arguments for or against full or partial vegetarianism? Leave me your thoughts!
THING 1: I've recently discovered the vlogbrothers on YouTube, which is the channel shared by YA fiction author John Green (Paper Towns, Looking For Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines) and his brother Hank Green (runs http://www.ecogeek.org, writes occasionally for the NY Times, does other cool things). They have this insane following called the Nerdfighters, who are made of awesome, and one of which I am. :D It is awesome, they are awesome, and it has made my life a lot more awesome since discovering them.
THING 2: The oil spill! Yeah! I've not really been following this very much, but recently I've been thinking more about it. It's TERRIFYING. I do NOT like this situation. It's very scary to think that the actual, honest-to-god END OF THE WORLD may be upon us. And I don't know what we can do to fix it, other than try to suck up the oil that's spewing out and figure out a way to scoop it up off the water. =/ But it's a very distressing situation, and I will be attempting to follow this from now on.
THING 3!: Vegetarianism and the world today! Putting aside the much-discussed issues of animal cruelty and health benefits, consider the resources that go into raising animals for meat. Half of our water supply goes into growing food that we feed to, well, food. It takes up to 16 pounds of grain to produce just one pound of meat, and about 20 percent of the world's population, or 1.4 billion people, could be fed with the grain and soybeans fed to U.S. cattle alone (goveg.com). It takes 5,000 gallons of water to produce 1 pound of meat, while growing 1 pound of wheat only requires 25 gallons. You save more water by not eating a pound of beef than you do by not showering for an entire year (goveg.com). These are some serious numbers. Our resources are limited, and frankly, I kind of think this is a waste.
I like meat. I'm a big fan of ham, burgers, steaks, and especially bacon. I've tried and failed at vegetarianism before, and I'm not saying we should all stop eating meat forever. I'm just saying maybe we could ALL cut back a little. Instead of 1 out of 10 people eating NO meat, what if 10 out of 10 people ate LESS meat? If we could all cut back on our meat intake, maybe just didn't have meat one night a week, or skipped the bacon and sausage at breakfast every day - that would save huge amounts of water and food, plus things like corn that could be used for alternate fuel sources. Not only that, but fewer animals would have to be raised for food, which would mean better living conditions, less land and grass devoted to raising food, and less gas consumed carting the animals back and forth. Not only all of THAT, but we would all be a little healthier.
Vegetarianism is hard, and it's not for everyone. And I know there are people out there who don't see any of these things as problems, and so will refuse to change anything about their habits. Those people probably drive Hummers and use their sprinklers even in thunderstorms and leave all their lights on while they're on vacation elsewhere. BUT, for every ONE of those people, there could be twenty people eating less meat, conserving energy, driving less and walking more, taking shorter showers, and buying locally. There could be, like, three vegetarians for every one of those people. Six bike riders. Four people who have gardens. It doesn't have to be one person doing it all - you can pick an area and go all out, or you can do a little of everything, but as long as you're doing SOMETHING to help our planet, you're helping save the world.
Well, save OUR world. The planet will go on without us - what we're really trying to save is the future of our species. We only have this one world to live on, guys. If we break it, we're going to die out. And with people like the Hummer guys and British Petroleum and the Octomom, I'm afraid that will happen sooner rather than later.
What do you guys think about all of this? Opinions on the oil spill? Arguments for or against full or partial vegetarianism? Leave me your thoughts!
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