The Great Thing Called the Internet

The internet has been a useful tool for many years, but what we do on it and how we use it is ever changing and growing. I've read that by the end of 2011 it is estimated that about 20 average households will create more internet traffic than the whole world back in 2008! It's mind boggling to think of how fast this technological age is growing. There are some real gems on the internet and I always enjoy finding them, here are but a few of some of the things I find simply amazing.

The blending in man. These pictures are not photoshoped people, this is real! The man paints peoples bodies to blend into the surroundings!

This is my favorite one, he looks like a ghost, or a glass statue.

 If you want to see more here is the link; https://plus.google.com/photos/111480413428119678209/albums/5631896096550447121

These pictures are called cinemagraphs. These pictures are really beautiful and artistic, they're mind blowing!

If you want to see more of these amazing pictures you can check out this link; http://www.cocacolla.it/arts/jamie-beck-e-kevin-burg-cinemagraphs/?t=Jamie+Beck+e+Kevin+Burg+

Today we went to The Mall of America. MOA is one of my favorite places to be, even if, at the end of the day you have really sore feet! Lately, I've been paying attention to different fashion styles and trying to figure out what kind of styles I like and think express my personality. MOA is the perfect place to study fashion, not just what the people all around you wear, but also the styles displayed on one of the many mannequins standing in the store windows. I love the atmosphere at Mall of America, no matter how crowded it is, it still feels spacious. The Afternoon is one of my favorite stores there, it sells everything from strange smelling candles to crazy clocks, to a book about how to speak to a zombie! All of the items they offer there always feel fresh and different from what everyone else sells. It's a place that really sparks my creativity. Paul also wanted to go to the Apple store to buy a new mouse for his laptop. That was the very first time I've ever stepped foot into an Apple store. It was so cool! They had computers and ipads and other gadgets set out on tables for people to play with. But it was so busy there! People were everywhere in that store, and what's funny is that, right across the walkway is the Microsoft store, and it was practically empty there! I must admit that Apple has some amazing stuff, but I've always felt resentful towards all their gadgets. I guess it's because you hear about this new expensive thing they came out with that does everything, and the minute you turn around you find out they just came out with something bigger (or in some cases, smaller) and better, that makes your new gizmo look antique! Maybe it's also because I really don't want a part of the world that's constantly staring at a little electronic screen, the internet is all I need. Of course, I have the Nook, and a DS, and my brother has the PSP, and we have every big gaming system you can think of. We have the Wii, PS3, and the Xbox 360, but that's all thanks to Paul, he's a big gamer. Sometimes I ask myself if, when I'm older, I'll get one of those fancy smart phones, but my answer is always no. I would barely use a normal phone, and I most definitely don't need something to tempt me to be on the internet or some other thing all the time. It's hard enough to take a break from technology as it is! I'm not saying that people are wrong when they're constantly looking down at some type of gadget, in fact that would be me if I had more money to waste. I'm just saying that I want to stay in tune with the beautiful world around me, not a bunch of flashing pixels.

From My Notebook: The Passage of Time

The mists of time endlessly swirl before my eyes.

And I watch helplessly as the pool of age slowly dries.

Nothing that was, can ever be again,

Whether it had been of happiness or pain.

So let’s sing a sweet song for that, which is gone,

But let us also keep looking forward to the new adventure, as time marches on.

Zombie Eye in Limbo

Yesterday I saw a electric bike at a store! It was in the area that the lawn mowers were in and at first I thought it was a pedal powered lawn mower, but then I saw the sign that said it was an electric bike. The first thing I looked at, after I found that out, was of course the price.Not to my surprise, it was very expensive. Almost the price of a cheap car!
Later in the evening, we were sitting in the living room, watching my brother, Paul, play a game called Limbo. It's a very spooky, suspenseful game, and just a bit gruesome. At the same time, it's very artistic and beautiful in a dark way with everything in silhouette. We kept laughing when ever Paul died on the game. After a few minutes of laughing, Paul said "it hurts to laugh" while he was still laughing. It always amuses me when he says that and he says it quite often since his surgery.
Paul has been getting better though, but his eye still looks bad. Emily and I have even given him the nickname "Zombie Eye!" He was feeling good enough to come with us the other day to our favorite restaurant, but he wanted to go sit down right away in the back because of how bad his eye looks. Emily teased him when we had sat down that two old ladies had been staring at him. We had a good time anyway, but Paul made sure he had a seat facing the window!

This is the game, Limbo

The Walk to the Library

The other day my sister and I decided, even though it was really hot outside, to go to the library. I was restless and in a bad mood, so I figured being at the library would improve my spirits, since I'm always happier when I'm surrounded by books. The first part of the walk wasn't too bad because it was mostly in the shade, but once we crossed an intersection the last few minutes of the walk was in full sunlight. What made it worse was that Emily had decided to wear her flip flops and by the time we got to the parking lot of the library she said she had a bad blister, and she didn't want to walk any further. We got into the cool library, hot and sweaty, and I hoped Emily wouldn't make too much of a fuss about her blister so that we wouldn't attract attention. I brought her back to the comics place and she sat on the ground reading Garfield, while I browsed the books nearby. When we started heading home Emily complained about a blister on her other foot. She wanted to take her shoes off, and even though I didn't really like the idea, I let her. I was very glad to finally get home after that long, hot walk. Next time I'll be sure to make Emily wear her tennis shoes!

From My Notebook: Battle

This is my first poem I wrote on my own, I don't know how many poems I was made to make in school but this is the first one I actually wanted to write. It is inspired by J.R.R Tolkien's masterpiece, The Lord of the Rings. This is a scene from the last book in the trilogy, The Return of the King.

The Nazgûl is slain by éowyn the fair

But I do not care, for all hope has turned to despair

For lo! In the water there comes a mighty fleet

And on its black sails, death comes to meet

But oh joy! What is this? Do my eyes lie?

For there out of the darkness shines seven stars in my eye

Aragorn son of Arathorn has come to our aid

Quickly let’s end this nasty raid

Victory is ours! Look at them flee

And soon the sun shall shine and all will be free!

Visiting the Hospital

The last few days have been so busy for my family. On Tuesday my brother, Paul, had to have surgery on his cheek for a growth of some sort. Emily and I decided we wanted to go with my parents to wait at the hospital all day while he was in surgery. That meant we had to get up early to leave by 6:30 AM, I made myself get up at 5 o'clock because I always like to have plenty of time to get ready. The hospital is in a collage community, with big brick campuses, every store in one convenient place, beautiful architecture and just a friendly atmosphere. Maybe it's just me, but I love the collage part of the city. Everything is so... I just can't describe it. Almost everyone goes around on bikes, and everything is made of bricks. It's just the place I would like to spend an afternoon with a good book on one of the many stone benches in the shade of some trees. Anyway, we got there and took a tunnel from the parking ramp to the hospital. We stepped into the hospital and I just gazed around at the beautiful architecture. There was a sculpture art piece that caught my attention, it was a bunch of glass waves over rocks and some of the waves were lit up by a changing light. We went to the floor where my brother had to check in and we sat down in a busy waiting area, preparing ourselves for the long day ahead of us. Almost as soon as we sat down Emily wanted to get the stuff we packed out right away, which annoyed me, I mean we were going to have to be sitting there all day, we might as well take in the scenery while we were still feeling like it. People watching is a hobby of mine, but there is one thing that makes it hard for me to do it sometimes, it's that I don't want anyone to know that I'm looking at them. It’s like I can't get up enough courage to even look around a crowded room, I just look at my hands or the floor. This is a real curse because I really enjoy watching people... it's just that I'm afraid to do it! The rest of the day is spent in a different, more private waiting room for families having to wait all day; we played games like one where my sister and I ask each other what our favorite of anything is. I invented this game on a long car trip about a year or so ago, and now I like playing it whenever we have to wait somewhere for an hour or more. Sometime it really bugs Emily because she becomes bored of the game almost as soon as we start it. Thankfully Mom brought brought the computer so I was on that most of the day reading stuff off the internet as if it were one big eBook. Finally around three o'clock Paul's doctor came in and told us everything went well and that we could see him in an hour or so. Well that hour turned out to be 4 hours! We got the call that we can see him at about 6 o'clock and we headed up to the 6th floor. On the way over to Paul's room we passed this beautiful painting on the wall. I fell in love with it instantly, now I'm not that big of an art fan, I mean, I like to walk casually down an art gallery, but I just am not the person to spend hours studying the pictures. But this picture stood out to me. It was an abstract oil painting of a grass field and some mountains in the distance; I know what you're thinking, boring, right? But the colors were so vibrant, the deep blues, the lush greens and the streak of glowing white on the tips of the mountains. I don't suspect I'll ever see that painting again, but I will always say that that was my favorite painting and I wish I could hang it in my room. We went into my brother’s room and he was lying on the hospital bed, face all swollen from surgery and a white strap around his jaw, which they call a jaw-bra. This name, I have to say, brings up a rather disturbing picture in my mind. He was really sleepy and it was hard for him to talk, so we left after a few minutes. The next day my older sister came over from Fargo to visit Paul. Emily and I always look forward to when she comes to visit. my mom had left home early before I had even gotten up to work at our church. This weekend our church is having a garage sale, and somehow my mom always finds herself in charge of anything big, even if that event was someone else’s idea! We arranged it so that when Stephanie got home Dad, Emily, Stephanie, and myself would go and visit Paul, and when my dad left for work around noon Mom would come over as soon as she could. Believe it or not, I actually like to be at the hospital, I guess I just like the atmosphere. One thing I thought was cool at the hospital was some vending machines had sandwiches in them! I've heard of these kinds of machines that serve full meals, but I had never seen one in real life. Of course there were the normal junk food vending machines also and I joked with my mom that it would be funny if there was an Apollo candy bar in the vending machine like in Lost! it was a fun experience to be able to spend so much time at a hospital, it may be dull for many people, but I just enjoy being around people in these kind of atmospheres.

Going to the Store

Today I went with my mom, brother and little sister to Sams Club. On one of their big TVs at the entrance they were playing Tangled. Emily has been trying to convince Paul, my brother, to watch it (when I say brother I'm just being lazy, he's really the oldest of three brothers.) Her main argument that she thinks is going to win him over is: "It even has blood in it!" and "someone gets stabbed at the end!" She thinks this will impress my brother, but if I were him, the more she tries to get me to watch it, the more I would think it's a movie for little kids that she's trying to convince me it isn't. I've always enjoyed going to big membership stores like Sams Club. A few years ago we had a Costco membership instead of Sams Club and every time there was a birthday in our family we would get one of their cakes that are HUGE! They tasted great, and we had leftovers for at least 3 weeks! I think the only reason why my parents kept renewing their Costco membership was just for those cakes. One of the reasons that I love to go to Sams Club is that they have tons of free samples. Things like pizza and cheese sticks are things they seem to serve frequently, but this time, I guess we came a little too early. The main area that the samples are in, the meats and frozen foods aisles, were empty. There was one that was serving a drink, but my sister and I weren't interested. I saw quite a few empty stands get rolled past us on their way to be set up. But, alas, they didn't get set up in time for us to be able to sample them. 

Brainwaves on the Sand

Today was another nice day at the beach. I guess now that we have season passes we'll be going quite often. My mom invited two other girls from a girls group I go to, to come with us today. It was really fun, but there's not much to write about. We played monkey in the middle, charades and went diving for lost wrist bands that are used to get into the beach area. That's about all there is to say. Random fact: "a group of ferrets is called a 'business.'" If you like to learn something new all the time like me, then I think you'll like this blog, www.learnsomethingeveryday.com they update the blog daily with a new little fact. For a long time I've been hunting for an app or something that I can rely on for a new daily fact, but everything I've found either barely never got updated or it repeated the same facts frequently. When I found this blog I was so happy, finally I found something that is exactly what I was looking for! On the computer I like to mess around on a program called GIMP which is just like Photoshop except it's free! What I do most on it is take a quote or an idea and turn it into a picture. Yesterday I made the picture below, I got the inspiration for it from reading an article in a magazine about how anger is like a beast waiting to devour us if we give it the chance. This verse from the Bible was in it, "why are you angry, and why is your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it." (Genesis 4:6-7)

Here is a link to the whole article if you're interested in reading the rest of it. http://www.worldmag.com/articles/18273

Beaches and Ice Cream

This morning I woke up feeling refreshed, after finally catching up on my sleep from the last two late nights. I come up stairs and my mom tells me we're going to the beach! We pack a lunch and jump into the car. The manmade lake we go to is perfect, no weeds, no fish and no big rocks that hurt your feet. The prices to get in is, 3 dollars for a day pass and only 5 dollars for a whole season pass, the choice is obvious! The weather was perfect, even though it was a little cloudy, that just means not so much sun burn! Later in the evening my sister had a baseball game that was cut short thanks to the bad weather, which may be bad news for some people but to me it's the best thing that could happen, my sister's games are very dull and this night I just wanted to get home. When we do get home my mom says we should go out for ice cream at DQ! My sister doesn't want to because she's deathly afraid of storms, even though this one was pretty much done by then, it was just a short cloud burst. We go and Emily and I share a small triple chocoholic Blizzard, YUM! Today was actually more fun than yesterday if you can believe it, like a post holiday celebration.

YUMMY!

4th of July Traditions

Well another 4th of July has come and gone, and the family tradition was the same as always. Every year my family drives up to Lake Superior to have a barbecue on the shore with some other members of the family on my Dad's side. Everything was the same, same place, same weather, and even the same dishes that my family makes! The one thing I look forward to on these trips is the chance to climb the rocks around the shore line. There’s something about the huge boulders and the vast amount of water that makes me feel more adventurous than normal. But this year I did a little less climbing, that may be due to the fact that the night before I stayed up to 1 o'clock in the morning to watch the last episodes of Lost with my family, and then had to get up at 7 in the morning to get ready to go! On the way home we hit traffic and we crawled along slowly for a very, very long time! My sister got upset at the slow pace and told us to speed up, and complained a lot, when she was asked what she could do about it, she said she would throw rocks at the car in front of us! Well that led into an interesting conversation about juvenile detention, my sister asked if they would have toys there and I said the only thing different from a normal jail is that you wouldn't get put in the same cell with a murderer!

Happy 4th of July! (even if it's one day late!)

From My Notebook: Endless Journey

This poem I came up with while my sister and I were swinging at a park near our house. When we came home we found out we were locked out and our brother was downstairs, so he couldn't hear us knocking. So I spent the time we had to wait memorizing this poem so I wouldn't forget it before I could write it down.

The shapeless clouds of the heavens go by

Like fleets of ships in an ocean of sky

The sunlight so golden shines on their white sails

As it sinks in the west, light slowly fails

They sail through the bitter night and into the glory of dawn

And hope ever rises as they journey on

Camping in the Great Outback.... the Backyard that is!

My sister and I had been planning a camping trip in our backyard since the snow outside was three feet deep. But when the weather got warmer I started backing out... I just wasn't sure how I would like sleeping outside just with my little sister. But when my sister brought it up again, and I said I didn't think we would do it anymore, my mother said we should do it that weekend. Well, I woke up on Friday and found out that, at 8 o'clock in the morning, it was already 84 degrees. I was having second thoughts again. But my little sister insisted and my mother said we could spend all day in our little pool. So I agreed and my dad helped set up our tent. By the time I had finished helping put up the tent, I was already dripping with sweat. So I jumped in the pool. It turned out Emily and I stayed in the pool pretty much all day, trying to avoid the blistering 106 degrees. Not a nice day to camp! To add to all that, late in the evening a storm blew in so bad that Emily and I packed up and went inside.

This pool was a life saver in the 106 degree weather!

But the next day was perfect! The temp didn't go much over 84 and it was an enjoyable day. I spent most of it swinging on our porch swing in the shade, writing to my hearts content. I have, like, ten different notebooks, all for different kinds of writing. I have a notebook for poems, short stories, notes, and everything else you could possibly think to write!

My sis took this of me while I was writing

 The day was perfect, but that night wasn't so nice. I had gone inside to watch some episodes of Lost with my mother and brother, and it was 11 PM by the time I got back out to the tent. Of course it's 4th of July weekend and so all night people were setting off fire crackers. I couldn't get to sleep until they all stopped and by then I had no idea what time it was and I was too tired to look at my watch. I doubt I got more then three hours of sleep. Then of course, at 5 AM, some pesky crows decided it was their civic duty to fill in for my alarm clock! They wouldn't stop cawing loudly back and fourth to each other, so I grabbed my pillow and heading inside to get an hour more of sleep in my own soft bed. If ever there was a good excuse for falling asleep during a Sunday service, I had one! All in all, I had a fun time. And I think it was good for my sister and I to break away from the normal routine of life full of electronics, and spend more time in the great outdoors, even if it was only just out our backdoor!