Filler...paper

I don't really have anything to say.
Today I realized that I'm most articulate when I'm complaining about something.
School is in like two weeks. I still have to read Crime and Punishment, study for the ACT, and you know - write a college essay maybe? Community college isn't looking too bad at this point.
I'm listening to "Get Right" by Jennifer Lopez right now. I'm trying to figure out how embarrassing that is.
I really should be reading Crime and Punishment right now, like really. Oh man I'm supposed to read 86.6 pages today.
So far I've read...nine.
Only ~78 left.

In reality, if I got off the computer and my nails were dry right now, I could get this done by 12 or 1am the latest. This will not be the case.
I am a screaming success.

Miss Universe

I'm liveblogging this shit.

- 9:02 Miss Bulgaria and I have like the same name, or at least the same initials. And she's not wearing a stupid hat...thing like a lot of the other girls. We were also born in the same country and all, so I guess my money's on her!
- 9:03 Miss Britain is so sassy, good lord. I like it. She could win.
- 9:07 Not gonna lie, USA girl is awesome. When did we decide that midwest/south is the birthplace of classic American culture, though?

~commercial break~ I bet every guy I know is watching this right now. I believe the most attractive woman in every country is on that stage right now. Well, I think you have to be the most attractive and have the heaviest accent possible at the same time.

- 9:15pm And now I'm too lazy to continue, because Miss Bulgaria didn't even make it into the top 15 and my sister told me Miss Venezuela wins for the 25 millionth time in a row. LAME. Oh but last year's Miss Universe (Miss Venezuela...............) is gorgeous.

Not just numbers

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1207610/Hellish-scenes-bomb-blasts-rip-Baghdad-leaving-95-dead-536-wounded.html

The best thing about this article is that there are pictures - big, un-apologetically real (and therefore bloody) pictures.

At first this post was going to focus on the fact that this all happened "after U.S. troops withdrew from urban centres in June," but I'm not going to throw that at you. Especially since Iraqi forces say they accept the blame. Of course, the security guards that failed to stop these bombings were replacements for the U.S. troops that left...

I'm definitely in favor of a more gradual U.S. pullout, because anything sudden would just bring on more terror like this. I guess it's important for their government to work out the security issues and to deal with these things on their own, even if at first it brings more bloodshed. But as a country I don't think we can collectively turn our backs on this and say hey, deal with it.

I'm not posting a picture because you really, really need to read the article and take a gander at those photographs.

I refrained from cursing.

"There is no way that Republicans are going to support a trillion-dollar-plus bill."

- Arizona senator Jon Kyl.

Forget the part about Republicans. What's important is before I read this quote, I did not think about how much healthcare reform (I really feel like that should go in quotations) would cost. I am a student at a public school in - wait for it - California. If you're not living in California, I'm sure you've still heard about our hilariously banged up economic situation. And that's not even when you're talking about the education system.

I read an article about two weeks ago that said our schools aren't getting new textbooks until 2014. Does anyone else see the issue behind this? Our teachers are dealing with paper rations and jobs that hinge on standardized test scores while Big O and his Ds decide to go crazy with a trillion dollars, and not give more to us, darnit. Are you aware of how many zero's there are in one trillion? A lot.

I understand, of course, that reforming the health care industry is important. That's an understatement, and I know people's lives are more important than paper. And jobs - who needs 'em! But free health care is available to those who need it, although I suppose it's a burden on the government (and our tax dollars? Which would be pickpocketed anyway by this monstrosity of a proposal) when too many people seek/abuse it.

Funny story - my father, sister, and I all have trouble getting insurance. I had surgery for Scoliosis when I was 13, giving me a ~pre-existing condition~ and now my sister has Scoliosis as well. My father was hospitalized for an anxiety attack which was labeled as alcoholism. Awesome! So here's my call to action, Obama. Fix it, and cheap. Oh and pay for my college tuition like you promised.

(source)

Novak and Columbia

image credit: http://www.kevinstilley.com/

You probably already know, but celebrated journalist Robert Novak died today after coming home from the hospital, where he was receiving treatment for a malignant brain tumor first discovered last year. Even to a lowly high school journalist such as myself, Novak was and still is an inspiring guy. May he rest in peace.

P.S. Columbia has a joint journalism and law degree program. Exciting! Now if only I could get started on college essays...

Well, ignorance saves time

It's a lot harder to stay on top of current events than I thought. My dad somehow manages to do it every day, starting with the Drudge Report. Meanwhile, it takes me over an hour to get through the OC Register alone.
-_- So healthcare, about that...

The first one, the second time

This is a stock photo. It's really random. I'm thinking I'll post really random stock photos I find when I need a photo for a blog that's really about nothing. P.S. yeah it might've been me who gave the piratey man a lil somethin' to say.

So I used to have a blog, but then I deleted it. I don't remember exactly why I did it, but it was probably because it was page after page of rants and 3am studying-induced zombie posts. This one will be less diary-like than the old one, because I hear fancy blogofessionals don't like it, unless you are blogging queen Dooce.

So why am I making a new blog? Because Tony Pierce told me to! Seriously. I was at journalism camp this last week, and he came in to talk to (okay, at) us for a while. I'm not gonna lie, I didn't really know who he was and I had a 5,000 inch Mac in front of me, so I wasn't exactly paying attention. The main message I got, though, was that if I don't start a blog I will die and eventually fade into obscurity and regret from the (non-internet) beyond.

Facts about moi:

- I am 47 days away from 18-ness (aka ~adulthood~). I counted the days just insert the number here. I'm definitely not counting down or anything.
- Stuff I like*: sleeping, reading, meditating, checking off everything in my to-do lists, cleaning my room.
- I know a lot of people my age tend to lean toward the liberal side; I do not. But I have taken an unhealthy liking to Rahm Emanuel.
- I like reviewing books and movies and stuff, which is useful for me because I work on my school paper (well, I'm Editor in chief (hence the hbic...)) (double parentheses are probably not very correct) and am required to climb down from my throne (kidding) and write articles on occasion. (Did I mention I love parentheses) (...you'll learn to love me.)


*stuff I never do.