It has come to my attention, unfortuneately (or maybe fortuneately for all you readers...who number probably two, tops) that I do not write anything substantial on my blog and it often is just the result of incoherent ramblings on my part. On that note, two things: One, I apologize. Two, I plan to fix that (though I might forget and publish something worthwhile once!) Anyway, I'm thinking maybe it would be a good idea to separate each of my posts into sections: life, politics, news, ramblings, God, etc.

Life: Well, I am currently brainstorming ideas for the Wade Edwards Short Fiction writing contest. Ideas are more than welcome and greatly appreciated. I love to write, though most of my drafts and compositions end up in some hidden folder on my harddrive. (so much for a novel, I suppose). IM me if you want to contribute an idea for the fiction contest. I'm still attempting to get out of APBIO. My doctor wrote me a note saying it was causing me "undue stress" and I honestly think that things would have been oh so much simpler if my teacher had just agreed to let me switch out when I asked back in October. It's not that I'm lazy or don't want to do the work, or that it's even too hard. The honest truth is that I have missed 19 days this year, and keeping up in a class like that (where upwards of 90% of the curriculum must be explained by a teacher) it's impossible to keep up. Maybe I need a tutor...hmmm...yeah, I bet my mom would pay for that. :)

Politics: The elections in Iraq seem to have been a fairly decent success, with around 40 casualties (not that that's good, per se, but it's better than expected). And apparently voter turnout (of all eligible voters) was higher than it is here...now I think that's sad. I also think it was interesting how they made ordinances saying that Xpercentage of the candidates had to be female. It would be interesting for us to do that in America: Xpercent must be this race, or that race, or female, or homosexual, or affiliated with such and such a religion. (Not that it'll go over really well, but what if...?)

Ramblings: I'm frustrated in English class right now because there are about three people who talk incessantly whenever we have class discussions...like it's only those three who ever get a chance to talk. There are about five of us who raise our hands and wait to be called on, but the teacher never gets a chance to call on us, and doesn't when she has the chance. It's very frustrating. And even when I get my 10 seconds in the 45 min period, my ideas or opinions are shot down by those three people. I love english, but loathe that class b/c I think it's the teacher's duty to maintain some type of order in the classroom and give everyone a fair chance to talk.

God: I highly recommend this book. My alltime favorite line in there is something like "I made you," he said, "and I don't make mistakes." One of my youth leaders gave it to me, and I read it every night because it makes me truly feel like I am a special, unique creation of God, and that He didn't just close His eyes and create me without thought or process. It was on purpose! That's soooo cool, to me. I also like this quote from Psalms:
"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well."—Ps 139:14

News: Funny how Michael Jackson managed to make headlines when such a monumental change was happening in Iraq...maybe that's just me.
We read a really cool book about the Cold War (by Dr. Seuss) in 20th Century History today. It's called The Butter Battle Book. Here is the editorial review:
A cautionary Cold War tale (first told by Dr. Seuss back in 1984), The Butter Battle Book still has a lot to teach about intolerance and how tit-for-tat violence can quickly get out of hand. Explaining the very serious differences between the Zooks and the Yooks, a Zook grandpa tells his grandchild the unspeakable truth: "It's high time that you knew of the terribly horrible thing that Zooks do. In every Zook house and every Zook town every Zook eats his bread with the butter side down!" He then recalls his days with the Zook-Watching Border Patrol, as he gave any Zook who dared come close "a twitch with my tough-tufted prickley Snick-Berry Switch." But when the Zooks fought back, the switches gave way to Triple-Sling Jiggers, then Jigger-Rock Snatchems--even a Kick-a-Poo Kid that was "loaded with powerful Poo-a-Doo Powder and ants' eggs and bees' legs and dried-fried clam chowder."
With lots of fun and more-than-fair digs at the runaway spending and one-upmanship of U.S.-Soviet days, The Butter Battle Book makes a chuckle-filled read whether you're old enough to get the historical references or not. (And with all the Bitsy Big-Boy Boomeroos still in service, this book's message is far from obsolete.) (Ages 4 to 8) --Paul Hughes

It was soooo good.
Okay, my incoherent ramblings are hopefully a little more coherent (though certainly not succint!) Again, ideas for the Wade Edwards Short Fiction are more than welcome and greatly appreciated.