The 21st Century

Has anyone ever considered the fact that we are now a decade into the 21st century? What has often been in the past considered the future is now the present. Eh, I know that sentence was a mouthful, but what I mean is, time has come a long way, and we are at the butt end of it. What will we do at the turn of this exciting but terrifying new century? How can we grab our lives by the handlebars and take control, making history one step at a time? A new millenium is underway, and we will be the makers of its beginning. The introduction to an epic, unchangeable story is being written as I compose this post. We are the people of the U.S., the U.K., France, Mexico, Germany, Sweden, Australia, Iceland - dare I list them all? The future is ours for the taking, and I know I won't miss out on the opportunity to make a change. Don't be the one who sat on the sidelines.

Merlyn's Pen

A few months ago I entered a writing competition for Merlyn's Pen. It was a national competition, and I was happy to see that I won runner up. Here's a link to the list of winners and runner ups: http://www.merlynspen.org/contentmgr/showdetails.php/id/44358/search/true. I'm pretty pround, since only 13 out of nearly 500 people were picked, and now I get to be on their website. It was a humor competition, so I guess you can call me a comedic genius... :). Just kidding, but still, I'm glad to have one.

Relativity

For anyone who's interested, I'd like to bring up one of my favorite concepts: relativity. Relativity means relation to - it's a comparison term. For example, if you drive a car at 90 miles per hour, then are you driving fast? Relative to the common civilian driver, you are. But relative to a Nascar driver - well, you get the picture. It's a beautiful thing, relativity. Did you know that you can fall at very high speeds without feeling any pain? Just look at your motion relative to the next astronauts who launch off in a rocket. Relative to the physicist shooting into space at very high speeds, you, and the entire earth and surrounding universe, are all falling at very high speeds. To the astronaut, the rocket isn't even moving. Intriguing, is it not? I hope I have incited within you a deep passion for physics. If not, you can always write a blog.

It's nice to know that we can find scientific, philosophical irony in unexpected places. Thank you Albert Einstein.

The Anatomy Coloring Book

As some readers may know, I've been taking an advanced biology course this year (advanced biology is basically human anatomy and physiology). The book you see to the left is an excellent way to study for this course. The Anatomy Coloring Book covers pretty much the entire human body, plus, it satisfies your inner childish desire to use a coloring book once more. I mean, who doesn't want to prove that, unlike when they were a child, they can color between the lines? And who doesn't want to know where the parietal bone is? I was stunned at the exellence of this, not only as a resource, but also as a great studying tool. Medical students heed this post!

Boredom

Boredom. From it we draw inspiration, joy. Without boredom, some of the greatest works of literature would not have been completed. For example, do you think Robert Louis Stevenson would have written Treasure Island if he had been busy with a million other things to do? Do you think we would have The Lord of the Rings if J.R.R. Tolkien had been infatuated with woodcarving? Oh, and I know this isn't literature, but maybe if Gregor Mendel hadn't had nothing to do in the small hours, then he wouldn't have begun experimenting with pea plants and he wouldn't have become the father of genetics. The point is, being bored is not a drag. Being bored is an opportunity. It's an opportunity to do something spectacular. So next time you are sitting around bored, use it to your advantage, and create a masterpiece, be it literature, science, or whatever you're interested in.

Also, an addition to this post: If James hadn't been bored, would we have the amazing http://www.jamesblog02.blogspot.com? ...OK, sorry, don't mean to stretch it there.

Silver Blaze

Loyal readers, feel free to click the following link and read one of my favorite Sherlock Holmes stories.

http://www.pagebypagebooks.com/Arthur_Conan_Doyle/Memoirs_of_Sherlock_Holmes/Adventure_I_Silver_Blaze_p1.html

Sorry I don't know a fancier website to link you to, but at least this one probably won't hurt your eyes. If I could give everyone the book, trust me, I would.

Typewriter

Hello STOP This font feels like I'm writing from a typewriter STOP It's kind of cool STOP I like periods better that stops STOP

Anyone miss the old days when things were simpler? I mean, I'm grateful for the internet, because I get to write this blog, but sometimes I wish that our only writing tool was a good old typewriter. STOP *Just kidding about the STOP ending there.