Debate Team Tournament

"We have to start teaching ourselves not to be afraid." - WIlliam Faulkner


Okay, so technically I was participating in Speech and it was a linguistic forensics tournament (different from criminal forensics).
It was SO much fun. Five out of the eight people on our team won trophies, which was awesome. I wasn't one of them, which I'm totally fine with except for that I didn't get one of my ballots back so I don't even know all of what I can improve upon for the next one. The teacher running the team is working on it.


Someone told me that my performance was the "scariest thing they'd ever seen." I suppose that's good. It was supposed to be scary, at any rate. Except now my throat is sore from all of the screaming I did. Yep: the Public Forum people had over 2 hours total of intense mental focus, where I had about 20 minutes of running around and yelling about monsters and mirrors and glass.


Explanation of my event:


Dramatic Interpretation is sort of like acting. No props, costumes, or sets are allowed, for one thing. The idea is to take a literary work (often a novel) and "interpret" either the entire thing or a selection in under 10 minutes using only words from the text except for when you introduce the book and premise. I was doing "In The Maelstrom" from Thoughts on Life. Which oddly enough, isn't cheating.


Apparently one of the judges thought I was moving around too much (granted, I was moving a heck of a lot more than the other people). I also think my rankings were affected by the fact that over the course of the three rounds I competed against maybe 5 of the people who won trophies (one of which I was in a room with 3 out of 4 times, and one 2/4).


Then Public Forum, since I mentioned it:


Two teams of two argue either pro or con of a resolution. Public Forum is centered around facts and statistics (whereas Lincoln Douglas is one-on-one and centers around values). The entire event is slightly over 30 minutes per round. 

A Call For Assistance

"If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him." - Voltaire


If anyone knows of some fantastic articles regarding globalization (preferably cultural--not economic-- globalization) as it relates to the internet, please leave the links in a comment.
I have some good stuff already, and know where to find more, but I figured I'd ask.


It's for research project for English. We have to do a speech, a Powerpoint, and possibly a short video as well, about a "global issue." This is mine.
I considered robots/AI, media bias, and literacy as well, but (obviously) I chose this one.


PSAT scores came back today. No, I'm not telling you mine. I did well, but that's all I'm saying.
The more interesting aspect of that event was this: not only did we get the scores back, but we also got the tests themselves. So I can go over the stuff I got wrong. That's kind of cool. I've never had that for a standardized test before.

Thoughts On Life: ONLINE

"We can't command our love, but we can our actions." - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle


You know that book I got self-published via Createspace back in June?


It is FINALLY AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE!
Someone told me it wasn't on Amazon, so I went and looked around on my account, and it turns out that I didn't enable that feature after all. It will be on Amazon soon, but for now, you can buy it right here.


[activate menacing voice] I expect to find several thousand dollars in my bank account by Monday. You, my slaves, must advertise this to your friends, or else I WILL FIND YOU. [deactivate menacing voice]


Unfortunately, there's a bunch of typos I didn't catch while editing, since I was in a huge rush to get it put together before the discount code expired to get a copy sent to my grandparents. So I'M SORRY FOR THAT.


Rest assured that I will alert you as soon as it is on Amazon.


So while Thoughts on Life doesn't count in my books (lol, pun) as "real publishing," I can now make money from my writing. Very little money, since I have a grand total of ZERO marketing, but potential money all the same. Yay for meager income!


I would laugh so hard if my total earnings off of this ended up out-weighing my total expenses from now until the end of the year. I hardly ever buy anything, and I can usually get some cash from my parents, depending on what it is. Example: If I want a book my dad also wants, he will pay for it. If I want to go see a movie he wants to see, I don't have to pay for that. It's just when I want to go with friends that I sometimes have to delve into The Wallet Of Destiny.

Post Winning-NaNo Effacement Disorder

"Thus the metric system did not really catch on in the States, unless you count the increasing popularity of the nine-millimeter bullet." - Dave Barry


This is a post entirely about procrastination.


I intended to keep working after November was over. I intended to get the 1st draft finished by 2011. 
Instead, I became afflicted by Post Winning- NaNo Effacement Disorder, in which the victim completes her 50,000 words and then doesn't go anywhere near her novel until mid-January. In fact, she tries to blot the entire story from her mind.
In short, I have been PWNED. 


Yep. Laugh at my lame joke. The post was going to be "Post NaNo Stress Disorder," but then I came up with that...ha.


Instead of typing another few tens of thousands of words (that sounds rather impressive, doesn't it?), I have been playing The Elderscrolls IV: Oblivion. I've "completed"  (meaning there have been a few quests I haven't done) the game with two different characters now, but it hasn't gotten any less fun.
 Playing that also helps me to ignore the people immersed in World of Warcraft: Cataclysm. I stopped shortly before Wrath of the Lich King came out, but its kind of painful to hear people talking about how awesome it is.
Of course, playing Oblivion for a few years doesn't measure up to the fact that I've been playing Diablo 2: Lord of Destruction since before my youngest sister was born (and she's nearly 11 and a half). That hasn't gotten less fun either.


I've also been trawling through a huge stack of library books. I finally finished the last one yesterday and so took The Lost Hero to school today since I stopped 3/4 of the way through to read HP and the Deathly Hallows...and what do I find upon logging on to my email? I have another book waiting for me at the library. Which is annoying, despite that I've been looking forward to reading this one.


So by writing a post about procrastination, I have been in effect procrastinating from homework. 

Publishing and The Princess Bride

“When things break, it’s not the actual breaking that prevents the from getting back together again. It’s because a little piece gets lost - the two remaining ends couldn’t fit together even if they wanted to. The whole shape has changed.” - Will Grayson, Will Grayson, not sure which author it was.


http://www.intrepidmedia.com/column.asp?id=4212


I love that movie.

You Look Fat.

"The first duty of love is to listen." - Paul Tillich


When I walked into the bathroom during lunch today, there was a bunch of girls standing around talking. This was surprising, as the bathroom is usually empty at that time. I don't know them at all.
Let it be noted that I wasn't "eavesdropping." They were talking, and I happened to be there.


One of the girls, as casual as a Saturday afternoon, said to one of the other ones, "You look fat. I mean, you're already obese, but..."
My expression:   0_0


How can you say that to someone? It didn't even sound as if she was intentionally trying to be mean. It was spoken as I might say "The kitchen is downstairs." An observation.
Let it also be noted that although I didn't want to look so as to let them know I had been listening, I'm pretty sure none of the girls could be classified as "obese," or even "over-weight."


Furthermore, since they were in there  together (and the stereotype that girls always take bathroom trips together does have some merit), I would assume that they're "friends." See my quotation marks.
 I don't care if she weighs over 400 pounds-- you shouldn't phrase things like that. When it comes to "obesity" (which starts long before 400), it's not about appearances anymore - it's about health, and it should be phrased as such.


Sorry, but why the hell would anyone want to spend time with someone like that?
It sounds terribly nerdy of me when I phrase it this way, but I've read about girls like that. I hadn't met any before. (I technically still haven't, I suppose). I assumed the portrayals were exaggerating. Apparently not.


That is not a real friend. A real friend can be many things, and everyone will have his or her own definition, but that is objectively not included, so do I declare. It doesn't matter how the comment was intended-- that's just cruel.


**steps off of soapbox**


In other entirely unrelated news:


I'll be unexpectedly taking AP Chemistry next semester. I'm in Honors level now, and we got a letter from my teacher saying that "the student to whom the letter was sent" had been doing very well, and she was trying to recruit kids to take her AP class. So I don't have Computer Apps anymore! *celebrates*
If I get a 4 or a 5 on the AP exam, I'll get 8 credit hours for it, which is apparently a lot for one class. A score of 3 will get me 4 hours. And just as I was getting excited about not having to write lab reports anymore...


Then there's the book I'm currently reading (ha, which of the 6-7, you ask?). It's called The Maze Runner.


Thomas rides the Box up for over half an hour. The ceiling slides back and he finds 50-ish boys in their teens staring down at him. They are the Gladers, and they live in the Glade, surrounded by the Maze. Each month, a new boy is delivered, and supplies arrive weekly. None of them remember anything about themselves other than their names. 
Then the next day, the Box activates again, and a girl appears with a morbid message.


That's all I'm going to tell you, other than that I'm enjoying it immensely and sort of reminds me of the poem I'm performing for the debate team competition this weekend.

Individualized Education Plans

“Emily Dickinson wrote that “Success is counted sweetest by those who ne’er succeed.” And so too youth is also counted sweetest by those who are no longer young. Nostalgia is inevitably a yearning for a past that never existed. And when I’m writing there are no bees to sting me out of my sentimentality. For me at least, fiction is the only way I can even begin to twist my lying memories into something true.” - John Green


I started reading Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine today. It's about a 10 year-old girl with Asperger's syndrome trying to deal with her brother's recent death. It's amazing so far. Go read it.


I haven't been diagnosed with any sort of "condition," but I found pieces of myself within Caitlin. This got me to thinking, of course.
Most of them (like autism) have many different levels. With some people, you can scarcely tell, whereas with others its blindingly obvious.
So where exactly is the line that divides diagnosis with "normal"? What if we all have everything, and its just that most of us have such low levels with most of them that no one bothers to define it?
Yet if we all have these difficulties, shouldn't we all get some sort of treatment for it, even if its just monthly talks with a counselor about random stuff? I don't even want to use the word "treatment." It's too strong.
Reading this book, I wish I'd had "Mrs. Brooks time" (her counselor) every now and then when I was in elementary school. I don't think I needed it-- far from it-- but no one ever talked to me about myself in such objective terms. I got my IQ tested in 1st grade, but no one ever discussed the results with me. That might have been a good decision, but I'd rather that I had been more involved. 
I had AG status, but the program, to be frank, sucked.
All students supposedly have an IEP (Individualized Education Plan), but I've seen nothing of the kind in regards to me or the majority of my classmates. We don't "need" interventions-- so? It would be useful. It would help each individual to grow more, academically and as people.
Talk to kids about themselves in grown-up terms. I think it would be good in most cases, some of the time. Of course, this won't apply to every kid or every situation, but still. We may be young, but we can still, as Caitlin would say, "Get It."


I also find the concept of having a psychologist interesting--just not enough to actually start seeing one. How to explain that? 
Psychologist: "So Olivia, why did you want to come see me? Have you lost a loved one recently?"
Me: "No, I just find the relationship between a psychologist and his or her patient fascinating and wanted to experience it first-hand."


If I suddenly get ridiculously rich...

Snow Part 2

"Well, anagrams say something about the malleability of language. We always think of language as an immovable object, as this set of codified and unbreakable rules. But when you consider that one can rearrange the letters in PRESBYTERIANS and spell BRITNEY SPEARS, it reminds us that language (and the stories we tell with language) can be twisted and molded. Words are not static. Language shapes our memories, and it is also shaped by our memories.
Also, I can’t think of a talent that is more simultaneously impressive and useless than anagramming." - John Green


The sequel to one of my first posts...Snow.


Today I helped make several hundred pierogies at my aunt's house. A pierogi is a polish food that is basically a semi-circle of pasta stuffed with something. My favorite is potato, but we also made Ricotta cheese, sauerkraut, and sweet potato.
It's started sticking to the road.


I have very little to say other than that. I mainly just wanted to write a sequel post and use one of the quotes I've had sitting around waiting for an opportunity to be used.

Orson Scott Card: The Follow-up

"If mankind minus one were of one opinion, then mankind is no more justified in silencing the one than the one - if he had the power - would be justified in silencing mankind." - John Stuart Mill


I don't know what my settings on subscribing to the comments of a post are, so I'll respond here.


Rock4ever95 says:

I am really surprised about what you said about Card. I heard him talk a little afterwards and he said too things that I found to be rather arrogant and strange

First he said that the phrase "thin characterization" means nothing. Call me crazy but I think it does mean something.

Second he said that you should quit writing workshops and groups after a year because after a year it becomes a social group that you only stay in "if you're lonely"

I have never read anything by him and I only heard like a minute and a half of his talk but he really bothered me, maybe it made more sense in context

Yes, the thing about writing groups being useless after a year was the one thing I disagreed with. I feel like we still get stuff done. I know I'm continuously learning. Sure, we've all become friends in the process, but that doesn't mean we're not being productive. 
But he does make going to clubs just out of loneliness sound bad, which it isn't. Where else are teenagers supposed to make new friends, if not in clubs? (the academic kind, of course. Ha.) Class is sort of taken up by...class. 
"Thin characterization" - I would agree that it means something, but I think what he meant was that its not terribly useful. There are much better, more specific ways to help someone improve a character. It's like having to write a paper without a rubric-- you have no idea what you're supposed to pay attention to.
Also, that's the second time you've said you found one of my favorite authors to be arrogant, yet I find neither of them to be. Maybe that's because I'm blinded, and I'm sure I overlook some flaws due to that, but I think perhaps we use different variations of "arrogant." Maybe you're arrogant to think so. Maybe I'm arrogant to call you arrogant. 


Then he said this:

Actually, after going back and reading the whole post(I tend to skim), I saw that he made some very good points but one of my favorites was the one about being in an elevator with his favorite author and having nothing to say.

To which I have nothing to say other than what I said in the original post.

Since you said you haven't read anything by him, I would definitely start with Ender's Game. During my most recent re-read, I decided it was my favorite non-Harry Potter book (because I am contractually obligated to give that 1st place) of all time. Then I re-read the first of its sequels, Speaker for the Dead, and decided that it was my favorite. Then I re-read the parallel novel, Ender's Shadow, and, well, I'm sure you can guess.
I haven't read any of his non-Enderverse stuff yet, though.

Orson Scott Card

Today I went to go see Orson Scott Card. He said that he doesn't do many signings, so I'm lucky to live so close (about 1.5 hours) away from him.
The man is brilliant. And hilarious.The best thing was how much I could identify with him-- a middle-aged man who's not my dad. Just offhand comments like: 

• "Most writers are introverts...here, I'm in control of the situation, but having dinner with a stranger?" SO TRUE. This is why I speak in English and don't in math. I'm confident in the former, and less so in the latter, plus math has right and wrong, where as English has write and support. (See what I did there? Ah, lame puns.)
• "I was once in an elevator with one of my favorite authors and didn't say a word to him- not because I was shy, but because I literally had nothing to say." That is how I feel every time I'm in the room with an author I admire. I let my dad do the talking and then build off of what he says.
• "When you're 15 and reading your 13 year old diary, you just want to burn it. But when you're 30 and reading your 13 year old diary, you love yourself. Don't burn your diaries." Well...does it count if I've scratched out lines and torn out pages?
• "You've got to understand, I keep talking because no one at home listens to me for this long anymore." Me too. Maybe that's why I blog so much.

Someone asked him what he was currently reading. He pulled out his iPod and read off a list of audio books, saying that he listened all the time, and his family had gotten to the point where they just had to tap him on the shoulder to wait for him to pause it. My dad felt very validated by this. Then he said how he read in bed all the time as well, except he's lately been watching a lot of Doctor Who on his iPod while in bed. He doesn't like the old series (which I haven't seen), loves the new stuff, and loathes the daleks. He must have ranted about daleks for at least a full minute.


He also had what I thought to be very good writing advice. In short:

• "Just keep writing your brains out all the time."
• Ignore grammar rules. Write how you speak. (But "if you're teaching English...you MAKE those kids learn grammar.")
• Don't consciously develop your style. It'll just ruin the voice you have already. (This was particularly helpful to me)
• Ignore people who give you general writing advice. Content is a different story.
• Have people read your stuff aloud to you.

When I walked in (since he started during writing club, which I left early to listen), he was talking about how the genre of science fiction is running out of "space," so SF authors are simply writing sci-fi in a fantasy setting. Example: a book where people breed dragons, but then the dragons take over. It's the basic Evil Robot story, only with dragons. I thought that was a cool idea.


When we got to the signing table, my copy of Ender's Game was made out to me, but Dad said that he didn't want the new one to be in case my sisters got jealous. So instead it reads: "To Don...Olivia's dad...and Sarah's dad...and Nicole's dad. So many paths, so little time. 12/1/10"


And I have surprisingly very little to say about the actual writing club meeting today, other than that it was very enjoyable, as always.