Mr. Midshipman Davies

When Students Attack

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 21:48:03 GMT

Just as a reminder, the way this works is that you take one hundred college students, give them all four possible test questions two weeks in advance, review and outline possible answers with them the week before the test, and then watch them come in and fall flat on their faces. All spelling errors and confusing formatting choices are theirs.

1. Summarize the course of the French Revolution, and explain its historical significance.
    The French Revolution started in 1789. It started with the three Estates Generals getting together, or convening. After a couple months, in June, the third Estate declared them a National Assembly. This rose up problems. Persians (Bourgeissie) were storming the Bastille. The king/lord of the Bastille was going to fight back until he saw fire canons aimed at the wall of the Bastille. He then decided to surrender. He was killed and the Persians took over the Bastille.
    This was good for a while until the peasants of Persia started to get worried. They were fearing that the poor people would start to take over their crops. Take them and sell them to get some sort of income, seeing as how the crops were almost ready to harvest. The peasants then started to burn down houses and other things and get out of control. This is what we call the Great Fear. The Persian government started to step in, which did and didn't make things better.
    King Louis the IVX (or IXV, something close) was trying to take hold of everything and all the fighting of the peasants and Persians, but was not having any luck with it. He decided to disguise him and his family and leave Paris and France because he just couldn't control his kingdom anymore. King Louis was spotted, brought back to Paris, put in prison for a while and then killed. He was beheaded by his own people. At this time France was starting to lose control with all the wars and fighting. The French continued to fight its wars and way to many people were killed because of the unneccisary fighting. Napoleon was able to seize power.
    The historical significance of the French revolution was it showed others how to fight and not to fight. It kind of made guidelines for future wars and fights for other countries. It helped the modern revolutions, by also giving them guidelines and how to fight.

I love how the student turned "Parisians" into "Persians," but then elected to really run with it.

    The French Revolution was started in 1719 and it is very hard to tell what year it actually ended in. The French Revolution was a revolution between the French and the English. This revolution lasted many years, but nobody knows what year it ended in. It's too difficult to say.
    The French Revolution was a very difficult time for the French, since they kept losing to other countries. The French's army was not that of a good army. They didn't have a strong one. That's why the kept losing to other countries. They also didn't have any goods to trade with other countries, so they were also pretty messed up there, too. Every country that fought against France ended up taking the title as winner, or dominator.
    The French ended up losing the French Revolution. They had a horrible army and no goods to trade with. France was not in good hands at this time. They were the weakest country at this time.
    The historical significance of the French Revolution was that it brought* about the industrial revolution. After the French Revolution ended shortly after that, the industrial Revolution started. Without the French Revolution France probably would not have gotten to be such a strong country. After losing battle after battle after battle, they finally toughened up and won a few battles. They got a stronger army and they got some goods to trade other countries with. They were sick of losing and never winning, so they decided it was time to start winning.

*brought was written at the end of a line, with "broug-" on one line and "ht" at the beginning of the next line

I think that every single thing about this essay is wrong to some degree.

2. What brought about the "Industrial Revolution" in Europe, and how and why did it begin in the British Isles?
    The French Revolution brought about the Industrial Revolution. After the French kept losing, it was time to start the Industrial Revolution. The Industrial Revolution started in the British Isles because the British Isles is where Manchester is. Manchester is the biggest city with a very low population. This way when fighting you are in the biggest city, but not alot of people live there so there is not so many deaths when the Industrial Revolution is over.
    The Industrial Revolution ended in Europe somewhere. It wasn't a very long revolution, but it was a bad one.

Fin.

When Students Attack - Question One

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 01:38:08 GMT

For the record, we gave them the four possible test questions two weeks in advance. This essay should include Christopher Columbus, Vasco de Gama, and the Columbian Exchange.

Trace and explain the development of European overseas expansion from the 1400s through the 16th century. (Consult Ch. 15 and lecture notes from January 30)

    The overseas expansion started in the 1400s with the Renaissance. The Renaissance started with the rebirth of Italy. Renaissance technically means rebirth, and it just so happened to start in Italy. The leader at this time were the Medici, and the were in control of Italy during this time. Everyone was trading with everyone. Countries wanted to get food, gold, incense, and goods from each other, and this was known as the European overseas expansion. When countries were trading with other countries for things that they needed to help their own country be the dominating country, the other countries started to lose. During this time, Europe was a dominating country, because they had everything that the other countries needed. Italy took a lot from Europe, because Italy was going broke. They no longer had the things/supplies that they needed in order for them to survive. Europe also did a lot of trading with England during this time as well. England was looking for gold, and that is one of the many supplies that Europe had for them.
    Even still through the 16th century Europe was trading goods with other countries. They would take mostly boats to trade the goods, since their was no other way to do it. If Italy wanted goods from Europe, they would take one of their boats filled with the goods that Europe wanted in return, and they would take their boat over to Europe and unpack all of the goods that Europe wanted, and then they would fill up their boat with the goods that they themselves wanted and drive the boat (or sometimes boats) back to Italy and everyone would be happy and content with their new goods. Then each of the countries would use their new good. Then each of the countries would use their new goods to try and beat out each of the other countries until someone won, and someone lost. This was fair trading so each country got what they wanted from who they wanted to help them be the best country. This was the overseas expansion.

Another offering, which seems to include Spain as an afterthought. Make sure to pronounce their misspelling of Genoese as Jenny-Os, like the Turkey.

    Portugal has a long sea side, where they do their trading with. With the sea side, they are able to trade to other countries that are located across the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The trading has helped Portugal expand as a country. Portugal also went on an exploration to try and find spices. They ended up finding some in India. On their search for spices, they came across an unknown territory, which became the Indian Ocean. Spain also looked for spices in an exploration, but they went to Africa and had no luck with that.
    With the trading overseas, European countries became very popular and population grew tremendously. People traded with gold and silver. The Geneose [sic] traded to the eastern countries, but soon had to change that. When the Ottoman Empire grew, the Geneose had to trade to the western countries, such as Spain and Portugal, instead of their eastern trade. The Portugal Royal Policy really favored the trade. It made the country wealthy and popular. Other countries wanted to do more trade with Portugal.
    In the late 1590s, actually in 1596, Spain had finally decided that they needed more than just trade in their country. Spain became determined to have domestic stores open up. Because the trading became so popular, shops, stores, and markets had shut down. Businesses could not make it. Once they realized that they needed businesses and not just trade, everything worked out well for the country who was going through a financial crisis.
    The trading of spices became very popular and countries' merchants were trading with Portugal for spices, who originally got the spices from India.

Spring Break Plans

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 01:41:36 GMT

On Saturday, I'm heading back to Joliet.

On Tuesday morning, I'm returning to Milwaukee. I'll be working at the Archdiocesan Archives, studying for my Library School Comprehensives, and generally bumming around.

On Thursday, I'm going church-hopping after the Holy Thursday mass.

If you would like to meet up with me or join me for any of these activities, please get in touch with me.

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 14:27:13 GMT

It's going to snow tonight. Just two to four inches on top of the meter-high pile of snow already outside my front door. What a treat!

"So the guy was gonna kill the guy and take over that to do that?"

Sun, 03 Feb 2008 16:18:47 GMT

I went shopping for used books and DVDs yesterday. I got four of each.

Books:
Population 485: Meeting your Neighbors One Siren at a Time by Michael Parry
The Rising Sun by Douglas Galbraith
Two Years Before the Mast: A Personal Narrative of Life at Sea by Richard Henry Dana, Jr.
Hitler's Willing Executioners: Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust by Daniel Jonah Goldhagen

In my opinion, all good acquisitions.

DVDs: (I'm not doing links here. You all know these.)
The Simpsons, Season Six
High Fidelity (my VHS copy is getting pretty unwatchable)
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
The Fantastic Four

The last two were purchased specifically because there are RiffTrax for both of them. It was in that vein that I was searching for but unable to find cheap copies of Transformers, Batman & Robin, and Jurassic Park.

Oh, and that reminds me, I got the first Cinematic Titanic DVD on Friday, The Oozing Skull. What I watched seemed pretty cool, but I'm planning to save the rest until MST3K night on Friday.

I'm going to a Super Bowl party this evening, after I go to church and do homework. It'll be good to see my friends, and there's a new House afterward. Good times.

(Subject line credit goes to Mary Jo Pehl, and her blog.)

Space Ship Quiz

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 14:37:15 GMT

TV Spacecraft

Score: 92% (11 out of 12)

My Visit to the DMV...

Thu, 18 Oct 2007 21:47:20 GMT

...was awesome. I was in and out of the Milwaukee downtown DMV in under ten minutes. We thought they were closed at first because there was no one else there. I look red in my new license.

Weathertop

Mon, 24 Sep 2007 18:05:11 GMT

I'm going to Joliet on the weekend of October 6. Why am I announcing that? Because otherwise it won't happen.

I haven't been home since I passed through on my way back from DC. I'm due to go back, and I'll never make it if I don't carve out a particular time.

You should plan to hang out with me.

Travel Plans

Wed, 15 Aug 2007 03:13:09 GMT

So I'm flying out of Milwaukee on Wednesday the 22nd, going to Washington D.C. I'm staying at a hostel near the White House for a couple of nights.

On the 24th, I'm taking a train up to Philadelphia. I've only got three hours there. Then I'm taking another (overnight) train to Waterloo, IN to visit my friend Don. (He was the guy that I was supposed to go on that pilgrimage to Gethsemani Abbey in Kentucky with.)

On the 26th, I'm going to Springfield, IL, via Chicago to visit my friend Nicole. That's going to be a little bit tight, since there's only twenty minutes between the trains, and there's not another train to Springfield until 5 that night. I'm hoping for the best.

After I've taken in the sights of beautiful downtown Springfield, I'll return to my family's home in Lockport, IL for a night. I should be back home in Milwaukee by Monday the 27th.

Why am I doing this? The trip to Waterloo and then Springfield had been planning and percolating for a while. Unfortunately, the only train to Waterloo that doesn't arrive at 3 a.m. was sold out from Chicago. That got me exploring, which got me thinking. Going to D.C. and its surrounding environs will enable me to change the color of many things on my "Where I've Been" map on Facebook. Obviously, there's a bit more to it than that, but it just feels like a fun idea. I can feel satisfied that I've done enough cool stuff with my summer.

Cost for the trip, including air and rail travel and hostel stay: $308.89

Best Campus Health Center Interaction Ever

Sat, 28 Jul 2007 23:53:45 GMT

Me: "I got eight staples in my head yesterday and I was told to follow up with my primary health care provider."
Receptionist: "Staples? Is this from an injury?"
Me: "Yes."

I hurt my head

Thu, 26 Jul 2007 14:47:10 GMT

I went for my now-customary dawn bike ride this morning. Unfortunately, my earlier ventures along the same path had failed to acquaint me with the width of various portions of it. I'm not 100% sure what happened, except that I had drifted a bit and decided to swerve a bit. I ended up on the ground, swearing a blue streak and bleeding. Fortunately a police officer came along at that moment and took me and my bicycle to Columbia St. Mary's. They asked me my social security number seven times and stapled my head eight times. When they determined that I didn't have any insurance with me and that I seemed sort of OK, they wrapped my head in a bandage and sent me on my way with instructions to come back if I thought I had a concussion. The friendly police officer was not friendly enough to wait through my medical things, so he left my bike parked in the ambulance bay for me. I'm not sure what he thought I was going to do with it, since the handle bars were knocked too loose to be of any use until I fish out my tools.

The good news is that, despite not wearing a helmet, I'm basically OK. I have to go day after tomorrow to get things looked at.

The bad news is that I can't go on my retreat. I was considering just going anyway, but I told the doctor that and was basically forbidden to travel in the short term. I'm pretty bummed about that. I haven't seen Don in almost a year, and we've been planning this trip for three months.

I had thoroughly reddened my t-shirt, so they sent me home in a hospital smock. As you can see, the blow to my head effected my ability to take a picture in focus.

I got eight staples in all. The one phrase you never want to hear your ER doctor say: "Oh shoot. Could you get me the staple remover?"

UPDATE: I think I'm doing pretty good, though I can't wait to wash my hair tomorrow. (They forbade me to use shampoo during the first twenty four hours.) Thanks for the expressions of concern.

Special Commendation for John Schubert, whose house I visited after my release from the hospital and who took care of me for about an hour before delivering me and my bicycle right to my doorstep.

Computers

Thu, 26 Jul 2007 01:15:54 GMT

Lappy McTopkins is dead. It was my first computer, and in many ways my first purchase as an adult. I am saddened. Fortunately, I had most of my data backed up. I lost the latest abortive start on a thesis, lots of pirated music that I'll have to repirate, a lot of photos that I'd already put on Facebook, and my twelve downloaded RiffTrax.

My new computer, Ludwig Aloysius Percival Top, is loaded with excellent features. It has Windows Vista, lots of memory, makes an effort not to overheat, and is generally quite well put together. I kind of hate it.

UPDATE: Using the System Restore Disk (you know, that thing Dell said I'd never need because I had Windows System Rollback?) for the new computer, I was able to get access to the old computer. The initial problem of blue-screening pretty much at will is still a problem, but I got all of my files and stuff off. I think I'm going to have Jonathan reformat the old machine, then use it as a backup or something. Anyway, it's good news.

Writer's Block: By Any Other Name

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 05:29:11 GMT

If you could rename yourself in real life, what would you choose, and why?

I think that any child that's grown up with any easily rhymed name would probably first and foremost desire a name that was multisyllabic and unrhymeable. Twenty-four years of "Joe Mama" and "How 'bout a cup of Joe?" and "YournameisJoeandyouarefromJolietandthatsfunny" have left me terribly disaffected with my name. In part, that's because I've met so few Joes who were inspirational (read: worthy of inclusion in the human race). As anyone does when they meet a person with the same name, I quietly size up any other Joes that I meet. Usually, this results in a vague disinterest and mild scorn, mixed with the slightest twinge of sympathy for another person who lived with parental reassurances that 'You're no Ordinary Joe.' Of course, though, these are usually the type of people who like that sort of thing.

Random Friend: "How 'bout we all go get a cup of Joe. Har har."
Other Joe: "But you've already got a couple of Joes right here. Har har."
Me: *wishing for death*

So if I had to rename myself, I'd choose something long and difficult to shorten into something mockable. Unfortunately, that almost inevitably means choosing something that sounds foreign, and those names get mocked just for being different. Maybe that's why I chose Ferdinand as my Official Screenname for Everything. You can mock it, but it's got too many syllables to be worth it.

Jerks, tauntingly: "Ferdinand, Ferdinand, You suck 'cuz you're Ferdi... Eh, you get the point."

Also, if you were to come up with a really good taunt for that one, you'd probably lose out in the process.

Random Jerk: "Yo Ferdinand! You know what they say? A Ferd-In-Hand is worth two in the bush! Har har."
Even Randomer Jerk: *attacks first jerk using a board with a rusty nail in the end*

In conclusion, if I had to choose a new name, it'd be James.

an excerpt from my favorite book

Tue, 17 Jul 2007 21:44:17 GMT

“A great rabbi stands teaching in the marketplace. It happens that a husband finds proof that morning of his wife’s adultery, and a mob carries her to the marketplace to stone her to death. (There is a familiar version of this story, but a friend of mine, a Speaker for the Dead, has told me of two other rabbis that faced the same situation. Those are the ones I’m going to tell you.)

The rabbi walks forward and stands beside the woman. Out of respect for him the mob forbears, and waits with the stones heavy in their hands. ‘Is there anyone here,’ he says to them, ‘who has not desired another man’s wife, another woman’s husband?’

They murmur and say, ‘We all know of the desire. But, Rabbi, none of us has acted on it.’

The rabbi says, ‘Then kneel down and give thanks that God made you strong.’ He takes the woman by the hand and leads her out of the market. Just before he lets her go, he whispers to her, ‘Tell the lord magistrate who saved his mistress. Then he’ll know I am his loyal servant.’

So the woman lives, because the community is too corrupt to protect itself from disorder.

Another rabbi, another city. He goes to her and stops the mob, as in the other story, and says, ‘Which of you is without sin? Let him cast the first stone.’

The people are abashed and they forget their unity of purpose in the memory of their own individual sins. Someday, they think, I may be like this woman, and I’ll hope for forgiveness and another chance. I should treat her the way I wish to be treated.

As they open their hands and let the stones fall to the ground, the rabbi picks up one of the fallen stones, lifts it high over the woman’s head, and throws it straight down with all his might. It crushes her skull and dashes her brains onto the cobblestones.

‘Nor am I without sin,’ he says to the people. ‘But if we allow only perfect people to enforce the law, the law will soon be dead, and our city with it.’

So the woman died because her community was too rigid to endure her deviance.

The famous version of this story is noteworthy because it is so startlingly rare in our experience. Most communities lurch between decay and rigor mortis, and when they veer too far, they die. Only one rabbi dared to expect of us such a perfect balance that we could preserve the law and still forgive the deviation.

So, of course, we killed him.”
– from Orson Scott Card’s Speaker For the Dead

House Hunting

Sun, 15 Jul 2007 21:09:23 GMT

So I helped Nathan go apartment shopping this afternoon. After looking at some tiny little bachelor cupboards (which wouldn't work since it's him and his girlfriend), we looked at some extremely nice but extremely pricey places.

We saw this image on a wall while we were wandering and searching.

Then we found an awesome place which happened to be managed by Dana Anderson's fiance. Nathan seemed pretty jazzed about the place, so now he just has to sell Kelly on the whole thing.

I have to go find dinner.

satisfying Saturday

Sun, 15 Jul 2007 05:49:46 GMT

My trip on the Denis Sullivan yesterday was awesome. Apparently they have some overnight sailing things. I'm going to have to look into that. I put up some pictures on Facebook.

Today I walked to Capitol Dr. According to Google maps, that would be exactly 3 miles if I'd done it using roads. Instead though, I picked up a trail I haven't been able to find any information about in Caesar's Park heading north along the east side of the river. I followed that until I got to Riverside Park, where I got lost briefly and ended up on the Oak Leaf Trail. I walked that up to Estabrook Park. (Park Map pdf) If you count all of the wandering, it was probably closer to four miles. I definitely enjoyed that unnamed trail, not least because it was more of a hiking trail than a bike trail, and I saw almost no one on it. Oak Leaf is great, but there are a lot of cyclists. After that, I went to Wal-Mart to purchase my long-delayed ice cube trays and stopped at school to make a bank run. Then I had John over and we watched the Rifftrax for Star Trek: Generations. Oh, and I joined the American Library Association.

Homework-wise, today was a wank. Otherwise, I'm quite pleased with myself and the world.

from The Commodore by Patrick O'Brian

Fri, 15 Jun 2007 00:30:43 GMT

"'To a tormented mind there is nothing, I believe, more irritating than comfort. Apart from anything else it often implies superior wisdom in the comforter. But I am very sorry for your trouble, my dear.'

'Thank you...Had you told me that there was always a tomorrow, I think I should have thrust your calendar down your throat.'"

Summer School

Mon, 11 Jun 2007 01:12:18 GMT

I just dropped my first class for the summer session. We were entering week 3 of 6 and I still had no clue what the hell was going on. Also, we'd had 40% attrition, roughly. So I'm free as a bird until June 29th or so. I fear the wrath of Financial Aid, but I'm otherwise much happier.

Books.

Thu, 07 Jun 2007 10:38:42 GMT

Do you ever feel guilty for reading an entire book in one sitting? Not because of how you spent your time, I mean, but because the author doubtless worked for months on the manuscript that you dashed through in a quiet day's activity.

I dashed through Patrick O'Brian's Letter of Marque yesterday, and I'm definitely going to finish The Thirteen Gun Salute sometime today.

Student Exams...

Fri, 18 May 2007 07:35:57 GMT

...the time of the semester when other people's stupidity takes up large amounts of time.

Here are two gems from the seven exams I've graded so far for my First World War class. This has a lot to do with why I've only done seven of them. What's great is that they're not only bad, but dynamically bad.

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Short Answer 1

United States' Entry into the war

The United States entered the war when room 40 (a British decoding group) found or decoded a telegram sent to Mexico from Germany saying "invade america so we can fight our own homeland while the americans are busy fighting you and in return we will give you your land back from the American-mexican war. America was in the war already but this little event triggered the beast who goes by the name america

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ID #7

Emperor Karl: Karl Marx was the 8th Russian Emperor. His assassination brought Russia into the war on the side of the allies.

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The Worst Part...

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 04:41:32 GMT

...of my job is grading papers and essay exams. It's hard to say which one is worse, but there are definitely some doozies in both. Reproduced below is the second paper for the course from one of my students. The assignment was to compare Evelyn Bluecher's An English Wife in Berlin and Vera Brittain's Testament of Youth, using the two books to defend some kind of thesis in regards to the Home Front during the First World War. The spelling and punctuation are a little wonky, but I'm reproducing them as the student wrote them. Enjoy!

War, what do most people think of when they hear this word? The first thing that comes to my mind is death, well mostly. Also, it makes me think of my past a lot because I lived through it. Nobody likes war; I cannot imagine one person in this world who would like war. But again, it happens from time to time, just because one country does not like the other, also because one country want to own more land, or now days even because of religion. Even people who never seen war, who just heard about it or saw it on TV. They still know what it looks like, because you can see almost anything on television in now days, or look it up online. There had been a lot of books written about life war experiences, and the people who went through it and survived. Brittain and Bluecher are two of those books. But the interesting thing about them is something that a lot of people would not accept, which is that both of these books were written by women. I was also a little surprised, because I was not used to reading books about wars which were written by women. But after I read "Testament of Youth" which was written by Vera Brittain I found it more interesting, than a lot of male author books that I have read through out my life time. Testament of Youth, is a better book to read out of two, even thought both of these books are very interesting to read. But to me Testament of Youth was a better book, because I liked the non-stop action, there was something interesting going on at all times. Maybe it is because I read these books in the past two days; well that is when I did most of my readings because I was a little behind in my readings. Both of these books were very good sources to give a reader good look at First World War, from the home front and the battlefront. But, again like I said I would have to choose Brittain's work over Bluecher's.

I'm very familiar with the event in the war, like I said I lived through it, and I wish I never have to live through something like that again. These books I think are right on the spot with their writings and life experiences, in som parts on the books especially in "Testament of Youth" when Brittain is talking about home front and how life was there during the war; it was somewhat the same that I had to go through. Well the war that I went through thirteen years ago was not love of a war as First World War was, but the readings still take you back and remind you of some not so happy days in your life.

There was some things that I would liked if they had written about it more. I think the omitted some things, and one things that I would have liked to read about more was life experiences of other people around them. Both of these books mostly told the stories only from their perspective and they have not included anybody else. It would've been more interesting for me as a reader to hear somebody else say something in the book, from time to time. One thing that came up in lecture and which Bluecher also mentioned was the civilian suffering in Germany, mainly around 1914. (Lecture, 02-20-07)

As a nurse Brittain had seen a lot of casualties and a lot of dead men. Even thought she was not in the battlefront, she still had a pretty good if not a perfect idea, of what was going on at these battlefronts. The closest battlefront that Brittain had been was when she served as a nurse in the armed forces, in France. She had also served armed forces in London, and Malta. Brittain went to Oxford College in London, which was all women's college. She as a student at Oxford wrote for schools articles, and the article that got her recognized for the first time was called "The Point of View of a Woman Student", this article was published in the schools paper called the Oxford Outlook. That is when the editor of the weekly Oxford Chronicle, a local newspaper which represented both Town and Gown, sent for Brittain and asked her if she could do a small peace of journalistic work for the Oxford local newspaper. He basically wanted her to write a short half dozen paragraphs describing the activities at the women's college, similar to that habitually sent in by men. (Testament of Youth, pg. 500, section 8)

Testament of Youth and also An English Wife in Berlin, were books of a lot of similar writing. For one the women wrote both of these books. Bluecher wrote "An English Wife in Berlin", and Brittain wrote "Testament of Youth". Both of these writers were English or in the other words from Great Britain, the only difference between them, are that one of them moved to Germany and the other is still in Great Britain. So, we get a women's view on the First World War, which is very rare to find in now days, and yet they have a lot of similarities. One of the similarities that I have gotten out of these two books was about their home front; they basically had the same life styles and same experiences.

Like we learned in our Lecture on 1st, of February, about Militarism, a lot of this Militarism that we had covered in the lecture class was brough back in some passages of these two sbooks. But again mos tof this Militarism was brought back in the Testament of Youth. The fighting was said to be a men's job, women's job however was to be in the home front and treat the injured males, and worry about the kids, and the homes. A lot of militarism pracices were done in schools, all male schools.

If I had to choose or prefer to somebody between these two books, it would've been "Testament of Youth" by Brittain, Vera. Well this is just me, because I'm an action person and if the book does not give me enough action I probably will not read if I do not have to. But, after I read Testament of Youth, I found it really interesting and it was different in a lot of ways, because this was I believe, first book that I have read about wars which was not written by males, but instead it was a female author who lived through it and experience all this stuff. The books gave me a bigger picture and more ideas of what the war looked like in 1900s. And I would prefer them to anybody who is in history, especially "Testament of Youth".

One of my friends suggested that it's easier and more fun to read in your best fake Russian accent.

So, on a 100 point scale, what grade would you give to this stinkbomb?

David Sedaris

Thu, 19 Apr 2007 14:48:28 GMT

I got to talk to David Sedaris last night. He signed my (new) copy of Me Talk Pretty One Day. He wrote:

"To Joe - I'm So Happy You're Alive"

Jennie and I had fun. We got there just in time. We got to mock the peasants who were behind us in line. It was good. Leaving 510 early was just the icing on the cake.

Why'd I Post This?

Tue, 17 Apr 2007 22:57:43 GMT

I walked home from school today and I'm having dinner at Panera. For some reason, I thought I had more to say than that.

I'm planning to knock at least two items off my To Do List before I leave.

extraordinary dullness

Tue, 13 Mar 2007 04:27:34 GMT

During my Library Management class tonight, I got so bored that I feared I might die of boredom, so I spent the first hour writing up my Will. As morbid as that may sound, I was actually sad when I finished it and had to start paying attention again. What a dull, dull class.

Stolen from Dana Anderson on Facebook

Mon, 12 Mar 2007 19:14:46 GMT

MOVIE SHARE

SUPPOSEDLY if you've seen over 85 movies, you have no life. Mark the ones you've seen. There are 239 movies on this list. Copy this list mail, go to your own facebook account, paste this as a note. Then, put x's next to the movies you've seen, add them up, change the header adding your number, and click post at the bottom. Have fun!

(x) Rocky Horror Picture Show
() Grease
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest
(x) Boondock Saints
(x) Fight Club
(x) Starsky and Hutch
(x) Neverending Story
(x) Blazing Saddles
(x) Airplane
Total:9

(x) The Princess Bride
(x) AnchorMan
(x) Napoleon Dynamite
() Labyrinth
() Saw
() Saw II
() White Noise
() White Oleander
() Anger Management
(x)50 First Dates
() The Princess Diaries
(x ) The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
Total so far: 14

(x) Scream
(x) Scream 2
(x) Scream 3
(x) Scary Movie
(x) Scary Movie 2
() Scary Movie 3
() Scary Movie 4
(x) American Pie
(x) American Pie 2
() American Wedding
() American Pie Band Camp
Total so far: 21

(x) Harry Potter 1
(x) Harry Potter 2
(x) Harry Potter 3
(x) Harry Potter 4
() Resident Evil 1
() Resident Evil 2
(x) The Wedding Singer
() Little Black Book
(x) The Village
(x) Lilo & Stitch
Total so far: 28

(x) Finding Nemo
(x) Finding Neverland
(x) Signs
(x) The Grinch
() Texas Chainsaw Massacre
() Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
() White Chicks
(x) Butterfly Effect
() 13 Going on 30
(x) I, Robot
() Robots
Total so far: 34

(x) Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
(x) Universal Soldier
() Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events
() Along Came Polly
(x) Deep Impact
() KingPin
() Never Been Kissed
(x) Meet The Parents
(x) Meet the Fockers
() Eight Crazy Nights
(x) Joe Dirt
(x) KING KONG
Total so far: 41

() A Cinderella Story
(x) The Terminal
() The Lizzie McGuire Movie
() Passport to Paris
(x) Dumb & Dumber
(x) Dumber & Dumberer
(x) Final Destination
(x) Final Destination 2
() Final Destination 3
(x) Halloween
() The Ring
() The Ring 2
() Surviving X-MAS
(x) Flubber
Total so far: 48

() Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
() Practical Magic
()Chicago
(x)Ghost Ship
(x) From Hell
() Hellboy
() Secret Window
() I Am Sam
() The Whole Nine Yards
() The Whole Ten Yards
Total so far: 50

() The Day After Tomorrow
(x) Child's Play
() Seed of Chucky
() Bride of Chucky
(x) Ten Things I Hate About You
() Just Married
() Gothika
() Nightmare on Elm Street
() Sixteen Candles
(x) Remember the Titans
() Coach Carter
() The Grudge
() The Grudge 2
(x) The Mask
() Son Of The Mask
Total so far: 54

(x) Bad Boys
(x) Bad Boys 2
() Joy Ride
() Lucky Number Seven
(x) Ocean's Eleven
() Ocean's Twelve
(x) Bourne Identity
(x) Bourne Supremecy
() Lone Star
() Bedazzled
(x) Predator I
(x) Predator II
() The Fog
(x) Ice Age
(x) Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
() Curious George
Total so far: 63

(x) Independence Day
() Cujo
(x) A Bronx Tale
(x) Darkness Falls
() Christine
(x) ET
(x) Children of the Corn
() My Bosses Daughter
() Maid in Manhattan
(x) War of the Worlds
(x) Rush Hour
(x) Rush Hour 2
Total so far: 71

() Best Bet
(x) How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
() She's All That
() Calendar Girls
(x) Sideways
(x) Mars Attacks
(x) Event Horizon
() Ever After
(x) Wizard of Oz
(x) Forrest Gump
()Big Trouble in Little China
(x) The Terminator
(x) The Terminator 2
(x) The Terminator 3
Total so far:80

(x) X-Men
(x) X-2
(x) X-3
(x) Spider-Man
(x) Spider-Man 2
() Sky High
() Jeepers Creepers
() Jeepers Creepers 2
(x) Catch Me If You Can
(x) The Little Mermaid
() Freaky Friday
(x) Reign of Fire
(x) The Skulls
(x) Cruel Intentions
() Cruel Intentions 2
() The Hot Chick
(x) Shrek
(x) Shrek 2
Total so far: 92

(x) Swimfan
(x) Miracle on 34th street
(x) Old School
()The Notebook
() K-Pax
() Krippendorf's Tribe
() A Walk to Remember
() Ice Castles
() Boogeyman
(x) The 40-year-old-virgin
Total so far: 96

(x) Lord of the Rings Fellowship of the Ring
(x) Lord of the Rings The Two Towers
(x) Lord of the Rings Return Of the King
(x) Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
(x) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
(x) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Total so far: 102

() BASEketball
() Hostel
() Waiting for Guffman
() House of 1000 Corpses
() Devils Rejects
() Elf
(x) Highlander
(x) Mothman Prophecies
(x) American History X
(x) Three
Total so Far: 106

() The Jacket
() Kung Fu Hustle
() Shaolin Soccer
() Night Watch
(x) Monsters Inc.
(x) Titanic
(x) Monty Python and the Holy Grail
(x) Shaun Of the Dead
() Willard
Total so far: 110

() High Tension
() Club Dread
(x) Hulk
(x) Dawn Of the Dead
(x) Hook
(x) Chronicles Of Narnia The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
(x) 28 days later
() Orgazmo
() Phantasm
(x) Waterworld
Total so far: 116

() Kill Bill vol 1
() Kill Bill vol 2
() Mortal Kombat
() Wolf Creek
(x) Kingdom of Heaven
() the Hills Have Eyes
() I Spit on Your Grave aka the Day of the Woman
() The Last House on the Left
() Re-Animator
(x) Army of Darkness
Total so far: 118

(x) Star Wars Ep. I The Phantom Menace
(x) Star Wars Ep. II Attack of the Clones
(x) Star Wars Ep. III Revenge of the Sith
(x) Star Wars Ep. IV A New Hope
(x) Star Wars Ep. V The Empire Strikes Back
(x) Star Wars Ep. VI Return of the Jedi
( ) Ewoks Caravan Of Courage
(x) Ewoks The Battle For Endor
Total so far:125

(x) The Matrix
(x) The Matrix Reloaded
(x) The Matrix Revolutions
() Animatrix
(x) Evil Dead
(x) Evil Dead 2
() Team America: World Police
() Red Dragon
(x) Silence of the Lambs
(x) Hannibal

My Total: 132

I'm kind of miffed that I didn't beat Dana on this one. Where are Star Treks I-X when I need them?