Q3 Benchmark: South Africa and Egypt

My benchmark focused on South Africa and Egypt's status and capability of collapsing according to the "5-point Framework" mentioned in Jared Diamond's Collapse. To do this, I focused on looking up the individual status of their economy and environment mainly, and noted if there were any problems that risked escalating and affecting other topics mentioned in the 5-point Framework.

i guess im having fun.

i guess im off punishment , i guess im growing up. 

i guess i went to bed late everyday this week
i guess my room is junky
i guess my homework isnt done

i guess this is what everyone has been talking about
i guess this is what they call a "social life"

i guess only a lunatic could keep up like this

i guess im saying that because im really sleepy
i guess i should have remembered to pray about sleep

but ....
i guess im finally having fun.

My Kitten Escaped

I arrived at my home early Sunday morning after sleeping over at a friend's house. To my dismay, my kitten, Raphael, was nowhere to be found. Usually I would walk in to him bounding about the living room, biting and scratching anything and everything he could get his paws on. But not that day.

I began to panic. Had he silently slipped out after my mother when she had left the house earlier that day? Was he locked in a room or closet somewhere in the house? Had he died?

For about an hour, my mom and I scoured our neighborhood with cat food calling for him, looking under cars and the like. But he was nowhere to be found.

When we returned home, I went into my kitchen to check if he had been trapped in the refrigerator (that is my nightmare). As I opened the door to the fridge, I heard a slight sound.

"Raphael?"

The sound grew louder. I followed it through the back door in my kitchen into our very small concrete backyard.

Alas, Raphael was in my neighbors connected yard, huddled in a corner, mewing pathetically. I hopped over a low wall and ran to him.

"Raphael! How the hell did you get here?"

I grabbed him and put him inside. His tall tail bristled and he trotted into the house and began playing with his toys, please with himself for being found by so cleverly mewing. I assumed that he had gotten out after my mom and resolved simply to operate more carefully when opening and closing my front door.

Alas, it was a Saturday, and I left the house again for the day, very carefully, mind you, for I did not want him to escape again. Several hours passed. By the time I got home, it was mid-afternoon. Again, Raphael was nowhere to be found. But this time, I knew where to look.

I opened my back door and, alas, there he was, huddled in my alleyway against a snow shovel.

"How are you doing this?" I asked him.

"I can't answer you, I am a cat," he replied.

At this point, I was sure that he had some means of escape other than my house's doors. I searched through the house for the culprit opening.

Long story short, there was a hole in my basement. I put a wooden board over it and left it at that.

Benchmark Update

I have this gap in my story where Claire has to wait two weeks before actually committing her "act of revenge" on Natalie.  Right now, Claire's posts are in that stage.  A few days ago, she wrote "You are in a world of trouble. I finally found my method of your defeat."  This post hints that Claire has decided what she will do to get back at Natalie, and that this action is going to be very negative. Yesterday, Claire wrote, "I am not having any seconds thoughts about this. I think I know myself well enough to trust my intentions and let things happen. You'll see."  It is clear that Claire has made up her mind.  In two weeks, on April 18th, the actual action will take place.  We will have to wait to see how Claire reacts.

"Quotes"

Quotes are good in many ways.  They can make you laugh or cry.  Make you mad or confused.  There always seems to be a really good quote in a movie or book or on tv.  Because of this I suspected that my quote for the benchmark would be online.  I looked around the internet for about a hour and could only find one quote from the movie I was looking at. (THE MOVIE HAS BEEN OUT FOR AROUND 2 MONTHS, SHOULDN'T THERE BE SOMETHING!)  Now I have to bring the dvd in from home, buy a video recorder and record the scenes I wanted so I can finish my outline.  :/ I believe the world hates me.  

My work so far

In the past week there have been some "technical" difficulties on twitter.  I have been unable to work on my english benchmark due to this, and I have been forgetting about my daily post.  :(...Sorry.  But a angel shined down on me and gave me a new application that connects to Twitter.  So take that! ...I hope I can get back on track this benchmark effects my final grade. :0

Twitter Contest

Yesterday while I was on twitter, I noticed that Wes Craven (the director of Scream, and other movies, but most importantly Scream) was hosting a contest on twitter and the winner would receive two tickets to see the Premiere of Scream 4 in LA. The goal of contest was to answer one question about the Scream Series, and answer the question as #wescraven and #scream. I constantly refreshed my page until Wes Craven posted the question. After at least 6 minutes, he tweeted the question. "What was Maureen Prescott's stage name in Scream 3?". I knew this answer and as I attempted to answer the question on my phone, for some reason my Twitter application continued to force quit. Then, I went on my computer to post the answer. After I mentioned Wes Craven in the tweet with my answer, I assumed that I was the only person/ first person to answer the question. Out of curiosity I clicked the mentioned tab on Wes Cravens profile to see who answered the question, too. To my amazement at least 40 people answered before me ! Only two minutes had passed since the question was asked on twitter and so many people had answered within the first seconds. Even though many people answered the question before I could, I'm giving them all the benefit of the doubt that they cheated and googled the answer, they're not true fans. 

I should have stayed in bed.

I woke up exactly 65 minutes after the time that I set my alarm for. It was set for 6:15 and I didn't roll out of bed until 7:20. I like to take my time getting out of bed in the morning, so it's not strange for my alarm to be set 20 to even 30 minutes earlier than I actually want to get up. The only important thing is that I leave my house at 7:05, it gives me just enough time to walk to the bus stop and get on the bus. I'll arrive at school around 7:40 and have plenty of time to socialize and eat breakfast in the morning. Today, I don't know the exact time I got to school, and I wasn't late, but I certainly didn't have enough time to follow my pleasant morning routine. 

It turns out that I rushed for nothing, I had four classes today, since it is Wednesday, and three of my teachers were not in the building today. So that was three hours of nothing. The other class was assistant teaching for a junior physics class, except, there were no juniors to teach seeing they were all taking the PSSA test. Instead, I went to Darlings Cafe with Ms. Gerkie and the four non-junior, non-PSSA-taking members of her spanish 5 class and had a nice hot chocolate. I guess you could say that made it all worth it. 

My kitty

So I totally had a pretty nice day today. I went to school and it was a half day so thats sort of on the plus side. Then after school got some food and went for a pedicure with mah bestie. Pedicure = Heaven for feet. I mean really it felt so nice, during and afterwards and even now. Gotta take care of your feet. My cat is pretty cute too. 

4/6: PB and Tea

​When I was younger, and before my family moved, my mom and I would sit in my room and have "high tea" every night. Tonight, my mom and I decided it would be fun to do it again. I made sleepy time tea and mom made peanut butter crackers. It was nice to have that moment. It felt like things were going back to normal

4/6: PB and Tea

When I was younger, and before my family moved, my mom and I would sit in my room and have "high tea" every night. Tonight, my mom and I decided it would be fun to do it again. I made sleepy time tea and mom made peanut butter crackers. It was nice to have that moment. It felt like things were going back to normal

Op Ed

Beginning Defeated

 

 

 In every human being lies the animal like need to be controlled. Lions in a pride that are unsatisfied with or feel as though they can do a better job then the king, attempt to put him out of power. But, they soon figure out that the role they are not ready to take on the role they are fighting for. The Arab nations are going through a very similar situation. The eruption of civil war in the Arab nations is a war between the experienced and those who want new experience.

Tensions between citizens and their governments reached their boiling point when Mohammed Bouazizi lit himself on fire to express his oppression to inaudible government and nation. This eruption flowed into the already boiling surrounding nations and ignited the flame.  At this point there have been multiple protest, riots, and battles between citizens and their own government. War has erupted.  Revolutions have begun.

The youth of these nations have begun to speak up and out. Now that their voices are no longer silenced by repression, the thought would be that there would be widespread rejoicing. This is not the case. In interviews done by the New York Times, citizens spoke their feelings towards the revolutions and events that have been occurring. They spoke on democracy in nations where democracy is not apart of memories. It does not exist in the minds of the people. The rebels are fighting for something the majority of the population they are fighting for does not fully understand. This fight is one that citizens are entering blindly, fighting for a vague idea of freedom. They are fighting in incomplete contemplation.

Essentially, everyone is entitled to certain rights, especially those stated by John Locke in his work, A Letter Concerning Toleration.  This idea is not shared among all.  All people are entitled to the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. But, to pursue these rights the totality of the circumstances and full understanding must be made. Blindly fighting for things not completely understood, is beginning defeated.

 

“Historically an Arab has always lived in a tribal system…When you come up with the idea of a self-governing people, it’s a bit absurd.”

                                                -Ghassan el-Hakim, 26, director, Rabat, Morocco

 

Across the Atlantic and in Europe nations have been trying to decide whether or not it is in their interest to assist the coalitions in the feuding countries. Selfishness. In the U.S President Barack Obama ordered a bombing in Libya.

 

“Where ever people long to be free, they will find a friend in the United States”

-President Barack Obama

 

These words spoken on behalf of the same country that fought for the “no-fly” zone to be issued over Libya, and then detonated a bomb post the issuing. Obama also states that when assisting other countries we must always measure our interest over the need for action. Who are we to determine when some one seriously needs our assistance? Do we wait for our “friends” to be in the most destitute position? Or do we step in regardless of our interest? Selfishness.

Humans are animals that posses the need to be in some way controlled and care for self before others. Unsatisfaction leads to rebellions and revolutions. But, those are only successfully when what is being fought for is fully understood.

Fan Brawl (kind of)

Tonight, I went to a Sixers' game, wearing a New York Knicks jersey.  I didn't get as many mean faces as one cold usually expect when rooting for the visiting team.  Half of the stadium was in blue and orange. In fact, there were sections with signs declaring, "MSG. We in here!" 

The Knicks were winning the entire game, until their defense let up in the last 10 mins of the 4th.  Sixers fans began to lose their minds as the team climbed back from a 18-point deficit.  After Iguadala hit a three, the man beside me proceeded to high-five the man behind me.  He almost slapped me in the face. Secretly, I think he was mad that my team won. 

Mouse pad

​ My mouse pad is currently not working. I am using a plug in mouse for it. If I accidentally hit it my laptop freezes...it has already been restarted 5+ times since I got home at three. Restarting also deleted part of my history benchmark....life is wonderful :/

Words I Never Said

"Complain about the liquor store but what you drinking liquor for?
Complain about the gloom but when’d you pick a broom up?
Just listening to Pac aint gone make it stop
A rebel in your thoughts, aint gon make it halt
If you don’t become an actor you’ll never be a factor"

Many people complain about the problems of the world but never do anything to solve them.